Theme - Elk of Smoky Mts National Park

[Mark Fuge]

This image was taken near the south entrance of SMNP. Elk have recently been reintroduced into the park and this is one of the herds resting in the woods. As with other national parks, their presence will be easy to spot, with the large traffic jams that form wherever they are sighted. Luckily, the park was not fully attended when we were there, so the traffic was not that bad, but we were aided in noting them by the 8-10 cars that had stopped there.

Processing was done in Photoshop and Topaz and included; Photoshop Oil Paint, Topaz Lens Effects, and LE Watercolor.

[Nancy Bell]

Mark, I probably would not have noticed the elk if you did not bring attention to them. I can make out 4. They are very well camouflaged within the trees. I like the composition with the horizontal look of the green and brown layers overlaid with the vertical elements of the tree trunks and grasses. Nice earthy colors.

[Anita Bower]

This is a lovely scene and I like the processing a lot. The greens and browns are beautiful. I especially like how the green of the grass is picked up by the leaves on the trees. The elk vanish into the scene. If you hadn't mentioned them, I would not have noticed.

[Mark Fuge]

Thanks Nancy and Anita for viewing and comments. Appreciate it.

There are six of the 11 elk in this herd in the scene. This is how you see them in the woods, if you see them at all. The front ones may not be that visible normally, but they probably are getting more use to man now and the protections of the park, so they are more open to being on the edge of the woods.