April 20, 2007 - Laurel Falls, Great Smoky Mountains

Canon 5D, 24 - 105 mm F/4L IS @ 24 mm, f/16, 1/3 sec., ISO 100

We last visited Laurel Falls about two years ago. It lies at the end of a fairly easy mile and a third walk from the trailhead. It's a beautiful spot and well worth the effort. We returned to this spot on this trip partly because of its beauty and partly because I was never pleased with the images I captured previously. This one is no "classic" either, but that's not why I posted it.

While it looks peaceful enough, the truth is that setting up for this particular shot isn't easy. First, there's very little room to work on a good day (the falls doesn't end here - it continues to drop after passing underneath the trail). On a bad day (translation: there's people everywhere), there's no room at all. People literally stand in the water while someone else takes a snapshot. Or they climb on the rocks or worse, climb down the gorge itself (there are, of course, signs everywhere telling you not to simply because it's dangerous). On this day, there were dozens of people - mostly kids - running around doing silly, dangerous, destructive things. As a photographer, I find that annoying certainly. But it's also very sad. It's sad to watch people abuse what others find dear and are trying to protect. Would they act that way if it was their personal property? Do they view parks as some kind of giant playground, put there for their personal amusement? I wish I knew.........