I’ve noticed that lichen seems to come alive in the winter. In the Smoky Mountains, lichen are everywhere, on boulders and rocks and tree trunks. Maybe they stand out in winter because they are not competing with the lush green foliage of summer. In any case, wandering the quiet winter trails, the lichen really jump…
The Smokies got a short-lived winter snowstorm earlier this week. By lunchtime the weather turned warm and sunny, and the snow was but a memory. I was out early, hoping to get up to Newfound Gap while the scenery was still fresh, but the route over the mountains was closed. I spent an hour on…
This week we awoke to what has been a rare sight this winter: a blanket of snow! However, the forecast was for temperatures in the 50s, so I scampered out to take some Smoky Mountains photos of the winter scenery before it all disappeared. My plan was to head up to Newfound Gap, stopping at…
This scene is classic winter-get-away-from-it-all Gatlinburg-style. The snow-capped Smoky Mountains in the distance, snow laying on the rooftops of surrounding log cabins, and the hot-tub fired up and steaming. Ready for some serious cold weather relaxation and daydreaming! The offseason is one of the best times to visit Gatlinburg and the Smokies. Downtown is still…
It’s definately the winter time here folks. The excitement of the holidays is a fading memory. The Smoky Mountains are currently shrouded in a half-hearted, left-over snow. Clingman’s Dome road and the Roaring Fork are closed for the winter. The picture above was taken from the Oconaluftee Overlook …. same place as the glorious summer…
What a cozy scene! Snuggled in a winter wonderland, a fire warming the cabin, family or friends gathered for the holidays. No need for White Christmas on TV! Christmas in Gatlinburg and the Smoky Mountains is an enchanting time of year. I hope you and your family are enjoying the season, wherever you are, whatever…
Winter Footbridge shows a cold, snowy scene in the Greenbrier section of the Smokies. This picture was taken from the bridge at the Ramsey Cascades trailhead. The scene is very evocative of the silence and solitude of wintertime deep in the Smokies. Just up the trail from this spot is the location of one of…
Winter Silence is my best-selling winter Smoky Mountains photos. It’s a dreamy, ethereal snow scene that was taken out in the Greenbrier area of the Smokies during a late winter storm. The technique used to capture the image is unusual. The camera was on a tripod, set to a long exposure time of about two…
In the late 1920s Gatlinburg entrepreneur Jack Huff built a 20 by 24 foot cabin out of balsam logs that was the forerunner of today’s LeConte Lodge. The roof was tarpaper, with a floor of native clay. For more than 35 years Jack and his wife Pauline operated Mt. LeConte Lodge. Jack was the son…
The Smoky Mountains are starting to look Spring-like on this last day of February, and our heavy winter snows may be over for the season. I really enjoyed them … the big Christmas Eve storm that gave us a White Christmas for the first time since we have lived in Gatlinburg. Then some more good…
Here is the final winter wallpaper/screensaver of the season. Out in the Greenbrier crossing one of the bridges on the way to the Ramsey’s Cascade trail. Our next wallpaper will definitely be warmer and more springlike! This image, and all other wallpapers, can be downloaded from http://williambritten.com/wallpaper/ Just click on the file name “greenbrier-snow-screensaver.jpg” and…
We had another dusting of snow not too long ago, and I was out roaming around, looking for winter scenics. Just across from the Greenbrier entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the road leading to Emerts Cove Bridge, and along that road there is a pasture for some riding horses. This guy…
The incredible photo above was taken by Dutch Roth during a hike to Rainbow Falls on February 16th, 1958. The photo below, also by Dutch Roth, was taken on the old Indian Gap Highway on February 22, 1947. Exactly 64 years ago today! Both photos used with permision of the Great Smoky Mountains Regional Collection,…
It’s a quiet and peaceful day in Cades Cove. Winter is really special here. Plenty of time to cruise the loop road at your own pace, stopping whenever the mood strikes. In winter the deer come out by the dozens — probably over 100 of them in the central meadow on a sunny day like…
In 1839 a group split from the Primitive Baptist Church to form their own congregation. The structure pictured above was built in 1915. I visited the church on a bright winter day in February when there were almost no cars on the Cades Cove loop road. As with many of the historic building in the…
Bare trees, the welcoming glow of Smoky Mountain cabins at dawn … a warm and friendly Kinkade-colored scene. It’s that time of year when, surprisingly, winter has already started to lose its grip in the Smoky Mountains and Gatlinburg area. In a few short weeks the early flowers will be staking their tentative claim on…
A free winter wallpaper/screensaver in appreciation for all my blog and facebook fans. This is Bull Head on the right and Balsam Point on Mt. LeConte on the left, in January 2011, taken from the observation deck of the Space Needle in downtown Gatlinburg. This image, and all other wallpapers, can be downloaded from http://williambritten.com/wallpaper/…
I don’t need a groundhog to tell me that in 6 weeks the early wildflowers will be blooming in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park! In the meantime, there’s still a chance to squeeze in a snowy winter getaway to Gatlinburg and the Smokies. Or if there’s no snow, some bare woods hiking along some…
Friday philosophy time combined with a photo tip … a two-fer-one! For me, so much of photography is about seeing the world within the world. Most photographs don’t jump out of the jumble in front of our eyes and say “here I am, take me!” Some do, but mostly not. Instead, I think of them…
Photographs of winter scenes, especially on cloudy days, often have too much blue. How much is too much is of course subjective, and you might want to emphasize the coldness of the scene with a blue cast. But it’s still good to be aware of the tendency for winter shots to look blue. If you…
You could get lost in the layers of this scene. Late afternoon, sun setting on the Smoky Mountains, the shadows enhancing the definition of the landscape. Taken from my newly-favored perch on top of the Space Needle in downtown Gatlinburg. I spent an hour up there last week all by myself, getting lost in the…
I live in Gatlinburg TN, on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains. The Smokies are a very spiritual place, and I attempt to capture some of that spirit in each of my photographs.
If you are in Gatlinburg, please stop in at my gallery .
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