Tag Photography

Call of the Elk in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park of North Carolina

@carriehanrahanphotography 1 Comment

As fall approaches, magical things happen from the Cataloochee Valley to the Oconaluftee  Visitor’s Center in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park of North Carolina. While the warm summer days begin to have a gentle coolness and the greens of the forest change to a stunning lush red, yellow and orange, the most incredible wildlife ritual begins. If you have never experienced the Elk mating season, called rut, it is worth every effort to get up in the dark, drive a remote gravel road and venture into the Cataloochee Valley of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and then by dusk make your way through Maggie Valley to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center near Cherokee to continue viewing this amazing spectacle.

Among the incredible beauty of the 6000-foot peaks that surround the Cataloochee Valley bull elk fight for dominance and leadership of the herd. While a hazy mist settles in the early dawn light, you hear a rustling, a snort and a shadow emerges followed by a hauntingly beautiful, eerie bugle. You notice more shadows on the valley floor and become captivated by the delicate dance between the cows and the bull elk as he tries to attract a female.

He sends a mesmerizing call as he follows a cow through the deep grass, but becomes distracted as another bull enters the meadow and slowly approaches to see if he can make the heard his own. The two eye each other from a distance and then the young male charges toward the older bull to chase him off. Determined to seek dominance, the older bull stands his ground while the other snorts and charges toward him again, after a brief moment, he decides to walk away and leave fighting for the herd to another day. This pattern occurs many times during the fall months and at times can become quite intense as the elk fight antler to antler for dominance. The elk courtship continues and when the bull has eventually mated with his harem they retreat to the woods for the winter. 

The elk herd was reintroduced to the park in 2001 and live mainly in a valley that was once home to 1200 people in the 19th century. Taking the time to explore the valley floor is like stepping back in time as you walk through their homes, farms, churches and schools. There are also trails that lead through the lush forest, past creeks and to even more remote properties. Amazing history lies in the Cataloochee Valley and is worth a day of exploration.

Fall season engulfs the white Palmer Chapel in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Caldwell Place is nestled in the forest of the Cataloochee Valley, North Carolina.

If you haven’t spent the whole day in the valley or have stayed overnight, head out of the valley toward Maggie Valley and then continue for a stunning drive to the Oconaluftee Visitor’s Center, near Cherokee, NC, to arrive just before dusk to experience another herd of elk as the love affair continues. The visitors center offers a much different experience for viewing as a gateway entrance into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Many people here will stop roadside for viewing as they block off one lane for vehicles, while others will park at the visitors center to view the field nearby. The most incredible moment of my day occurred as I walked the River Trail and watched the elk as they drank and lounged on the opposite river banks.

Bull elk bugling during rut season in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park,
Brilliant fall colors surround the river that runs near the Oconaluftee Visitor Center
Making eye contact from a distance added to the magic of the day!

These majestic animals appeared so serene as they stayed just out of distance of the visitors and enjoyed their National Park. Elk viewing can be a once in a lifetime experience that shouldn’t be missed and will be remembered forever.

For more information on the Cataloochee Valley visit the Great Smoky Mountains National Park website at https://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/cataloochee.htm

For more information on the Oconaluftee Visitor’s Center area head to https://www.greatsmokies.com/oconaluftee/

For more information on the Great Smoky Mountains National Park head to https://www.nps.gov/grsm/index.htm

Are you Brave in your Photography Journey?

@carriehanrahanphotography 2 Comments

Are you brave in your photography journey? I don’t mean like jumping off a cliff into the ocean brave, but if that’s your thing by all means go for it. “Brave,” as defined by Merriam-Webster, is having or showing mental or moral strength to face danger, fear, or difficulty: having or showing courage. As a photographer, you are probably brave and don’t realize it. I often find that photographers often have difficulty in one or more aspects of their photography journey. This can be anything from choosing gear to camera settings to determining when the light is right and so much more.

I have had many roadblocks over the course of my photography career. I have struggled to learn new equipment when changing from Sony to Fujifilm. Learning how new equipment works is both scary and daunting. I have had many frustrating days trying to understand why my images haven’t turned out how I wanted, and I learned that it was crucial that I take the time to dive in and really understand my camera. Every day is a new challenge, but I have faced it head on and have found the challenge to be fun.

Being brave can also mean trying something over and over again until you get the image you want. I love flower and bird photography, but admit that I struggle with getting the right focus, lighting and composition in my images. I decided to invest my time and money in a KelbyOne subscription (https://kelbyone.com/) and took courses on bird photography. I knew that without some training I would just continue to take subpar photos and be frustrated, so I decided to be brave and invest in myself and keep trying over and over again to become a better photographer. By the way, I have no affiliation with KelbyOne, but have learned so much through the website that I just needed to share it.

You can be brave in so many areas of your photography. Choosing what to shoot is always a challenge for me since I really love to take pictures of everything. My head is always spinning around when I’m hiking in nature or driving in a city. Everything to me looks like a picture that needs to be taken. Being ok with taking pictures that you love, but others may not is definitely being brave. As someone who sells their work I am always thinking about what my customer may like, but that doesn’t stop me from also taking images that speak to me. I am always hoping that there is someone out there that enjoys all the unique and quirky images that I create.

Working outside of your comfort zone or even your zip code can be a scary concept for many people. I feel brave every time I decide to travel to a new place or in a new way to create my images. I recently chose to travel to St. Kitts and it was the best experience ever. I was able to see incredible scenery, meet wonderful people and experience a part of the world that I hadn’t seen before. This has sparked a new desire to see more of what is in the United States. To embark on this journey, I have decided to take multi-week journeys to different areas while camping along the way. While this could be scary and intimidating, I chose to be brave and jump right in to explore and create incredible images along the way.

So, are you brave in your photography journey? If you have had the mental or moral strength to face danger, fear or difficulty while learning and pursuing your craft you are in fact brave. Be proud of what you do and celebrate the warrior in you! Please share your times of being brave in your photography journey and help keep us all inspired.

What’s my photography genre and do I really need one?

@carriehanrahanphotography 4 Comments

I recently had the opportunity to photograph two different genres outside of my comfort zone, a baseball game and bicycle parts. I certainly don’t believe these to be a part of my regular shooting style since I consider myself to be a landscape, travel and wildlife photographer. I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed taking a chance and seeing what I was capable of with these new assignments.

I have a problem though, I really enjoy shooting all kinds of different things. Is that an issue for a photographer? It sure can be when I try to market my professional work and it covers so many genres. I struggle to niche down to just one or a few areas to sell. You can’t shoot a little bit of everything and still be a professional, right? Most people would say no, but I’m not so sure. On my journey into making photography my life, I find myself struggling over and over again with “what’s my photography genre and do I really need one?” Should I have a particular subject type that I am known to photograph and if I don’t will I get lost among all the other photographers out there?

From research I have done on this topic, I have come to believe that having a niche as a photographer is important for promoting your work. If you want to monetize photography then it helps to be known as a specialist in a certain genre of work. A hobbyist has the luxury of shooting all the things they enjoy and have a great time doing it. As a professional be sure to narrow down your niche to something that you love, not just because it will sell. If that’s the case, then you may find yourself not enjoying your work in a year or two. If you really can’t narrow it down, then start researching different avenues to sell your work. You are able to have multiple niches if you are using them in different ways.

To solve my problem I have started to stretch myself beyond fine art photography to find uses for the large variety of images that I like to create. There are a number of markets that if you are willing to put in the time and effort may be worth your while. Over the past couple of years I have been putting images on stock photography websites https://stock.adobe.com/contributor/209346323/Carrie. While these may not be big income sources, it has given me a place to market photos that I hope others can use. I supply a large variety of images to https://rvlife.com/magazine and have also started to write for www.rvdestinationsmagazine.com as a travel photographer. While writing isn’t my strong suit, I was willing to put myself out there and give it a try so that I could share pictures of the awesome places I travel to.

So I return to the question I started with, “What’s my photography genre and do I really need one? I know that I can’t stop shooting what I love, which happens to be almost everything. I will continue to photograph different subjects that push my creative mind knowing that I can find different outlets for my work. I will always be a fine art photographer first, but am thrilled to have found other ways to use my photos. I am happy with my working plan for now and can’t wait to see what the future brings.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject. Please post comments below.