At first, rainy or misty days might not seem like the best time for outdoor photography. However, those willing to brave the elements are rewarded with outstanding lighting conditions for a variety of subjects and opportunities for magical 'Smoky Mountain' scenes.

One advantage overcast days have over sunny days is diffused, even light, with nicely saturated colors and shadows eliminated. These are ideal for waterfalls, cascading streams, forest scenes, gorges, and wildflowers. - in fact, many of these are nearly impossible to get a good photograph of if it's bright out. Raindrops and dewdrops can greatly enhance photos of flowers and leaves. Unless fog or low clouds enhance your image, be sure to crop the white sky out of your image, otherwise it will show up as a colorless highlight. You'll want to use a tripod whenever possible, as shutter speeds are likely to be pretty low, and long exposures make for neat flowing water shots.

Spring is a great time for this sort of photography, as rivers, streams and waterfall have volume, wildflowers are up, and forests have fresh new leaves. And of course autumn in New England offers a full range of colors

This photograph of a cascading stream on the Appalachian Trail was taken near the base of Bromley Mountain in the southern Green Mountains of Vermont. The soft, low light allowed for a long exposure and rich color on the newly emerged leaves.

Green Mountain Forest Stream on Appalachian Trail