Cataloochee is a valley in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. This weekend I had the opportunity to spend a day and a half there. The weather was very overcast and rainy (got to love early fall in North Carolina) but that never stops me from trying to get some shots.  It is still a little early for fall colors, but I hope to return in a couple of weeks to capture that amazing spectacle.

In 2001, 25 elk were reintroduced to the area. Then in 2002 another 27 were added to the herd. The elk that were reintroduced wear radio collars and are monitored. Project partners include the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Parks Canada, Great Smoky Mountains Natural History Association, Friends of the Smokies, the U.S.G.S. Biological Resources Division, and the University of Tennessee.

Elk once roamed the southern Appalachian Mountains and elsewhere in the eastern United States, but they were eliminated from the region by over-hunting and loss of habitat. The last elk in North Carolina is believed to have been killed in the late 1700s.  In Tennessee, the last elk was killed in the mid-1800s.  And by 1900, the population of elk in North America dropped to the point that hunting groups and other conservation organizations became concerned the species was headed for extinction.

The elk is an amazing animal, and to see it in its natural habitat is something everyone should experience.  Grab your camera and head to the closest natural habitat in your area and see what you can capture with your lens, you never know when it may disappear.

Need something to do this weekend?  Head up to Sparta, NC to a place that has the nickname of the “Tractor Graveyard.”  The president of one of the camera club’s I belong to, had grown up with the family that owns this great piece of history. So naturally, I wanted to check it out…

My buddy and I decided that we were going to get there for the first of the morning light, he got to my house around 4:50 AM for our drive of less than two hours. We set the GPS to the address and off we went.  We raced against the sunrise while we tried to get to this unknown wonderland.   As we reached the mountains we contemplated taking our time and to just simply catch a few good sunrise shots, but we decided to press on.  The Tractor Graveyard at sunrise was an amazing opportunity that we could not miss.

As we came closer to our location a light fog was slowly rolling in.  We came around the final bend and we could see an abundance of old tractors lined up on both sides of the road. We had arrived just before sunrise. There was heavy morning dew on the ground, and we quickly noted to bring water resistant shoes next time, but the moisture didn’t put a damper on the amazing backdrop that was before us. The sun gently came through the trees and we had a great look at what we had to shoot; tremendous amounts of old, decaying tractors, covered in moss, dew, and spider webs.  These tractors were full of personality that needed to be captured with a lens.

On Tuesday the 1st of September we had our photo contest at the Bokeh Photography Club, and honestly, there were some amazing images there. Sadly, I did not take first place; however, I did have two images that were in a three way tie for third place. First place went to John Poer and in second place was Stephanie Thomas. We had a panel of three judges, which included, Pam Krist, owner of Dalmatian B&W Lab in Greensboro, Deanne O’Connor, art director and photo editor of Our State Magazine, and John Carroll a award winning photographer from Winston Salem, NC.

The whole event was incredibly fun, but the best part of the evening was when Pam took control of the computer along with the other two judges and began critiquing each image and showing how each one could be improved. To have people of this caliber give you feedback on your work is a welcomed and valued moment.

And here comes some even more good news! Pam will be back to judge our B&W contest and she is asking that we include a raw image of our entrée and she will select a few and do the conversion of these to B&W the Dalmatian way! For those of you that don’t know, Dalmatian Lab is by far the premiere B&W Lab in the country, and prints many fine art prints for some of the best photographers in the world.

I can only hope that she picks one of mine!

Last weekend, I spent the day at the Reynolda Gardens of Wake Forest University, along with a number of other photographers. We all just wanted to get out and shoot, and the Reynolda Gardens are an amazing place to explore with the lenses of your camera. The 300 acres property was gifted of to Wake Forest College in the late 1940s for its new home in Winston and is now part of Wake Forest University. There are about four-acre formal garden with a number of large green houses. And honestly, there is no better company than a bunch of fellow photographers. We met at about 8am and stayed until noon, then of course had a quick bite to eat and great conversation full of photo tips and tricks. Flowers are not my favorite subject, but it’s always good to shoot outside of your comfort zone and try new things. I’m currently still trying to find my favorite subject, and exploring will be the only way to discover it.

Reynolda Gardens is located at 100 Reynolda Village, Winston-Salem, NC 27106