While the Smoky Mountains are certainly a gorgeous gem of a place, translating the natural beauty to a photo can prove somewhat challenging. The dense forest tends to look too cluttered in photographs, there are few open spaces or grand overlooks such as the ones out west, and where there are big overlook views the sky tends to be filled with a haze of pollution. So what is a photographer to do? We open our eyes and use our imagination, as you have with this photo. It's an odd thing but these type of shots are really everywhere in the Smokys, but yet they aren't obvious to the majority of people who go there. I almost never go there without taking at least a few of these type of shots.
As for this photo, overall I like it, though I do find some of the leaves to be a bit cluttered, more so in the foreground. It would be nice if the leaves had more vibrant color but that just wasn't the case this past year. I was never able to find quite what I was looking for as far as the combination of colorful leaves and moving water last year, but that just means I get to keep looking and learning. Nice job of opening yourself up to the details that nature has to offer us photographers.
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