Back to East Tennessee, and back to the night! Picture of the Week has spent a pretty big chunk of time in the dark this year, which I think is reflective of my passion for this time of imagery. I just really get a lot of enjoyment out of doing these types of shots! Not to worry though, as after this series on night time in the Smokies, Picture of the Week will be returning to the daytime for a series on fall colors in the Smokies, which I’m already working on shooting now. So for those of you who prefer daytime images – if there are any of you left – those images will be back soon enough, and I suspect will carry us to the end of the year at least.
Anyway, for this week’s Picture of the Week I decided to capture the core of the Milky Way in its latter stages in the sky here in East Tennessee from an overlook I have spent a fair amount of time on, the Look Rock overlook on the Foothills Parkway. It’s just such a grand vista, overlooking Happy Valley and the more southwestern portions of the National Park and National Forests. Back when I was younger and used to rock climb at Look Rock all the time, I would always swing by this overlook before leaving, just to take it all in. I’ve never really cared to shoot from here at night because of all the light pollution, but I decided this year to do it just because.
More next week!
–Dan Thompson