Before I arrived in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, I anticipated mountains, forests, waterfalls, wildlife and other natural beauty — of which there were plenty. What I didn’t quite expect was the extent to which history has been preserved in the park. According to the National Park Service, the park holds one of the best collections of log buildings in the eastern United States, with over 90 historic structures having been preserved or rehabilitated in the park.

Here are just a few photos of the structures we encountered. For the first few photos of the Cades Cove Primitive Baptist Church, I combined multiple exposures using HDR (High Dynamic Range Imaging) to create images with more detail, lending to a more dramatic effect. Using HDR is relatively new for me – what do you think?

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