Smokey Mountain Sunrise

Smocky Mountain Sunrise

What Makes a Photograph Special??

What makes a photograph special, wow that is a tough question isn’t it. The answer may be different to different people. If you are a fine art photographer who has been classically trained it will be about light and color and subject. If you are someone who loves the out of doors it might be the way the image transports you to a place you have never been before or someplace you have been many times. If you love stories it may be the story that the image tells you or allows you to construct in your own mind. As someone who truly loves photography it is all of these things and even more. At the end of the day however, what makes a great image is simply if you like it. If someone likes an image sometimes it will evoke feelings that the photographer was trying to convey, sometimes though different people will see something the photographer never saw. It is one of the true joys of the still image.


The image in this blog post is one of my favorites of my portfolio. It was taken at sunrise on a lonely road in the Smokey Mountain National Park. 15 minutes before I captured this image there was no fog at all, but just as the sun rose the fog rolled in and well, truly the rest is the story the image tells you.


Bob Lieber – The Artificial Naturalist