Smoky Mountains Spring Workshop, April 16-18

On April 16-18, 2010, photographer and Mountain Trail Press founder Jerry Greer and I will be conducting a hands-on photography workshop in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Spring is a fantastic time to get out and spend time in the Smokies. I hope to see you there!

See below for the official release from Jerry's Website:

Springtime in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a wondrous event! The wild mountain streams are flowing at their fullest and beautifully adorned with multitudes of native wildflowers. The diversity of plants in the Smokies is dazzling! Over 1500 species of flowering plants are found in the Park, more than in any other North American National Park. This workshop will focus on the flowers and the landscape that they thrive in. Jerry and Clay will teach professional field techniques for macro, wide angle closeup, microcosm compositions, and flowers as part of the landscape. Both Jerry and Clay work as Conservation and Environmental Photographers, they will discuss photographic opportunities in this field for todays nature photographer.

Tuition is $575. Download the Application

An Excellent Surprise

I spent Saturday a.m. working on wildflower images and testing out some of the techniques that I will be using at my "Wildflowers of the Blue Ridge" workshop which is being held on April 26th at Table Rock State park. I arrived fairly early and had a lot of fun trying out different compositions that might work for my sepia series (see owl on post 'Serendipity). After a period of rain I packed up and left for some shooting at home.

My first good discovery at home was a very large "slimy salamander" (Plethodon glutinosus) which wasn't very interested in having its photo made! So, after a couple of poor attempts I let it return to log that I found it hiding beneath. However, the most exciting discovery was just a couple of feet a way. After I rolled the log back over, I looked up just in time to see a large bird spring from the ground and quickly fly a few feet away only to suddenly disappear in the leaf litter. I knew right away that it was some type of night-jar. I hoped that it was a Chuck-will's widow (Caprimulgus carolinensis) –which I had been dreaming of photographing since moving into our place two years ago– but I couldn't say for certain. I quickly threw on the 300mm lens and 2x teleconverter which were in my bag and slowly moved forward hoping to have a chance at photographing the elusive bird. However, just as I got close to spot it suddenly sprang up again and moved about 10 more feet away. This time, I saw exactly where it landed and was able to make a few nice shots before it moved into some undergrowth. I was also able to confirm its identity as a Chuck-Will's Widow. I cannot tell you how excited I am to have finally made an image of this species. It may not be the most dynamic photograph in my file but it will certainly be one of the most memorable ones for me. What a day!

Clay