3 Years Of Mountain Escape! – Smoky Mountain Photographers
Well it’s been a little over 3 years of Mountain Escape! We have been so blessed to grow and add more talented people to our team of Smoky Mountain photographers over the last three years. In fact, we’ve grown so much that I decided to move to the area. We chose Knoxville as our home base for the proximity to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Foothills Parkway and also Downtown Knoxville itself.
As the season is slowing down, I felt the need to explore more and create portraits for fun. I wanted to push the creative side of my brain and I have been so inspired by the way of life here from long ago in these mountains. Appalachian heritage is such a fascination of mine. Aubrey, originally from Nashville seemed to grasp this concept right away. She suggested we head to a state park just east of Knoxville. I was blown away at the view as we stepped down the little walking path that led to the historic home on the property where we ended up doing most of our shoot.
After we left, I looked up the proximity of the park to popular tourist destinations. Since most of our clients are on vacation when they book us, I’m always scouting shoot locations that will give them the best possible session, but also not take half a day to get to. One common question we get is “is there a closer location”. Honestly, the running joke around here is everything is an hour away. We call it “mountain miles”. It’s going to be a bit of a journey but it’s always worth it.
Until next time,
April
Location: Seven Islands State Birding Park
Address: 2809 Kelly Ln, Kodak, TN 37764
Coordinates 35.946°N 83.692°W
History about the park via Wikipedia
“For much of the 20th century, the park’s land was part of a farm operated by the Kelly family, whose name is still attached to the river bend and the park’s main access road, and whose farm house is still standing on the property. Preservationists gradually acquired the land and donated it to the Knox County Parks and Recreation Department. The Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge was created and initially managed by the Parks and Recreation Department and the Seven Islands Foundation, and later by the Legacy Parks Foundation. The refuge became Tennessee’s 56th state park on July 1, 2014. The park’s name refers to a string of small islands and shoals in the adjacent river.”
