Local Fine Art Photographer of The Smokies has Exhibit at the Art Market in Knoxville

If you spend lots of time in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park or in the surrounding area, you have seen the award winning, local photographer Eric Gebhart at work creating his masterpieces.

From December 7th - December 30th 2012, Eric Gebhart will be one of the featured artists at The Art Market Gallery, 422 South Gay Street, Knoxville, TN. 37902 (1/2 block south of the Mast General Store).

Mr. Gebhart is a nature and landscape photographer from Sevier County who draws much of his inspiration from the Smoky Mountains. He endeavors to initiate the viewer to make a connection with the natural world around them.

Mr. Gebhart is best known for his breathtaking large format panoramic prints of The Smokies. Included in this exhibit will be several 30x60 inch prints and enormous 30x96 inch prints showcasing the vibrant seasonal colors of Southern Appalachia. His images are printed with such fine detail that viewers are drawn into the artwork, feeling as if they are a part of the scene.

These prints reveal Mr. Gebhart's creative talents in composition, as well as his technical expertise. They also elicit powerful emotions from the viewer. One of his clients stated, "I am drawn to Eric's photographs because he enables me to see what I often miss on my own. I see so much more of the world's beauty when I am able to see through his eyes."

There will be an opening reception on Friday, December 7th from 5:00pm - 9:00pm. Mr. Gebhart will be on hand to greet those in attendance and share in their enthusiasm for photography and appreciation of the natural world. Join us for refreshments and live music.

I have had the opportunity to watch Eric at work numerous times and reviewed many of his finished fine art and commercial photographs and would highly recommend that if you are able to, you should attend any of his showings.

More information about Eric Gebhart and the Art Market Gallery:

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Presumably Drowned Woman is Found Alive in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Miraculously the woman who jumped into the Great Smoky Mountains National Parks Little River which was rain swollen presumably to take her life and refused to be rescued by a park ranger, was spotted by a Park Volunteer at 10:45 am crossing the Little River at the Townsend Wye and was in the parking area at the Wye while scores of park rangers, fire department and rescue personnel spent a second day searching for her.

Though 45 year old Carla S. Manzolini of Knoxville Tennessee jumped off a rock when a concerned park ranger approached her due to her odd behavior into the raging river only a few hundred yards from the Metcalf Bottoms parking area where she left her vehicle, she ended up 7 miles downstream.

It is believed that she exited the flooded little River on the north shore at an elevation of 1,675 feet and hiked up to the Roundtop Trail which ranges in the area between 2,300 feet and 2,625 feet. From Little Roundtop she could have hiked east about 1-1/2 miles to Wears Cove Road or West as she did for about 6 miles.

With so many park rangers and local rescue personnel it is easy to see the staggering cost of the rescue operation undertaken to save Carla Manzolini who was transported to Blount Memorial Hospital for evaluation.

Newfound Gap Road, US 441 is in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park now open

The Great Smoky Mountains national parks main road connecting Cherokee North Carolina with Gatlinburg Tennessee is open now that Fridays' rock slide has been cleaned up and official say the road is safe.

Unfortunately while a woman from Florida was taking a photographs of the rockslide on Friday, additional rock fell and stuck her causing her serious enough injuries to require surgery to her back and leg at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville.

After heavy rains or melt it is common to have rock and mud slides in the Smoky Mountains and drivers should always use extreme caution especially when vision is limited at night or due to fog.

Unfortunately the women who was injured did not realize that after slides are common and before approaching an area that just had a rock fall or when a tree has split or partially fallen and is hung up in other trees you should stay clear of the area unless told by a professional that it is safe to approach.

Freezing rain makes numerous roads in The TN Smokies extremely hazardous

This morning's freezing rain in the eastern Tennessee Smokies has turned numerous roads into virtual skating rinks for cars causing dozens of wrecks.

Most predictions call for the high possibility of freezing rain until 10:00 am or later this morning so travel is strongly advised until late this afternoon.

Freezing rain has caused roadways in Newport, Knoxville and Maryville and throughout the entire region to ice not just bridges and underpasses which high a higher likelihood of icing up during the winter.