Some photographs begin long before the shutter ever clicks.
My journey to capture Sweet Pursuit started at 3:00 a.m., dragging myself out of bed, gathering my camera gear, and heading toward Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains.
I was exhausted. The day before had been packed with photography work for clients, and those dark mountain roads felt a little longer than usual. I stopped more than once for coffee, knowing I had dreamed about this morning for years and wasn't about to turn around.
When I finally reached the Cove, thick fog had swallowed everything.
I could see black bears high in the cherry trees, but the light was terrible. The scene I had imagined was right in front of me, yet I couldn't photograph it the way I wanted.
So I waited.
Slowly, the fog began to lift. Light filtered through the trees, and suddenly the Smokies came alive. The bears began moving from one cherry tree to another, climbing through the branches and filling up on wild cherries.
Then this happened.
One bear stretched toward the fruit, perfectly framed among the leaves and cherries. After years of hoping for this moment, there it was through my viewfinder.
I pressed the shutter.
I call this image Sweet Pursuit because the name belongs to both of us.
The bear was pursuing the sweetness of the cherries.
I was pursuing a photograph I had dreamed about for years.
Sometimes the greatest reward comes after the exhaustion, the darkness, the fog, and the waiting.
