Wednesday – the first full day of the conference. After breakfast, I headed into Cades Cove with a large group of attendees, and Chas Glatzer as our instructor. If you’re wondering what it’s like to go on a field outing that’s part of a photography workshop, this post will give you some idea.
He’s a Canon Explorer of Light. For my non-photographer friends, that means he’s kind of a big deal. While we waited in line at the Cades Cove entrance for the ranger to open the gate, Chas gave us some starting advice.
As we drove into the back half of Cades, we saw three deer chasing each other in a circle through the long grass, and several of our group also saw a bear or two. We stopped for an impromptu field instruction session as the sun rose over the mountains.
We made our way around the front half of the cove, then stopped at the Abrams Falls trailhead to take some pictures and get some instruction around that stream.
Our final stop for the morning was at the Cades Cove visitor center to check out the old mill and surrounding buildings.
After lunch back in Townsend, Chas kicked off the sessions with a two-hour keynote featuring a ton of excellent tips – and fantastic images. Classes continued throughout the day, and we all gathered outside for a fajita dinner under a cloudy sky.
