Spring Wildflower Workshop – 2014

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

 Spring Beauties were an appropriate beginning!

Sweet White Trillium

Sue’s shot of the Smokies’ signature flower.

Dutchman’s Breeches

Beautifully captured by Ellen

Bishop’s Cap

These are so tiny you could easily pass them by without appreciating their delicate beauty.

Rue Anemone

Brett caught the spirit of this beauty perfectly!

A couple of Gail’s favorites:

Dwarf Ginseng

Henbit

Squirrel Corn

Nancy’s dramatic vision of the Squirrel Corn.

Squirrel Corn

Nancy caught a more light-hearted version.

Large Flowered White Trillium

Beth’s Beauty

Karen’s Bleeding Hearts

Beth’s Beaked Violet

Fiddlehead Fern unfolded

Wilson instructing

Wilson points out likely suspect places to workshop members, like the following:

Fringed Phacelia

Common Violet

Malia thinks this flower is anything but common, despite its name!

Jack in the Pulpit

Yellow Trillium

Ellen’s Crested Dwarf Iris

Gaywings

Hepatica

Diffuser Team

When necessary, diffusers were used to soften the light.

Carl & Ellen with diffuser

Wilson helping Malia on bridge

Brett contemplating Fire Pink composition

Looking high and low

Beth, Ellen & Nancy covering all the vantage points.

Trout Lilly

Sue caught the happy yellow of the Trout Lilly.

As glorious as they are, wildflowers were not the only attractions captured by our team:

Bee on Fringed Phacelia

Sharon caught this bee on a lovely Fringed Phacelia.

Watchful Chipmunk

 Bill captured this little guy keeping watch over us.

Walker Sisters’ Cabin

From the Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area, some of us hiked up the Little Brier Gap Trail to the Walker Sisters’ Cabin.

Cabin Interior

A study in light (and needed roof patches) by Ellen.

Silky water

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.

Malia’s Sunset

April’s Stars at Clingman’s Dome

Wilson Review

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!

Tremont’s latest visitors…

We have had a little more excitement last week than normal at the campground.  While taking the garbage to the dumpster one morning, a camper noticed a tiny black bear cub hanging out in the dumpster!  Mama bear was no where to be found.  We called the Townsend Police department and the Chief of Police came and retrieved the little guy from the dumpster.  However, once the cub was out of the dumpster, he got loose and ran to the “A” section of the campground and straight up a tree!  Well, you can imagine what happened next.  There were several people near the base of the tree looking and taking pictures of the little guy.  After the commotion died down and everyone went back to their normal activities, he scampered down the tree and went back up to the mountain behind Tremont, we assume to find his Mama.  If Mama is on the mountain, she has not made an appearance that we have seen.  That is odd when such small cubs go missing.

So, although there was a bit of excitement, everyone is safe (including the cub to the best of our knowledge).  Just goes to show that you need to pay attention when you are taking out the trash!  You never know what you might find!

Chance to see more SNOW in the Smokies!

If you missed the beautiful snow we had in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park this past weekend, don’t worry, it looks like you may have another chance this week!

This past Sunday morning, several of the roads in the Park were closed because of the weather, but by mid-afternoon the roads were clear.  Although, by that time, there was not a flake of snow left at Tremont Outdoor Resort, Cades Cove and some of the upper elevation parts of the Park were beautiful (and not treacherous)!This is a shot that I took in Cades Cove Sunday afternoon.  You can see the snow laden mountain tops in the higher elevations.

Meigs Falls

Meigs Falls is right on Little River Road in between Townsend and Elkmont.  There was still quite a bit of snow on the upper branches.

This coming Wednesday, they are saying that there is a 70% chance of snow in the Park with a high of 36 and a low of 23.  In addition to that, there is only a 30% chance of snow in Townsend on Wednesday, so that means that it will not be difficult to get to Tremont Outdoor Resort where you can set up your base camp and still explore the beauty of winter in the Park.  What more could you ask for?  Pretty snow that isn’t treacherous!

We hope to see you soon!

 

 

 

 

New Tremont Website!

Well, it has been a long time in the works, but our new website for Tremont Outdoor Resort is live!  Along with getting a sorely needed facelift, it is also more interactive, easy to navigate, and provides more comprehensive information.  Although it is live, we are still updating the images and working out some other minor details, so please bear with us as we continue to work toward perfection:).  We were so excited to launch the new look that we hoped that you all would give us a little grace in updating all of the nitty gritty details….

So, click on the image of the new home page below and check out our new site!

Spring Wildflower Photography Workshop 2013!

If you love nature, wildflowers, photography, and having a good time while learning a few things with other photographers and enthusiasts, all while in the beautiful setting of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, then this workshop could be for you!

f/32 Photo’s owner (Wilson Reynolds, the guy you never actually see in the store because he is always out on the road somewhere…) will be leading the workshop along with Brett Wells, talented instructor, photographer, and also our Sigma representative.  Between the two of them, they have forgotten more than I will ever know!

The dates for the workshop are April 12th-April 14th and it will be based at Tremont Outdoor Resort in Townsend, TN.  If you would like more information on the workshop, please click here for the nitty gritty details and a link for registration!

If you don’t already receive the personal emails that we send out when we announce these workshops, you can sign up to be on that list by suscribing to the newsletter of f/32 Photo by clicking on “Subscribe to our e-newsletter” at the top of our website.  (Don’t worry, we do not bombard you with email and clutter up your inbox!)

If you have any questions about the workshop, please feel free to email me at April@f32photo.com and I’ll do my best to answer them.  Don’t dally though because we can only take 12 students and we already have 4!

If you would like to see some of the images and read a little bit about last year’s workshop, click here🙂

Hope to see you at the workshop!

Thanks,

April

After the Storm

A terrible storm blew through Townsend and parts of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Thursday evening around 6pm.  We are thankful that no one at Tremont was hurt during the storm.  Unfortunately, the same can not be said for the National Park.  Two people lost their lives Thursday night when they were hit by fallen trees.  Others were injured and hundreds of people were trapped in Cades Cove and other areas of the Park as Rangers and other emergency responders worked tirelessly to clear the downed trees to get them out.  Little River Road from Elkmont to Townsend, Laurel Creek Road, the Cades Cove Road, and Hwy 73 from the Park entrance to the Townsend Wye are still closed.  For updated information, you can call 865-436-1200.

While no one was injured at Tremont, there was lots to clean up and some property damage, although it could have been much worse, so we are extremely thankful.  We are currently still without power and phone lines and have been told that this should be rectified soon.  So, if you have reservations, we are still open and you may check in, we just may be a little more primitive than usual for a short time:)

Most of the damage that Tremont sustained was in the A section and the majority of that was caused by one fallen tree which punctured the roof of a camper and took out one and a half river decks.  Fortunately, the people staying in the stricken camper were not there when it occurred, so by the time they made it back, Tremont’s staff had already taken pictures for the insurance companies and cut the tree down off the camper.

 

This was the site with the most damage. As you can see, the tree has already been cut off the camper, but it is still resting on the river deck.

 

 

another view of the hardest hit area of Tremont

This is the root ball of the tree that fell.

more split limbs…this one did not land on anything thankfully!

Tree that had been down across the main road just past the bridge to Tremont.

Nice to see people back in the river the next morning after the storm.

Yes, it may be a little warm, especially with the power temporarily out, but the river is nice and COLD, so come on in!

We are so thankful to have made it through the storm with everyone at Tremont being alright.  Our prayers go out to the families of those who were lost in the Park during this tragedy.

We will continue to post updates here and on our Facebook page as we receive them.

 

Dollywood Discounts!

Did you know that as a guest of Tremont Outdoor Resort you are eligible for special Dollywood and Splash Country discounted tickets that are not available other places?  That’s right, we may be on the peaceful side of the Smokies, but we realize that sometimes a day trip into Pigeon Forge can be fun too.  The best part is, you can have a fun filled day and come back to a nice, quiet, peaceful campsite!  Dollywood and Pigeon Forge are only about 30-40 minutes away from Tremont, so you can experience the best of both worlds!

Check out the special offers below.  And you can purchase your tickets at the Tremont Office, so there is no need to stand in line once you get to Dollywood or Splash Country.

Please be aware that the prices listed above INCLUDE Sales/Amusement Tax, so no extra add ons there.  For more information on Dollywood and Splash Country, please visit their website.  Dollywood is currently open and Splash Country opens the weekend of May 18th, so start making your plans now!  We can’t wait to see you here in Townsend:)

The Great Eggscursion!

 

Tremont was privileged to host the annual Eggscursion of the Egg Camping Club this past weekend.  We had 72 Egg Campers in the Park!  What is an Egg Camper?  Well, take a look…

There are only a couple of manufacturers of this particular type of camper, so you mainly saw two brands as you walked through the park.  However, someone has just introduced a fifth-wheel version of the Egg camper and there was one of those at Tremont this weekend.

One of the organizers told me that this was one of their best attended rallies to date and that they had campers from 20 states and Canada in attendance!

They had activities planned all weekend.  It looked like one of the first ones was a yummy country cooking potluck at Tremont’s pavilion!

There was one camper at the rally that dated back to 1972!  I think this is a picture of the vintage camper…

If you are interested in learning more about Egg Campers, check out their website.  They are a great group of fun-loving folks!

Thanks so much for choosing Tremont Outdoor Resort for your Eggscursion this year.  We hope that you had a wonderful time and that we will see you again next year!

To Everything There is a Season…

Change is part of life, no matter how hard we fight it, it is going to happen.

So, we have decided to try and catch up with the times by making a small change at Tremont.  Namely, our logo.  If you close your eyes right now, can you picture Tremont’s current logo?  Ok, how about the logo for Coca-Cola, Nike, Apple, Disney, McDonalds, Life is Good, Toyota, or Nikon?  We realize that we are not a nationally recognized product or entity like the companies that I mentioned in the last sentence, but we are striving for the same thing with our logo, simple brand recognition that sticks with our guests.

So, why change this now?  Well, as many of you know, the bridge going into Tremont Outdoor Resort has been under construction for most of last year (It is now complete, praise the Lord!).  As part of the construction process, they had to remove our sign that was at the road.  We are also in the process of refilling a lot of printed materials that are used everyday.  So, if we are going to make this kind of change, now is the perfect time to do so.

Our current logo was designed by the owner of Tremont when he bought the park about 6 years ago.  While it has served us well and it is hard to let go of for sentimental reasons, we recognized that it needed to be updated.  We found this to be true in particular when we started to try to use the old logo to embroider on hats, shirts, and other products.  Because of it’s shape, intricate detail, and small lettering, it was next to impossible to use it on clothing and get the effect and outcome for which we were looking.

So, one of our extremely talented staff members at f/32 Photo has worked with our owner (Wilson Reynolds) to come up with a new, clean, up-to-date, and we hope memorable, logo for Tremont.  There are a couple of varieties posted below as we are still working on the final color scheme.  However, we wanted to get your input on what you think of it?  Do you like it better than the old one?  If so, what is your favorite color scheme?  Does it stick with you (kind of subconsciously recognizable) more than the one we had before?  Please share your thoughts!  

 

The Trout are on their way…

It’s that time of year that many fishermen await – it’s trout stocking time in Tennessee!  That is really close to home for Tremont because the state of Tennessee stocks the Little River with trout, usually from the bridge going into Tremont Outdoor Resort.  So, we are up close and personal:)  That’s also a great spot to plunge in with your waders.

The trout stocking schedule shows that the first stocking for the Little River is to be the week of February 26th and then every other week after that until the week of June 17th.  In the past, they have usually stocked in the middle of the week around Wednesday, so we expect that to be the case this year as well, but if we discover that to be different, we’ll update you here.

Coupled with this good news is the unseasonably warm weather we have been having.  The high today is 50 degrees and later in the week we are supposed to get all the way up to 64 degrees!  Even though the weather will be nice and warm for late February and March, the water is still cold, so as a fisherman, you won’t have to worry about hooking any tubers that you would find floating down the river in the summer!  All that said, it is a PERFECT time to get away to the mountains and enjoy this beautiful spring weather we are having a little bit early.

So, give Judi a call at 865-448-6363 to make your reservations and come join us in one of the most beautiful places on Earth!  Can’t you just smell the campfire now?