Great Smoky Mountains National Park presents so many photographic opportunities. This was a trip focused on time with family, not photography, but I still found a way to sneak in a few images. We missed nearly all the fall color, but the pops of color still existed across the landscape.

The twists and turns in the road along the valleys of Great Smoky Mountains National Park continually reveal something new. When I saw this tree, I couldn’t help but think it was reaching out to another.

The further I went into the forest the more scenes like this appeared. Early morning sunlight just beginning to touch the moss covered rocks that surround the rivers and creeks in the valleys of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Light moves in different ways in these valleys. I turned the corner and was greeted with this scene at a spot I had scoped out the day before but for a completely different reason. The light just poured around this corner and back lit the trees creating the perfect spring scene in the Smokies!

These ribbons of water slowly but surely leave their mark. The short hike to this iconic waterfall was much needed. But when I got to the location I didn’t find the waterfall all that inspiring on this day. Instead, as tends to be the case, I sought out the smaller details hidden within.