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Smokies Sunset

The best way I know to describe Look Rock Tower is that it's a mini version of Clingman's Dome - the highest point in Tennessee located in the Great Smoky Mountains. Not only isn't it ever crowded because many don't know about it, the hike there is much easier because it's shorter and less steep. However, like Clingman's Dome, Look Rock Tower has a 360 degree view of the beautiful Smoky Mountains.

Any nature lover and photographer has to love shooting sunsets, whether taking a quick pic with a phone or by setting up elaborate equipment. In addition, any nature lover and photographer also must love shooting fall leaves. 

During this November outing with my young daughter gave me the chance to do both.

Living in East Tennessee at the time, we were maybe 30 minutes from the mountains and one area we particularly enjoyed visiting was Foothills Parkway. Not only was Look Rock Tower located off of it, there were many overlooks and it was a fun road to just drive on. Foothills Parkway was always my first place to escape when life was getting too stressful and I was excited to bring my daughter on this adventure.

When I planned this excursion, I planned to shoot the great views of the fall wonder. Shooting the sunset was going to be a bonus, if it was a nice sunset. Before I started shooting sunsets I had never really noticed that there has to be just the right number of clouds to get a good photo. Too few and the image is monotone; too many and the image is gray. 

When we arrived, there were very few clouds, but I was hoping it would change.

I knew it would be fun nonetheless.

It started by us playing with our shadows after parking. We did that for a while, being silly and also modeling and posing for each other, before heading to the trail to the Tower. 

I took lots of photos of the mountains as well as more of my daughter - both posed and candid. I tried to figure out how to get both her and the mountains behind her in focus... and failed miserably. (I had a good eye at the time, but knew very little about how to shoot in challenging situations.)

So, we waited...

...and waited...

...and waited some more.

Another thing about sunsets that most don't realize (at least I didn't until I started shooting them) is that they go fast. You see the sun hit the horizon and it's an incredibly short time before it's gone. Now if you only want to get the clouds with all of their colors, that's not a problem. But I want to have the sun in the pictures if at all possible.

I didn't want to miss it so we go there early. The only problem was that there was nothing to do at the top of a Tower in the mountains. I let my daughter play with my camera some, but mostly I just sat down and waited while she explored every nook and cranny of the tower that she could find.

Finally, it was time. The sun decided to finally put on its daily show...

...and boy, did it perform well that night.

I've shot lots of sunsets from various Foothills Parkway observation points and this one was exponentially better than any I had shot before.

I clicked the shutter over and over, occasionally pausing to change the settings (remember that I had no idea what I was doing then.) I took more than 100 shots of that sunset, so nervous I wouldn't get even one right. 

And I did. :-)                                                    

                                                     (All images by Tracy Riggs Frontz)

   
 

    



A selection of the images above are available to order as custom prints, fulfilled by a professional lab, at https://NovelPhotos.Instaproofs.com.

If you have any questions, email NovelPhotos@yahoo.com.

If you don’t have time to order today, feel free to take a business card and order later using the middle QR code. The photos will be under “Trussville Library Gallery.”

If you have any questions, email us at NovelPhotos@yahoo.com.

If you want any hand-signed, get in touch with us before ordering. We can direct you to a gallery that doesn't have our digital signatures on them and we can work out what works best for you to get the signature you want.

To order a signed copy of Tracy’s book: Behind the Lens of a Storyteller – My Journey as a Photographer/Writer, go to https://NovelPhotos.instaproofs.com/BehindtheLens Note that shipping is included – be sure to use the coupon code “SHIPPINGINCLUDED.”

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