Chuck Sutherland

Tennessee State Capitol Building The Tennessee State Capitol is a sight to behold, built in the Greek Revival style that was all the rage in the 19th century. It's one of the largest state capitol buildings in the country, and it's made of beautiful limestone that was quarried right here in Tennessee. Look carefully and you can even see Ordovician fossils in the stone! The capitol is home to a number of important historical artifacts, including the original cornerstone and the Speaker's chair that was used by Andrew Jackson. It's a popular tourist destination, and it's open to the public for tours. If you're ever in Nashville, be sure to stop by the Tennessee State Capitol and take a look around. The War Memorial Building The War Memorial Building is a beautiful and historic building that was built in 1925 as a memorial to the Tennessee soldiers who died in World War I. It's located in the heart of downtown Nashville, right across from the Tenn...

If you're looking for my portfolio of what I consider my best photos, please go here . In the beginning of my photography career I identified as an artist and wanted a digital camera to so that I may pursue those creative needs. However, I realized that I lacked a specific subject matter, and without direction, this hobby would be short-lived. Fortunately, I discovered some inspiring photographers and began to replicate their work. Over the years, it has been an enjoyable journey documenting nature primarily in the Upper Cumberland region of Tennessee. Recently, I decided to extract some statistics and graphs from my published work on Flickr to identify potential trends. I am sharing this information not to boast, but to illustrate the creation of a dynamic dashboard using Google Sheets. The data is actively obtained from Flickr, analyzed, and transformed into multiple graphs and raw data. For this analysis, Albums relate to specific dated events, for example, 2021/08/08 ...

I have been taking my interested in photography seriously for the past 15 years, during which I have shared approximately 13,000 photos online , and captured at least ten times more (excluding time-lapse videos ). I have invested significant effort into organizing and describing my extensive collection, with a focus on photographing a region of the country that has largely been overlooked by previous generations of photographers. I specialize in capturing landscapes that feature various natural elements, including caves, waterfalls, natural arches, rivers, and other natural features, as well as historical and prehistoric cultural sites.. My objective is not to become an influencer, but rather to earn respect in the field of photography, use it to make the world a better place, and if I am very fortunate, earn enough revenue to support my hobby. From this journey, I have learned a few lessons that may be beneficial for individuals embarking on their own photography career. Some of m...

This time of year I get excited for the emergence of native wildflowers. I enjoy using iNaturalist to aid in documenting what I find, and I especially enjoy the technical aspects of macro photography (which I am admittedly not really great at). Here are a few photos that I've taken in the last few weeks that I thought others may enjoy.

For the purpose of this blog post I will be treating Standing Stone State Park and Standing Stone State Forest as a single entity. However, they are distinct, and are managed by different entities with different objectives. Both the State Park and State Forest are located entirely within Overton County, Tennessee about 10 miles northwest of the city of Livingston. Fullscreen map. Standing Stone State Park Standing Stone State Park is approximately 1000 acres surrounding Standing Stone Lake. It is itself surrounded by 8000 acres of State Forest of the same name. The park is a celebration of the efforts of the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC). The large earthwork dam is made of hewn sandstone. Being a State Park, this area is managed for recreation. Camping there is popular at their rustic cabins. Most people come for hiking trails, fishing, and for paddle boats or kayaking on the small lake. Standing Stone State Forest There seems to be a degree of confusion as to the mea...

Geography Window Cliffs State Natural Area is located on the Eastern Highland Rim of Tennessee . It is a few miles south of Cookeville, and within Putnam County. It is within the Upper Cumberland region of Tennessee, and within Middle Tennessee. Cane Creek flows through the designated natural area before its confluence with the Falling Water River at Center Hill Lake. Botany In the valley alongside Cane Creek one can find abundant flowering patches of phacelia, phlox, and trilliums. Along the rocky ledges and cliffs watch for bright red flowers of columbine. In a few places you'll also see usnea clinging to dead trees and be reminded of Spanish moss. Geology Cliffs of Fort Payne Limestone atop steep slopes of Chattanooga Shale are the obvious geology throughout the park. The base of the valleys is Catheys-Leipers Limestone, but doesn't play a large roll in the story that one sees at the Window Cliffs. In the above recreation of a map made by Hugh Mill...

Photo credit Annabelle Dempsey City Lake is an artificial impoundment located near Cookeville's Eastlake subdivision. It is within property managed by the city of Cookeville as a park, named City Lake Natural Area . While the history of City Lake in Cookeville is fascinating , I could never cover it as well as Jennie Ivey has. I will simply leave you with a brief explanation of the local geology. The karst spring which feeds the waterfall is formed at the contact of the St. Louis and Warsaw Limestones ( more about those types of waterfalls here ). It is a type of geologic contact based waterfall that is seen throughout the region. Other places include Milligan Road spring, Piper Falls, High Hope Falls, and Peters Falls (all in White County, Tennessee). The reason for this is due to an abundance of chert acting as an aquatard either in the lower portion of the St. Louis, or upper portion of the Warsaw Limestone. This prevents water from moving vertically and forces its latera...

Throughout a caver's career, certain caves stand out as important, or defining to them. Unnamed Cave 61 is the cave that stands out for me (the cave does have a name, but in the convention of archaeological sites, we do not share its name). I was present when the discovery of its prehistoric art was first made. I initially brought cavers there on a lead by a neighbor. We believed that we were the first to have documented the cave, but later learned that it had been previously described, but the location was wrong. I corrected the error and merged the records within the Tennessee Cave Survey dataset. This cave I have come to think of as "mine" though I in no way own or have any particular claim to it. All that serves to preface my walkthrough of the cave, and its amazing contents. In this first image of the panel, one can see it naturally. It was photographed with painted light from a headlamp by a tripod mounted camera at close...