What a wonderful group we had for the 2014 Spring Wildflower Workshop! A combination of new and familiar faces, we took to the trails of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park over the weekend of April 11-13 to hunt for early spring blooms for our annual photography workshop. While the harsh, cold winter caused so many things to be late in their blooming schedule, we still found a plethura of beautiful blooms.
We started off the weekend with a special macro presentation and lesson led by Brett Wells, who in addition to being our instructor for the weekend is also a tech rep and a sales rep for Sigma Photo. Sigma also graciously sent us an entire case of loaner macro lenses for our workshop participants to use for the weekend. Combine good glass, talented photographers, and the beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains and what do you get? Well, take a look here and see…
Spring Beauties were an appropriate beginning!
Sue’s shot of the Smokies’ signature flower.
Beautifully captured by Ellen
These are so tiny you could easily pass them by without appreciating their delicate beauty.
Brett caught the spirit of this beauty perfectly!
A couple of Gail’s favorites:
Nancy’s dramatic vision of the Squirrel Corn.
Nancy caught a more light-hearted version.
Beth’s Beauty
Wilson points out likely suspect places to workshop members, like the following:
Malia thinks this flower is anything but common, despite its name!
When necessary, diffusers were used to soften the light.
Beth, Ellen & Nancy covering all the vantage points.
Sue caught the happy yellow of the Trout Lilly.
As glorious as they are, wildflowers were not the only attractions captured by our team:
Sharon caught this bee on a lovely Fringed Phacelia.
Bill captured this little guy keeping watch over us.
From the Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area, some of us hiked up the Little Brier Gap Trail to the Walker Sisters’ Cabin.
A study in light (and needed roof patches) by Ellen.
We also had the chance to work on water shots. Malia had never been able to capture the silky effect, and after some instruction, was happy to get this shot of some of the class shooting upstream.
On the first night, there was an optional trip up to Clingman’s Dome for the sunset and shooting starlight.
On the last day, we reviewed the class images and discussed editing. Our workshop is suitable for beginner to advanced photographers and we have lens and equipment to loan for you to try out. We provide shooting tips as we show you the incomparable beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains so you can bring home your own digital captures and great memories.
What a fantastic weekend – we hope to see you all next year!