SEEING THE LIGHT

ISO 100, f/16, 0.6seconds, 10mm

  Normally, when I'm out photographing waterfalls, the shining sun is detrimental to getting a good image of the water. This morning, however, I stumbled upon a scene where the sun made everything magical.
  The biggest part of my morning in Tremont in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was spent trying to keep water from getting on my gear from falling rain and drips off of overhanging branches. I thought I was gonna get to photograph falls all day long from the cloudy skies.
  At about 10:00am though, the sun poked it's head out of the clouds and seemed to ruin my waterfall expectations. I gave up and got in the car and started my way out of Tremont. On my drive out I noticed a huge grouping of butterflies on the ground next to the road and I pulled over to try and capture a photograph.
  When I parked, I happen to notice some fantastic rays of light shining down through the canopy of trees on the Middle Prong of the Little River. With all of the rain that fell, when the sun started shining, it burned off the wet rocks, grass, and trees that were wet from rain. This burning off created a mist and when the sunlight strikes the mist, magic happens.
  I immediately forgot about the butterflies and scurried to find a composition to capture the sun's rays.
  The scene got better as I got closer to the water. Soon working where the rays formed a fan-like formation in the center of the river with the green, moss-covered rocks and trees with golden sunlight and shadows contrasting on them making a wonderful foreground around them.
  I did go back and shoot the butterflies, but they failed in comparison to seeing this light.