Something Different From The Solar Eclipse

Like millions of others, June and I took a couple days and traveled to watch and hopefully photograph the total solar eclipse on August 20. By now you've seen dozens of photos from that day and they all pretty much look the same. Here's my story and some different photos from Total Solar Eclipse Day.

I planned for a couple months leading up to the eclipse day.   I picked my location and booked one of the last hotel rooms in Townsend Tennessee months before.  I wanted to be close so we could get there early to claim our spot.  I ordered eclipse

Eclipse Glasses for $20 Each

glasses and a solar filter for my camera.  I even wrote a 10-page document with details on times, locations, angles of the sun, camera settings, diagrams, etc.  I consulted with Kent Ervin, one of the best photographers I know, comparing plans, etc. I was ready.

The Tree

June and I spent the day before Eclipse Day in the Smokies, including some time under "The Tree" in Cades Cove where I planned on making my photos.

On the big day, we got up and left our hotel around 6 AM, more than seven hours before the start of the eclipse.  At 6:30, two miles from the entrance to Cades Cove we found ourselves in a line of cars with license plate from all over the east.

6:30 AM

We were there in line for almost 2 hours. I don't know but wouldn't be surprised if that line of cars went all the way back to Townsend. Everyone was excited and in a good mood. We met some nice people and I got to photograph a cool mushroom while we waited.

7:20 AM

Cable Mill Area by June

The Park Service finally opened the gate a little after 8 AM and we were soon in The Cove slowly following a line of cars around the loop.  As planned we took Hyatt Lane across to the other side to get to our spot and set up.

I really had no idea how many people would want to watch or photograph from our spot.  We saw very few cars go by while we waited.  Where were all the cars?  Knowing that we would be waiting for most of a day I brought our bikes.  I rode to the Cable Mill for a bathroom break and found the cars.  It was a difficult ride because the cars were moving too slow for me to ride my bike and much of the time I was standing still waiting on the line of cars or walking my bike.

360 Degree Pano of Our Spot by June

Turns out few people made it past the mill.  There were hundreds of cars and thousands of people at the Cable Mill area. Other than another photographer and a young couple we had the Oak tree to ourselves.

That old Oak is the most photographed tree in the park.  Try Googling "The Tree Cades Cove" and you will see hundreds of photos.  Like all photographers who visit the park, I've also photographed The Tree many times but never gotten up under it.  We were there for the shade and hopefully to include part of The Tree in eclipse photos.  What we found was a wealth of photos waiting to be made.  These are some of my "bonus shots" I found while waiting under The Tree.

There were many song birds among the branches of the Oak tree and in the grasses of the recently mowed field.  We were there for several hours, giving me many opportunities to photograph them.

Goldfinch

Eastern Kingbird

Bluebird

Song Sparrow

Indian Paintbrush and Coneflower

The birds were in their subdued summer colors.  The flower and grasses, however, were in their glory.

Dew on Grass

Queen Anne's Lace

Goldenrod

The one thing I couldn't plan was the weather, but by the time the eclipse started we had mostly clear blue skies with only a few clouds.  However, not all my photography plans worked out.  I gave up on the shot with the tree and the sun and put that camera up.  I did take close up photos of the sun every 10 minutes to use to create a composite of the different phases.

Sunspots

My Composite

All my planning didn't prepare me for the actual totality event.  When it happened, it got dark very fast and I got excited.  I needed to change camera settings and it was dark enough that I had a hard time seeing the dials on my camera.  The exposures weren't working out anything like I planned and I didn't realize until it was over that in the excitement of the two minutes of totality I forgot to remove the solar filter from my lens!  I didn't get the cool totality shots that everyone else got, but I am happy with what I did get.

Although the totality only lasted 2 minutes where we were, it was worth everything we put into it. I'm planning to go to the next one on April 8, 2024.  Less than 7 years away!  I wonder if I will find a spot with birds, flowers, and an old Oak tree...

Better Than Sealing A Driveway

I had to make a choice between two options for Saturday.  The first option was putting down asphalt sealer on our driveway, which is what I had planned for Saturday.  The second option was to spend the morning with June riding bikes around the  Cades Cove loop in the Smoky Mountains.   The driveway sealer will certainly keep for a few more weeks.

On Wednesday and Saturday mornings, the loop road is closed to vehicles until 10:00 AM.  We wanted to get there close to sunrise to make the most of the time before the gate was opened and the parade of cars and trucks took to the one lane road through one of the parks most beautiful areas.  It's a two and one-half hour drive from home to the gate and the sun rises is at 6:15.  Do the math to figure out how dedicated (crazy) we are.

It was foggy all the way from home to the park and we got there a little later than we hoped, but it was still a great morning.  The fog that slowed our drive was spectacular in the early morning "magic hour" light.

Loop Road Panorama

Deer and Butterfly

Click any photo for a larger view or go to my Online Gallery for more photos.

A lot of heavy photo gear is not fun to deal with on a bike.  I only took the camera and two lenses with me on the bike - my go to 24-105mm and a 300mm prime telephoto.  I had to go sans-tripod this morning.  I found that you can make stitched panoramas and hdr photos without a tripod. The Loop Road Panorama is 10 vertical shots stitched together in Adobe Lightroom CC.

Sunrise is prime time for wildlife and I took the 300mm hoping to get some bear, coyote, deer, turkey and other wildlife.   The wildlife was scarce today, but I did manage to get a deer and butterfly in one shot.

The only people on the road are bicyclists, walkers and some people running the 11 mile loop.   We started out with one group and played tortoise and hare passing each other all morning long.  

Running The Loop Road

Running Into The Sun

We stopped when we saw the sunlight streaming through the trees and fog, creating awesome sunbeams.  While we were stopped they passed us again.   I think they may have won the race, but we got the photos!

We enjoyed the morning ride enough that we cut down Sparkes Lane and went around to Hyatt Lane and back for a total of 17 miles.

There are more photos from the morning at http://www.thesiggins.com/AllWorks/Earth-Sea-and-Sky/Cades-Cove-June-2015/

Field In The Fog

Looking Good After 17 miles.

Cades Cove Methodist Church - The Living and Enduring Word

I've been slacking.  I haven't written anything about the photos in my 2015 calendar yet this year.  And February is almost gone!   As I write this our third big snow storm of the month is rapidly approaching.  I think I'm ready for March and the promise of spring.

The photo for February was taken from the pulpit of the Cades Cove Methodist Church in the Smoky Mountains National Park.   John D. McCampbell, who was a carpenter and the pastor,  built the church building in 1902 in 115 days for $115.   How's that for a church building campaign?

The building featured two front doors, a common feature of architectural feature in the 1800s, which allowed men to enter and sit on one side of the chapel and women and children on the other.  In a move that may have raised some eyebrows at the time, the Cades Cove Methodist Church permitted its congregants to sit where they pleased instead of separating the men from the women..

The church was affected greatly by the Civil War.  Divisions among the congregation during both the war and Reconstruction resulted in a church split and the formation of the Hopewell Methodist Church, which not longer stands.

Today the Cades Cove Methodist Church is visited by hundreds of people every day.  We were there on a cold early Spring day and pretty much had the church to ourselves.   With no light other than what came in through the windows, the photos required a long exposure time.  However, those long exposures meant everything outside the windows was completely washed out.  I created a High Dynamic Range (HDR) photo by combining 7 different shots with exposures ranging from 0.4 seconds to 30 seconds.

I wanted the words in the Bible to be clear and even readable in the photo.   I also wanted the back of the church and the trees outside to be in focus.  To get that extreme depth of field I used a very small aperture of f/22.

All this photo needs is for the pews to be full of people in the clothes of hard working farmers from the early 20th century.  They might have been listening to a sermon on perishable vs. imperishable seed.   The Word was on that pulpit in 1902 and it's still there today.

The wide photo at the bottom of the calendar page for February is also from Cades Cove.  It was taken from the loop road looking across the cove to the mountains to the south.   You can't find a prettier place in the park.

Go Wide!

The college football season is rapidly approaching the end of the regular season and the beginning of the bowls.   Going wide is something we'll hear when talking about football wideouts and wide receivers. Maybe we'll hear it this Saturday in the Florida - Florida State game, but I'm afraid the passing will favor the Seminoles this year.

We can also go wide in photography.   A wide angle lens is typically in the 24mm - 36mm range with ultra-wide having shorter focal lengths and standard or normal lenses having longer focal lengths.  The are called wide angle because the angle of view through the lens takes in so much more.  A 28mm lens has a 75 degree angle of view, while a 135 mm has only an 18 degree view.

The typical way to use a wide angle is to capture a big wide landscape scene.

Shaker Village

Reel Foot Lake 

Both the Shaker Villiage and Reel Foot Lake photos were taken at 17mm.   They take in a lot of the scene from the far left to the far right.   This is a perfect use for a wide angle lens, but not the only use.

When you place objects close to a wide angle lens their size is magnified relative to objects that are further away, like in this photo of the Cable Mill in Cades Cove.

Cable Mill @ 24mm

What if you turned your camera and took a portrait (taller) orientation shot?   Same effect - things that are close appear much bigger.

22mm

In the photo to the left the white flower is the obvious subject.  It is bright and big, demanding attention.   The purple flowers in the background are hardly noticeable, but they do add some depth to the photo.

I've found this is a fun way to get close up shots but include the environment around the subject in the photo.   Wide angle lenses also tend to have a much deeper depth of field, making it easier to keep the close subject and far background in focus.

21mm

17mm

I've used this technique with flowers to draw people's attention to the flower.  You can use the same technique on other subjects, but beware.  If you use a wide angle lens to photograph a person up close you can get a photo with a large nose or ears.  Not too flattering.

Next time you're out try turning your camera into the portrait orientation and going wide!

Giving Thanksgiving for Blessings

Just a couple more weeks and we will be celebrating Thanksgiving in the US and Canada.   The photo for November is probably the most recognized symbols for Thanksgiving.  

This was actually taken in the month of April in Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.   The Tom was trying his best to impress the ladies.  He would run around to get in front of them, puff up, spread his tail feathers and do his best to get their attention.  There were several hens and none were giving him the time of day.

Look At Me

I took 50 shots of the turkeys that day.  I started out standing on one side of the road and I used my 80-400 mm zoom lens to get in as close as possible.   After they crossed the road I noticed another photographer taking photos while laying in the grass.  At first I thought that the grass was way too wet and cold to do that but after some encouragement from June I was out there with the turkeys and flat on my stomach.  I'm glad I did.   It wasn't that cold and I eventually dried out. The calendar photo was taken in this position.   Getting down to the animal's level makes for a more interesting photo.  Because I was less threatening laying down it allowed me to get closer.

For many Thanksgiving is a time to gather for family, football and feasting.   Originally  a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year, for many Thanksgiving has turned into a time to over eat and prepare to go shopping on Black Friday.   John F. Kennedy said “To those whom much is given, much is expected.”, which is taken from Luke 12:48 - "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."  (NIV).  As we give thanks on November 27, it's a time to reflect on our blessings and think about how we can use those blessings to bless others.

If you enjoy these posts you may want to purchase on of my 2015 calendars.  All the proceeds go to Hope Haven Ministries in Kingsport.   It's one small way to bless others.

Building A Calendar

Each year I put together a calendar to raise money for Hope Haven Ministries in Kingsport.  Hope Haven is a Christian, interdenominational, non-profit ministry that reaches out to homeless men, women and children who may be impoverished economically, educationally, emotionally and/or spiritually.   Hope Haven doesn't receive any government funding or support from United Way.   Like all non-profit organizations they are in constant need of financial support to keep providing the services they provide in our community.   These calendars are one way you and I can support this ministry.

Photography and sharing photos is my hobby and I really enjoy putting this project together.   It's not a quick process and usually takes several days to get together 25 - 30 candidate photos.   This year I

1. Selected the 4,620 photos from past 12 months that are wider than tall (landscape orientation) to fit on the calendar pages.  Because I use Lightroom to catalog all my photos this took about a minute.  Would have been about a second but I had to remember how to do this.

   

   Saved From The Bit Bucket

2. I then narrowed the candidates down to 165, then 60.   If I thought it is a photo people might like to see on their wall for a month then I marked it as a candidate. This step took a while.  The interesting thing is I selected some photos that I had not touched since down loading from the camera.  I have a lot of these images on the edge between keepers and destined for the bit bucket.   Sometimes something that doesn't catch my eye when I first look at it turns out to be a favorite later, like the one on the right.  Click on it for a larger view.
3. With June and Holly's help and a couple days we narrowed down to 34.

Is this one in the top 13?

That's all I can do.  It's hard for me to pick any more to throw out.  After all,  I have eliminated 131 from my first list.  I am asking my friends to help me narrow the 34 down to 13 to go on the calendar.  So far 32 people have voted and I'm already seeing some trends.

• There is a clear front runner - 27 out of 32 have voted for this one.
• Two photos got only 2 votes each.  Doesn't look good for those two.
• There are three tied for 13th place with 13 votes each.
• There are two more with 12 votes each.

How many people would like a black and white photo on their calendar?

As you can see, one person's vote can determine which photos make it on the calendar and which ones are left out. 

The deadline for sending me your vote is Saturday, September 20.  

The winners get announced on Sunday the 21st.  Instructions for voting are on the September 5 blog post.  Drop me an email with your vote.   Oh and let me know if you're interested in buying a calendar. 

Everybody Needs Beauty... The Calendar Chronicles for April

Its April 6 and I'm just now getting around to blogging about the calendar photo for April.   Spring has become a busy time and is about the get busier for June and I. I think the photo for April is appropriate for busy times.

When I am busy and don't take time to slow down I miss out on what God has given me to enjoy in His creation.  Busyness also robes me in other ways.

"the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful." - Mark 4:19

John Muir had it right.   We all need "places to play in and pray in where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to the body and soul alike."  We need to take time to slow down, turn off the pursuit of wealth and other things and spend time in His word and His presence.  

This all sound great, but it can be difficult to accomplish when those other things are screaming for attention.  One sure fire way to get away is to go somewhere that does not have internet service, wifi, or cell phone service.  If I can't read my email, check facebook, listen to voice mails, or check in at work then the power of those things to be distractions is greatly diminished.  

One of the best places to do this is Cades Cove in The Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  The subject of this photo is the Cable Mill in Cades Cove.   Everyone who has been to the cove has taken pictures of this mill and I have a pretty good collection of them myself.  The challenge for me the day I took this one was to come up with an image that is different from all my others and maybe even different from the million and one others out there on the internet.  

The fact that it was raining made this photo possible.   The cloudy rainy conditions provided nice soft even light with no harsh shadows to deal with.  Normally on a spring day there would have been many people exploring inside and outside the mill.  On this day the rain kept them away and allowed me to compose this photo to include the bridge, see inside the mill and capture the Dogwood flowers.

During the next three plus busy weeks take a moment and think about what Muir had to say.  Slow down

"Adopt the pace of nature:  her secret is patience."  -Ralph Waldo Emerson

My Photography Was All Wet

All photos can be viewed large size by clicking on them.  The Smoky Mountain photos are available for purchase here.

Kind of a strange title for a blog post.  What in the world is he talking about?   Photography that's not good?  Ideas that are all wet? Developing film? Are you interested yet?

I'm talking about what I did this last weekend.   The forecast was for up to 2 inches of rain in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Saturday and Sunday with locally heavy down pours and possible lightning.  Sound like a good time to stay in doors and wait for better weather right?   No way!   Time to grab the camera and head to the mountains!

There have been times when I've been out taking pictures on a bright sunny cloudless day and people I meet will say something like "What a great day to be out taking pictures.  It's it beautiful?"  I'll smile and say something like "It sure is a beautiful day" but in my mind I'm wishing for clouds and even a little rain.  You might be thinking my head should be examined.

Bright sunny days are not great conditions to take landscape photos, especially during the hours between an hour after sunrise and an hour before sunset.  At these times the light can make taking photos very difficult.   The bright sunlight can make parts of a scene extremely bright while other parts are in deep dark shadows.  Under these high contrast conditions it is hard to find an exposure that works for both the bright and dark areas.   Expose for the bright spots and the shadows are very dark without any details.  Expose for the shadows and the bright parts are over exposed, sometimes to the point of being solid white with no details.  HDR photography can be used to overcome these conditions but even with HDR techniques it can be difficult to get to a realistic photo that is pleasing to look at.

Stormy days are the opposite.  If the entire scene is in the shadow of clouds then the difference between the brightest and darkest areas of a photo are not as extreme.  You can more easily come up with a single exposure that covers the entire range of light in the scene.   Gone are the dark shadows and blown out bright highlights.   Partly cloudy may not work if you are still dealing with bright sunny and cloudy spots in a scene.  You need a solid overcast day.

Rainy days are even better.  When foliage is wet it can bring out the vibrant colors in the green leaves, brown soil, and colorful flowers.   It's important to use a polarizing filter when there is any water on the subjects, even when it is dark and cloudy.   A polarizer will cut the reflection off wet leaves and other surfaces and allow the dark rich colors to be captured, as in the photo below.  It was really pouring when I took this one, but the 2 1/2 second exposure allowed me to blur the water and make the raindrops "disappear".

So, when the forecast was for a rainy weekend June and I made reservations at our favorite hotel in Townsend Tennessee and headed for the mountains.   I am blessed to have a wife who is willing to go away on a weekend of wet rainy weather and drive around looking for that shot of a flowering dogwood hanging over the far bank of a rushing  stream or the wildflower covered in rain drops.  

These dark wet days are also the best time to take photos of streams and waterfalls.  The low light conditions allow me to get slow exposures that create the silky white water effect that I really like.  In the first photo above, I was able to get a long six second exposure making the water soft while keeping the rocks sharp and well defined.

Some of the best conditions can be at the end of a storm when the skies start to clear.  If this occurs in the early morning or late afternoon God may put on a dramatic show of sunlight and storm clouds that can be breathtaking.  I didn't get these conditions this weekend but there was a time when the rain stopped and the clouds started to lift.  I took 8 vertical (portrait orientation) shots and stitched them together to create this wide panorama of Cades Cove.  You can see the brilliant colors in the field and some of the fog hanging in the mountains.

There are some conditions where bright sunny days are good for landscape photos.  In this example from Glacier National Park, the sunlight was behind me and evenly lit the field and mountains, without harsh light or dark shadows.  The 6,600 foot altitude made the sky deep blue, which made the mountains stand out.  This shot wouldn't have worked on a cloudy day.

Bottom line is don't let the weather keep you from going out, taking some photos, and enjoying God's creation.  Figure out what works well under the conditions God has given you and shoot it.

Enjoy!

Calm Before The Storm

Last week I got an email from a small hotel in Townsend Tennessee inviting us to come for the July 4th holiday.   Townsend, known as the quiet side of the Smokies, is a small one traffic light town just outside the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Their fireworks were to be set off in the field next to the hotel.  That hotel didn't have any rooms left so we got a reservation at one of our other favorite hotels in Townsend - The Gateway Inn. 

Cosby Creek

You can click any of these photos for a larger version.  These and other recent photos are available online in my Recent Outing gallery.

With our reservation made we headed to the park on July 4th.  June and I tend to avoid Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge and the massive crowds as much as possible.  This day we came in from the East and stopped at the Cosby Campground for our big hike of the day.   We had plans to hike to the Mount Cammerer Watch Tower, which is 6 miles away and 2,400 feet up from the campground.   The hike up the Low Gap Trail to the Appalachian Trail was hot and tiring but worth it.  We were surprised to find a small creek and this foot bridge at the very beginning of the trail.  Time to take the boots off and wade into the creek for some shots! 

We found dense gardens of Rosebay Rhododendrons, Bee Balm, Turks Cap Lilies and other wildflowers along the trail.   When we reached the top we found the stone watch tower to be a great place with fantastic 360 degree views.  We stayed for a while and watched this storm move up the valley before heading back down the mountain.   We hiked and took photos for almost 7 hours and only saw 5 other people!  No crowds here except two very large wild turkeys near the trail. 

After a fantastic fireworks show on Wednesday night we got up and headed into Cades Cove just after sunrise.   We expected to find smaller crowds and wildlife in the cove that early.   The weather had been very hot and the wildlife was already back in the woods by the time we got there.   We were able to get out to the John Oliver cabin before the crowds and enjoyed watching the sun come up through the trees.   By this time the traffic was picking up and it was time to leave the cove and do some more hiking.

We picked a trail we had not hiked before and headed up the mountain.   After a mile or so we decided it was way too hot and muggy to keep hiking and there must be cooler spots so we turned around and headed for the Tremont Road and the Middle Prong River.   We found a shady spot in the river and got out on some large boulders, laid down and took a nap with our feet in the cool mountain water.   When we looked up we were treated to a beautiful canopy of green leaves and a blue cloudless sky.  It may have been the most peaceful place in the park at that time.   We had successfully avoided the crowds again!

The temps continued to rise into the mid-90's and we decided it was time for a late lunch and to head home.   Little did we know that by leaving early we avoided one of the worst storms to ever hit the park.   Thunderstorms brought 70 mile an hour winds and torrential rain, knocking down trees, blocking many of the park roads and killing two people.   It had been so peaceful a few hours before while we were napping on boulders in the river.  We had no idea of the destruction that was to come.

There may be some life lessons in our short two day trip to The Great Smoky Mountains. First, following the popular path may not lead to the best things in life.  Second, sometimes we have to go down a difficult path before we see the blessings.  Finally, storms are going to come through our lives, often when there are clear blue skies and we least expect them.  The narrow path may be difficult and there will be storms but God has promised his blessings for us.

The Smoky Mountains is one of our favorite places to visit and we will be back and we'll hike up to Mount Cammerer and enjoy the views again.   It's now one of my favorite hikes!