Since I first picked up a camera back in the mid-90s, I have been intrigued with night photography. For some reason it has always fascinated me what the camera can “see” versus what we can see with our eyes. I have also tended to really appreciate dark scenes – and there’s no better way to capture dark scenes than in the dark! Night photography remained a fascination until about 2010, when I really dug in. Holly was battling cancer at the time, and I needed an outlet – an escape, really. Slipping away at night while she was sleeping seemed like the easiest thing to accommodate. Sometimes I’d take a nephew along, or sometimes a friend. Sometimes I’d just go by myself. Playing around with lights and different aspects of technical shooting and editing really excited me, because I could create something truly unique, even if the scenes were familiar. I also really grew to appreciate the Smokies, and particularly Cades Cove at night, when I’d have the whole place to myself.
In mid-2011 I captured an image of the Cades Cove Methodist Church, which not only excited me, but was also well received online. Perhaps most importantly, my now good friend Bill Lea told me it was an image he was jealous of. With a little success and some direction, I became obsessed with star trail photography, which evolved over time into night sky and nightscape photography.
I have, of course, revisited the Methodist Church a number of times. It’s just such an iconic location in Cades Cove, it’s hard to ride past it. I haven’t, however, done another star trail shot there though, since my 2011 image – if for no other reason than thinking I couldn’t do much better than I had previously done, and having also drifted away from letting the stars blur across the sky in my images.
This past winter, however, I decided to redo it. My buddy Ryan Yoder and I rode into the Cove in hopes of seeing the northern lights. It turned out to be one of the many nights that the northern lights were supposed to show up, but never did. Instead of just sitting there twiddling my thumbs, I decided to setup the scene you see above while we waited and hoped. Since my 2011 image, I’ve had a number of different cameras, and my style has changed quite a bit. Back then I shot it much tighter, darker, and preferred fewer stars in the sky. This time around I did basically the opposite of all those things. I REALLY like this version, but the 2011 version will always hold a special place in my heart.
As you might have guessed, this week I’m kicking off what will be a long series on the Great Smoky Mountains National Park at night. This past winter I really pushed myself to try some new things, and shoot in some new places. I’m thrilled to be sharing these images, and hopefully introducing you to some things in the park you perhaps didn’t know were there or haven’t taken the time to visit. For this first week, however, I wanted to start where it all started for me personally. Good ole Cades Cove.
More next week!
–Dan Thompson