It was not by accident that I settled myself in one of the foggiest places in the United States, a rural town in Tennessee near the border of Smoky Mountains National Park - I carefully selected the community of Townsend based on a list of criteria, and fogginess was among the most critical of my demands. Strange, you say? Well, I'll admit that most folks are probably inclined to regard fog as an annoyance or even a hazard, but I adore it and simply can't live without it. As a landscape artist, I find that fog works magic in a picture by producing a color harmony, softening edges, enhancing the perception of depth, and selectively hiding and revealing the elements of a scene in compelling and ever-changing ways. But it also wields a certain psychological magic, too - fog is the very essence of mystery in the natural world, and can immediately introduce a sense of drama and intrigue to even the most mundane setting.
Not that Townsend is mundane; to the contrary, the mountainous topography, open fields, groves of trees, and rustic buildings of Tuckaleechee Valley are scenic under any conditions, but appear all the more spectacular when submerged in morning mist. During the spring, summer and fall, fog develops with astonishing regularity nearly every morning in the valley. The neighboring valley of Cades Cove is likewise foggy in the early hours, but lags about 200 years behind Townsend in other regards - as part of Smoky Mountains National Park, Cades Cove is preserved much as it appeared during the days of pioneer settlement. Most of the photos on this page were gathered at either of these two locations.
