The Park is home to approximately 1,600 kinds of flowering plants. In fact, the park is sometimes referred to as the “Wildflower National Park.” During mid to late April many wildflowers are in brilliant displays. What's great about the park being so large and having more than a 4,000 foot elevation range between its highest an lowest point is that you can chase a blooming season starting at lower elevations and warmer southern exposures to the higher elevations and more northern exposures to prolong the duration of peak bloom.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park contains some of the largest tracts of wilderness in the East and is a critical sanctuary for a wide variety of animals. Protected in the park are some 66 species of mammals, over 200 varieties of birds, 50 native fish species, and more than 80 types of reptiles and amphibians.

The reason for the large number of species is attributable to several factors, including vast differences in altitude and temperature and lots of rain (averaging 90 inches per year), the impact of the ice age, and the preservation efforts  by the National Park Service. 

The symbol of the Smokies, the American Black Bear, is perhaps the most famous resident of the park. The Park provides the largest protected bear habitat in the East. Though populations are variable, biologists estimate approximately 1,500 bears live in the park, a density of approximately two bears per square mile.

This tour will greatly enhance your skill as a photographer. We will be doing a lot of landscape, wildlife, and macro photography. We also have a conference room reserved for additional critique sessions and lessons. We will cover several subject including exposure, depth of field, histograms, shutter speed, filters, macro, wildlife photography, digital darkroom, Photoshop, and lightroom.

Our itinerary will be planned around recent wildlife activity and weather conditions. We will take advantage of the lighting and the unique opportunities. Our goal is to capture the best images we can during our tour. Each day we will be starting before dawn and ending after sunset. However, we typically will take a mid day break to rest and recuperate. This is also a good time to go over some more techniques and do photo critiques. The tour is based in Townsend, TN  which is centrally located to many of the parks best photo locations.