I always seem to forget about this cabin!  The Henry Whitehead cabin is a bit off the beaten path inside Cades Cove.  It sits along the side of Forge Creek Rd, which ultimately leads out of the back of the Cove via Parsons Branch Rd, an often overlooked area of the park.  I just happened to be through there one evening when I was photographing another project, and was reminded that I had never checked it out before in the context of a night scene.  The cabin itself is a bit hard to photograph, in the sense that it looks kind of “scrunched”, especially at 18mm, due to its proportions.  The sky is also a bit tight, given the surrounding trees, but after doing some looking I decided that the Cygnus constellation line up nicely with the whole scene, so I decided to give it a go.  At the end of the day, the shape of the cabin is what it is – might as well just go with it!

As with other scenes, this one came with its exciting moments.  As I was setting up the lights inside the cabin, I discovered that a bat was inside, and it decided to fly in circles in the main room, including swooping low over me as it flew around!  Good times.  Also, while I was at the camera, every time I turned off my flashlight, something would start moving around in the woods behind me.  Also good times!  I never did see what it was, and as is so often the case, even the smallest animal can sound huge when you’re in the dark!  In any case, this one was a lot of fun to setup and execute!

More next week!

–Dan Thompson