Dogwood in Smoky Mountains

Dogwood, October 23, 2005
I found this dogwood along the Little River Road near the trail head to Laurel Falls. I wanted a little more light on the subject, but there were lots of clouds in the sky as well as shadows from trees uphill toward the east. For a few weeks now, I have wanted to capture the dogwood's bright red leaf color, as well as its bright red berries. Finally, this situation presented itself, not as an ideal opportunity but still one that was worth a try.
As with most shots I found that day, I was using my 200 mm micro lens. I did not need its micro (i.e. macro) capabilities, but I used the lens anyway because it is so sharp. This lens would not have allowed me to catch the landscape with the moon (see below), which I found at the same location, but it did allow me to really narrow things down and focus on one small aspect of the scene. Also, I used a polarizer to cut the glare off the surface of the leaves and to bring out the warm red color.