Something powerful about your own photographs – A quick glimpse, it instantly brings all cherished memories from around when it was captured.
Somkies is one amazing place to get one with nature – be it a drive on the rugged back roads, hike by it winding trails or just idly camping by any of its campgrounds. That particular evening, the breeze was chill and the fog was beginning to roll in. It was so pleasant that we wrapped up at the tent and decided to get our for an evening walk. Just as we were heading out, the setting sun was peeping out to bid us a Good Evening. So here is to COVID – until its safe to venture out, (re)living experiences via memories :)
Canon 7D : Canon 10-22 mm : ISO 100 : 22 mm : f8.0 : 0.5 sec
This is not a great shot in technical sense, but the experience was quiet surreal …
I was really lucky : I got to experience the synchronous fireflies at Smokies for two years in a row. For the first year I got the tickets (this was the first year when they introduced the lottery for the viewing). For the second year I was not that lucky – the tickets got sold in minutes, from when it was opened up online.
As I was exploring to see if anyone would share or other alternate options – realized that booking a camp site at Elkmont campground, during the same days – would grant access to the trails. After trying few days, was able to grab a reservation as someone else cancelled. This even had an added advantage – It gets you within a mile of the Elkmont Viewing area. Even more, one could hike up the entire trail to avoid the crowds, much beyond the set area for lottery viewing. Just make sure to carry the campground reservation.
This shot is a composite of 164 shots (22 minutes) and around 8 sec exposure for the foreground. Thanks to the Sony A7S II that I was able to rent. This low light monster was able to capture so much of details even in the faint moon light !
The 70% gibbous moon was not conducive for the fireflies, but that did help light up the nearby stream :)
The hustling stream, chilling breeze, dark of the night, the little bit moon lit forest, walking with my son, by the trail into the Smokies Forest & Fireflies along the path – it was indeed a surreal experience !
Sony A7S II : Sony 28 mm: ISO 12800 : 10 mm : f2.0 : 8.0 sec [164 shots]
Like the Ocean 