Top of the Mountain - Smoky Mountain Trip 2014

Finally finished developing and scanning all the film from our trip last month.

Here is one shot that I am particularly fond of. We hiked to the top of a mountain through a small, unmarked trail system in a more remote area of the park. This scene was what we saw through a small cut through the brush and trees at the summit.

Taken with the Nikkor-T 720mm f/16. This lens is one I rarely have reason to use but when I do, it's always stunning. I believe I stopped down to about f/32. Taken with Provia 100F film:

Withlacoochee River Flooding - April 2014

Changing gears for a moment away from my recent trip, I'd like to share some images from the Withlacoochee River and surrounding area. There has been unprecedented rainfall amounts here and the river has risen well above flood stage. I had to buy a pair of rubber, waterproof boots to even attempt to get around most of Langdale Park and Grand Bay WMA, and even then not a lot of area was accessible due to extreme water levels and swift current.

At Grand Bay, the boardwalk is completely flooded out. Here are some images on 4x5 Tri-X from on the boardwalk:

75mm f/4.5 Zeiss Biogon, Tri-X 320

90mm f/8 Nikkor, Tri-X 320

On the other side of the WMA where hunting is allowed, a huge swath of water was cutting across the road in front of the main trail. Surprisingly, a large gator had stationed himself right there at the trail head:

Linhof Technika III 6x9, 105mm f/2.8 Schneider Xenotar

Here are some color photos of the area, as well as a shot of a water moccasin that was sunning out on the road (Nikon F, 5cm f/2, Provia 100F):

Now over at Langdale Park, things are even worse. Most of the main road is totally underwater. Even the trails that are normally about an 1/8th of a mile from the river are so flooded that I can't even walk through them with the waterproof boots - so they must be at least 2 feet deep. I gingerly explored some of the trail system that I could get to, as well as the parking area which I was able to make it to. But I couldn't go very far because the current was so swift, I felt like I was going to get knocked over and swept away.

The first time I went I just took my Nikon F4 and a 28mm f/2 AI, not knowing what I was getting myself into:

The next day I went back with the 4x5 to shoot some more. Here are some images, either on Tri-X 320 or Portra 160VC, all shot with the 90mm f/8 Nikkor:

Smoky Mountains Spring Break Part 3

After visiting Cades Cove and the Mingus Mill, Meagan and I headed home. The next day we did some serious hiking out at some remote areas of the park.

Near the highest overlook of the park, Newfound Gap, are a few trails that aren't very well marked. We hiked down one of these, which ended up going way out into the backwoods:

 

 

After this we went to the Arch Rock trail. This trail was really nice, and Arch Rock was even cooler. Next time I come to the Smokies I want to camp out at this rock formation. Here are some photos going to the rock:

 

 

And here are a few shots of Arch Rock:

After a long day hiking, we took some time in Gatlinburg and ate at The Melting Pot. Here are some snaps from around the town and restaurant:

 

 

That's about it for the 35mm stuff. Up next, medium and large format!