Mountain Laurel along Laurel Falls Trail

Here is a large Mountain Laurel bush that I found while walking along Laurel Falls Trail in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park on May 22, 2006. It started off as a rainy day, but by the time I got ready to capture this shot, the cloud cover had thinned. The sunlight was diffused somewhat by the clouds, allowing the scene to be evenly lit. The air was mostly calm, allowing me to capture a rather crisp image of the flowers and limbs. I like the way the branches of this "tree" fill the frame in front of the backdrop of green leaves of nearby trees.