“Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh . . .” —Ecclesiastes 11:9-10a

Rain poured down in torrential waves as we made our way through the Smoky Mountains.

As described in a previous post, we had gotten up insanely early—long before dawn—to make the most of our time photographing at the high-elevation overlooks before the storm. But now the rain was coming down so hard that even the most dedicated among us didn’t feel like stepping out of the car for a photo.

Until we rounded a bend and saw something we simply could not resist!

A small group of elk, unique to this area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, were grazing peacefully in a meadow not far from the road. Suddenly, the rain didn’t feel quite so threatening. We pulled over, popped open the back hatch, and huddled underneath with our telephoto lenses.

Sadly, the elk were not in a mood for doing anything interesting. And there was nothing we could do about it. So we moved on to our next destination: a picturesque, little farm spread across a valley, framed by beautiful mountains.

When we got there, the rain showed no sign of letting up. But I was still going to try to get a photo here.

Sitting in the car next to a flooded strawberry field, I studied the scene, thought through my composition, and made a plan of action.

I put on my rain jacket, got out of the car, opened the back hatch to retrieve my camera, tucked it under my jacket, and stepped out in the rain to the place I thought would make the most dynamic shot. I reviewed and reshot the scene a couple of times before my camera and I were thoroughly drenched.

I went back under the hatch, dried off my camera, took off my rain jacket, and jumped back in the drivers seat. What I got was what I got. 🙂

There was no point in trying to take more photos. So we headed back to our workshop meeting location to dry out and eat some lunch.

Right before we arrived, though, we passed this picturesque view right as the rain was letting up a bit. So naturally, I stopped, and we all got out to capture the scene.

I think the mist in the background is what makes these photos work. And interestingly, the trailers and old cars in the foreground contributed to a nostalgic, good-old-days, country vibe.

Over lunch, I tried to figure out what the rest of our EXPLORE Springtime in the Smokies day would look like. I’d never been rained out on a workshop before. Should we attempt a hike with photographers holding umbrellas for each other? Should we switch to macro photography in the backyard?

Well, God soon answered my questions. By the time we were finished eating, downloading photos, and recounting stories from our morning adventures, the rain had stopped and some sunlight was actually starting to poke through clouds. Steam was rising off the pavement driveway. It was time to get back out and take some photos till the next storm came through!

Just down the mountain was a picturesque little waterfall that we took our time exploring and photographing.

And just up from there was a picturesque bridge and another waterfall.

I had never been so grateful for an afternoon without rain!

While the weather held, we decided to check out some more overlooks, this time on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Who knows what the rest of the afternoon would be like. Would it start raining again, like was forecasted? Or would there be a supernatural break in the clouds, right at the perfect time?

The only way to know was to get out there and find out!

For most of the rest of the day, it rained off an on. And the Parkway truly is pretty in the fog that the rain brings!

We stopped at Sherrill Cove Tunnel to do some composition experiments. As much as I prefer not to test the limits of my camera’s weather sealing, sometimes it’s the only way to get the shot. And since we were nearing the end of the day, we didn’t mind that our shoes and jackets were getting pretty wet.

Around sunset, the clouds still clung close to the tops of the Smoky Mountains. Driving up in elevation enough to find sweeping views simply took us right up into the clouds. So we drove back down to get under the clouds and find the best overlook we could for sunset.

But this was the best I could capture before a blanket of white filled the valley and it started raining again. The forecasted storm had arrived, so with no hope of seeing anything for sunset, we headed back home.

And yet, we had enjoyed our adventure-filled day in the Smoky Mountains!

We were enjoying the days of our youth. Despite the difficulties and inconveniences that the rain had brought, we were still pursuing our love for photography; we were walking in the ways of our heart. We had set aside a whole day for photography, so what we decided to do, we did! If a spot looked promising, we checked it out. If a composition looked good, we took it. “Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth.”

And yet in this freedom of doing whatever our youthful minds contrived, temperance was “added” to the knowledge that influenced our decisions. As a group, we all believed that one day God would bring everything we did into judgment. Photographing elk from a distance in the rain is a unique experience, but it would have been foolish if we had started to approach the animals for better shots. Capturing the mist rolling over a flooded strawberry field in a downpour is only as foolish as one disregards the warning of thunder and lightning flashes. Photographing waterfalls is a fun pastime, as long as one obeys the warning signs placed around for our own good.

Regardless of what the activity is, the desperately wicked nature of man can turn anything into something foolish. That’s why God tells us that He will bring all things into judgment. So, let us take heed to the Scriptures by holding to a belief system that puts away evil from the flesh while we go about removing sorrow from our hearts in all our photographic activities.