07/28/2025
Cades Cove Methodist Church, as seen from Rich Mountain, Great Smoky Mountains National Park. 7/24/2025
My friend Dan and I had been wanting to shoot this scene for a while now, and finally got a chance this week. When we got to the overlook, we were disappointed to find there was only one small spot you could stand and see the church through the trees, and that one spot was covered in poison ivy! So, we practically set our tripods on top of one another and avoided the ivy as best as we could. Dan has mastered the art of deep-space nightscapes, but I had a blue-hour twilight scene in mind, so we were still able to walk away with totally different images even though we ended up shooting from the same spot.
This image was created from three different exposures and blended together in Photoshop.
Foreground: 70mm at f/9, 0.4 sec, ISO 640 (captured at the beginning of blue hour)
Church lights: 70mm at f/4, 15 sec, ISO 2500 (illuminated inside by Dan with a flashlight)
Stars: 70mm at f2.8, 6 sec, ISO 5000 (captured at the end of blue hour)
To view my full gallery or purchase prints, please see the link in the comments. Also, be sure to check out the link to Dan's page, too!