Tennessee Temple
This print captures the essence of down-home living in the hills of Tennessee. Hike a few miles into the Smoky Mountains and you'll come upon this great pi...
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This print captures the essence of down-home living in the hills of Tennessee. Hike a few miles into the Smoky Mountains and you'll come upon this great piece of history. This cabin was built before the Civil War and is a reminder of the hard-work that built America.
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Nov, 2015Views
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Awards
Staff Winter Selection 2015
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Peer Award
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken on a hike in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Gatlinburg, TN.Time
I took this photo sometime in the early afternoon. I remember we drove to the trailhead in the morning and hiked into the woods a few miles before coming across this great piece of history. Even though it was taken in the harshest light of the day, this photo still has very vibrant colors.Lighting
The lighting for this was obviously 100% natural. When it's high noon, you really don't need any extra lighting. In fact, this was almost too much. I wanted to keep the vibrancy of the colors and didn't want it to look too washed out - which can be a problem in such harsh conditions. Luckily I had a polarizing filter on my lens, allowing me to darken the sky a bit. The natural shade falling on the front of the cabin helped as well.Equipment
This was actually shot on a Canon Rebel XTi with a standard kit lens. Not a fancy camera by any means. No tripod and no flash were used.Inspiration
This photo was inspired by the subject matter. The hike we were on that day ended at this great glimpse of the past. We first passed an old schoolhouse complete with a cemetery out front, but my favorite was the cabin. This cabin was built by six ruthlessly hard-workers, now known as the Walker Sisters, before the Civil War, when the government wanted to buy up everyone's land for the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Due to their fight, the Walker Sisters received a special lifetime lease on the land they grew up on. Their story is one of hard-work and determination. The same hard-work and determination that built this great country. Isn't that inspiration enough?Editing
The only post processing I did on this photo was adjusting the highlights and shadows to make sure nothing was blown out. With this particular photo, I tried to go as untouched as I could. I also boosted the vibrancy but very little - the colors were already great!In my camera bag
Nowadays my camera bag includes the following: my camera body (a Canon 70D), the kit lens, a 300mm telephoto lens, and a pancake 28mm prime lens. That's all I have for glass at the moment. I also carry an external flash unit, extra batteries, extra memory, some random filters and UV attachments, a hood, and sometimes my tripod. (We all know how annoying it is to carry!) Oh, and a microfiber cloth for cleaning all the dirt and dust and smudges!Feedback
Opportunity. That's my advice for any photographer. I can't stress enough how important it is to be prepared. You never know when opportunity will come, but you better be ready to respond when it does. I had no idea what the cabin at the end of that hike looked like before I got there. But I had the opportunity and I came prepared. I knew it would be a bright sunny day, so I had a polarizer filter. I assumed I would want to shoot a ton of photos once I got there, so I brought extra memory cards and batteries. It's the little things that we do that set us up for big successes. On top of that, when it comes down to snapping the actual photos, I try to look through my viewfinder and ask myself, "What do I want to show in this photo and what do I want to leave out?" What are you expressing with the photo? The people who see the photo were probably never there in real life, so their only exposure is through the photo itself. They don't get the feeling of actually being there, the history, the drama, the air, the smell - whatever it may be. So how can you best portray that? And don't be afraid to canvas the area and take many different shots at many different angles or heights or distances. Play with the subject. Almost always I don't know which photo is going to be "the one" until I get home and sift through all of them. Don't make it a chore, make it something you want.
