The light from my headlamp illuminated the canopy of forest surrounding the deserted path stretching out in front of me. The pitch black darkness beyond was deep and impenetrable, though the sound of rustling leaves and running water testified of an invisible and potentially insidious wilderness living just outside the tunnel through which I was passing.

My headlamp caught two bright eyes staring at me through the thick underbrush. I kept walking, trying to convince myself that the creature to which the eyes belonged was small and harmless. Surely, animals like racoon and opossum were far more numerous than the famed black bear here within the domain of the Smokies. But my comforting thoughts didn’t prevent me from continuously checking to make sure nothing was following me.

When I reached the gate to Loop Road, I paused to catch my breath. It was closed and locked for vehicular traffic until sunrise. But from what a ranger had told me yesterday, the closed gate needn’t stop one from walking in early for sunrise. And that, and golden hour, are what I was after!

Suddenly, a strange cry came floating through the darkness. I instinctively held my breath. What was that?! I waited in the oppressive darkness to see if it would come again. And waited, and waited. And then it came again, a deep-throated greeting from somewhere out in the field in front of me. A sign of relief escaped from my lips. The trail horses were out, grazing in the field. The whinnying of the horses down in the pasture came as a great comfort as now I didn’t feel quite so alone any more!

In the pre-dawn blackness of early morning, with unknown wildlife lurking around me, I decided to hang out next to the horses for a while. At least until the sky started to turn blue.

A new sound greeted my ears, the sound of whirling wheels on pavement. In a moment, a bicyclist equipped with a bright flashlight came by. A new sense of relief washed over me. I wasn’t the only human out on the road this morning! As he passed by, I felt safe enough to start down the road again to get to my sunrise location.

Four Chances To Photograph The Edge of Light

Julianna and I were on our first real camping vacation as a little family. We had actually set aside time in our schedule specifically for landscape photography in a celebratedly scenic location. And while we were here at Cades Cove, I had four chances for photographing the edge of light.

We had missed our first chance by arriving late at Cades Cove.

On my second chance, there had been a nice sunrise, but no golden hour.

The third chance had been enjoyable, spending time together driving the 11 mile Loop Road….

We stopped to take lots of pictures, but again, no golden hour presented itself and there was nothing spectacular for sunset.

So now, here in the eerie darkness of predawn, I was on my fourth and final chance! Though the forecast showed rain, clouds, and overcast skies this morning, I wouldn’t let that stop me from going out and at least being ready for a sunrise or golden hour if either of them decided to show up.

Twilight was quickly progressing on now, but a new sound of a pitter-pattering on the leaves above me signaled the coming of rain. I quickly tucked my camera under my rain jacket and my heart started to sink. Was there even any point of continuing on?

And that’s when I heard what sounded like a branch snap a little farther down the road. My headlamp illuminated another two bright eyes in the underbrush maybe 50 feet in front of me. It was light enough this time that I couldn’t convince myself of anything but reality. A black bear was watching me from it’s little hideout right beside the road.

I stopped where I was, unsure of what to do. The rain was coming down harder now. Perhaps I should just turn around….

In the same moment, I heard the familiar whirling of wheels behind me. I flagged down the approaching bicyclist and asked what he would do. “Well,” he said, “the bear around here are very docile. They see hundreds of people every day. Do what feels safe to you, but if I was on foot, I would keep going.” And then he biked on past the bear as if it didn’t exist.

Well, that gave me the confidence I needed to keep going. More bicyclists came around the corner and I jumped in behind them, walking quickly to keep at the tail of their little group. To my relief, the bear just sat there and we all passed by without him giving even so much as a growl.

I finished my walk uneventfully and by the time I reached my sunrise location on Sparks Lane, the rain had tapered off and actually stopped!

Making The Most of A Disappointing Situation

Without a sunrise, though, and no potential of a golden hour, I decided I would head up to John Oliver’s Place, a historic log cabin set back from the road and tucked among some trees. It might make a good subject now that I knew I didn’t have the best lighting to work with.

As I was photographing the cabin, I noticed a glow in the tree tops. Could it be? Were the clouds breaking? I started walking back out toward the open fields. Sure enough, the sun was coming out!

Unexpectedly, golden hour had come. The fourth and final chance shone through.

Julianna came and picked me up in the van and we finished our final drive around Loop Road, enjoying the beautiful golden light all along the way!

Golden Hour Prevails
Cades Cove, Smokey Mountain National Park, Tennessee
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I put away my camera with a light and thankful heart. Four chances . . . one worked out, despite the forecast. The other three did not. And that is the nature of landscape photography. You just never know what will happen in a day!

When you make time for photos, go out and see what you can find, even if it doesn’t look all that promising ahead of time. Who knows when you might be pleasantly surprised.

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Galatians 6:9.

Over the next few days, as we traveled to our next event, I made sure to set aside a couple more times for taking photos along the way. And you know what we saw? Well, that’s a story for another time. I’ll have to tell you in the next blog post. 🙂