I’ve decided to take a little break from Europe pictures for a couple of weeks to show off a few pictures I captured here in East Tennessee. A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of tagging along with local photographers, Bob Howdeshell, Brian Shults, and Ryan Yoder. I’d been meaning to follow along with these guys as they capture some of the area’s wildlife for some time, but we never could get our calendars to sync until then (truth be told, it was me causing the scheduling problems). All three of these guys have been shooting in the Great Smoky Mountains for some time now, and there is a good chance you’ve seen their work in and around town (Brian actually has a lot of images for sale inside the park gift shops).
If you’ve tried your hand at wildlife photography, you’ve probably realized that at least half the battle is knowing where to find the animals, and when. To that point, after photographing some deer in one of the Cades Cove fields (stay tuned for next week’s picture), I mentioned to the group that I’d been dying to take some pictures of frogs. Holly and I had been out a couple times before, and while I could hear the frogs, I never saw one… save for a splash or two as they hopped into the water. The three guys looked at each other and chuckled, and off we went. Turns out Brian had discovered the mother-of-all frog spots in the park several years ago and knew just where to go. When we arrived, the guys pointed a few of them out to me, and suddenly I started picking them out on my own… and they were EVERYWHERE. I could have spent hours there! Very cool stuff!
Thanks again guys!
–Dan Thompson