Fleeting Fall Colors

Every year, I look forward with anticipation to the fall colors. Every year, the colors do not last long enough. That is probably part of the allure. Such fleeting enjoyment adds to the mystique and leaves me grasping at the slightest hints of autumn. In some years, I find the first beautifully colored leaf in June, sometimes in July, very rarely as late as August. Of course, those aren't true fall colors, but leaves that happened to dry up and die prematurely for this reason or that. Still, they help build the anticipation and excitement for the main event to come. 

A yellow tulip poplar leaf spotted while guiding in the Great Smoky Mountains in June. ©2025 David Knapp Photography

This year, we headed up to a favorite hike where we hit the colors just right once upon a time. Ever since, we've tried to replicate that one magical day and apparently, it is harder to do than it seemed the first time. It was a great hike, don't get me wrong, but the colors were past peak on the brightest candidates (maples, etc) and barely even started on others (oaks, etc). 

Fall colors on the Cumberland Plateau. ©2025 David Knapp Photography

More fall colors at Pickett State Park. ©2025 David Knapp Photography

A few days ago, we hit a new to us trail that we've been meaning to hike for a while. It was short enough for the whole family and had the possibility of some nice colors. Turns out that we really enjoyed the hike and will be back, and the colors were good but not great. That seems to be the theme this year.

Hardie Trail at Dog Cove. ©2025 David Knapp Photography

Some of it comes down to lighting. If you see the colors in the right light, they can really pop. Often that means a rainy day. We drove through Fall Creek Falls recently, and found some really nice color. Maybe not the best I've ever seen in Tennessee, but very nice. 

One way loop road at Fall Creek Falls. ©2025 David Knapp Photography

More colors along the loop road. ©2025 David Knapp Photography

Of course, my job gives me a better opportunity than most to enjoy the colors. Just yesterday, I was taking in the colors on the Clinch while my client battled gorgeous wild rainbow trout. Being a Smokies fly fishing guide is one of my favorite things imaginable, largely because, well, I get to spend a lot of time in the Great Smoky Mountains. Every October, I book an inordinate number of trips up there. While my work as a fly fishing guide has really morphed into more of a float guide, I still do a decent number of wade trips. I go where the trips book and, while more or less booked as much as I want, still can't get too picky on where those trips book. I feel fortunate to spend the highest percentage of any month in the Smokies during color season. Some years are better than others, but every year provides its own magical moments.

Far upper Little River fall colors in the Smokies. ©2025 David Knapp Photography

Fall colors on the West Prong Little Pigeon near Gatlinburg. ©2025 David Knapp Photography

Now, as we morph into the winter months, I'm looking forward to a lot more hiking than I get accomplished in the warmer months and a little more personal fishing as well. Still, if I could stretch the fall season out a little longer, I'd do it in a heartbeat, especially if I could preserve those gorgeous fall colors a little longer. 

Fall colors on Black Mountain along the Cumberland Trail. ©2025 David Knapp Photography

Dull and Bright: Thinking About Color and Light in Your Scenic Shots

As a followup to my last short photography piece on light and dark in your fish pictures, here is another quick photography tip to help you think more broadly about framing your pictures. This will apply whether you are shooting quick cellphone pictures or taking more time with some quality camera gear. No matter what you are shooting with, you should always consider your subject, framing, and the light. In these particular examples, I was just snapping quick pictures with my cellphone while out fishing for hiking. 

In this first example, I want to point out something that is so obvious as to be often overlooked. First, let's look at the picture. 

As you can see, the peak fall colors made my job as the photographer easy. This is an unedited picture straight from my cellphone. What really makes this picture work is the golden reflections on the surface of the water. You can see more pictures from this day from my friend and client Simone Lipscomb via her blog post about it. It was an incredible day with the mountains showing off in their fall finest. 

Still, a couple of small details bring this picture together. In addition to the aforementioned golden reflections on the water, also note I more or less considered the simple and ever popular rule of thirds with Little River disappearing around the next bend about where the intersection of one of those lines of thirds is. The golden light was also crucial. Positioning myself in such a way to see those reflections made this shot much more than it would have been otherwise. If I was on the wrong side of the creek, those reflections would have been nonexistent. 

So, what about when the fall colors are past their peak? How do you draw a picture together when the subject isn't showing off as well? Here is another example to examine. 

In this picture, the one bright burst of gold really sets an otherwise somber scene off. Furthermore, instead of finding the reflections, I framed the picture from an angle that shows the clarity of the low water of autumn in the Great Smoky Mountains. Rocks alongside Little River add texture and pleasing shapes to an already interesting scene while the main subject, the golden leaves, are positioned approximately following the rule of thirds. 

In this last picture, an otherwise drab scene draws your eye in because of the bursts of bright green. These magnolia trees were somehow still green while almost everything else was well past the peak colors. With so much brown and rust around us, these green explosions made me stop and snap a quick picture on my phone. The large rock bluff/outcropping on the left bring another interesting element into the picture as the trail curls off in the distance around the bend. I don't know about you, but looking at this scene makes me want to see what is around the next corner, kind of the same as when I'm looking up a trout stream.

I hope these tips help you take better pictures. All of these were taken with a cellphone, so remember you don't need a fancy camera to take great pictures these days. The fancy camera opens up some further possibilities, especially in post processing, but a cellphone does much better than the first point and shoot camera I took with me on fishing trips back around 2005 or 2006 or so when this blog was just getting started...