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During early November of 2016 while wildfires were raging in western North Carolina and nearby states Paul Rebmann* and I were hiking a section of the Appalachian Trail that crosses that area. Views were often blocked or obscured by smoke. In this photograph, taken at dawn from Standing Indian Mountain and looking more or less to the south it is hard to say if the valleys are filled with fog or smoke and how much of the color in the sky is due to the fires. From this vantage point we could clearly see smoke rising from the Boteler Fire that had burned for days. One month later the nearby resort city of Gatlinburg Tennessee was ravaged by deadly fires. *See Paul�s work at http://paul-rebmann.pixels.com

I have been drawing and taking photographs for as long as I can remember. A lot has changed over the years but the satisfaction I gain from creating a pleasing rendering of a compelling subject has remained the same. My subjects tend to be the things I know well, flora, fauna and scenic views of the southeastern United States, especially from Tennessee where I live. However, no subject I find interesting is off limits. The photographs here are mostly "as shot". Except for focus stacked images there is seldom is anything done to the original image other than tweaking the white balance and some sharpening. A few are cropped or otherwise modified. The drawings are generally subjective views not meant to emulate photographs. Thank you...