Hello out there, friends.
It has been a tragic couple of weeks. The people and the lands of my home are hurting. Western North Carolina and parts of South Carolina, East Tennessee, North Georgia, and Southwest Virginia have been torn asunder by Hurricane Helene. I happened to be camping up in West Virginia when it moved through the region, and although powerful at times even there, West Virginia was spared the disastrous fallout seen elsewhere in Appalachia. My hometown of Roanoke, Virginia was also mostly spared, but some of my family, my friends, and my associates, along with countless others, have been impacted beyond measure, some entirely displaced and many of them continuing to suffer in the aftermath. Some of the places I treasure most in this world have been changed forever by Helene. The image above is from just a few short weeks ago in the Cataloochee Valley in Great Smoky Mountains National Park - a valley that was apparently hit hard by Helene. It's possible this majestic old black walnut is no longer standing…The Appalachian Trail is devastated in places, as is the Blue Ridge Parkway, the city of Asheville and SO MANY surrounding towns, and it will take many years to realize a full recovery - if it's even possible at all. So things are somber around here right now. If you are in a position to help, I've included a link to the Red Cross below.
I do have a handful of updates for you this month. I've written another installment of my On My Bookshelf series. This time I feature three books, all of which I am currently reading myself. I think these titles are especially relevant for those of you looking for ways to connect with the natural world - from the story of Alexander von Humboldt, the 'Father of Modern Geography' to inspiring photography and musings from my friend Eric Bennett, to the story of a Japanese immigrant photographer who dedicated his life to preserving the Smokies as told by another friend, of mine, these are books that I think you will enjoy and grow from.
Also share-worthy: an upcoming conference that fills a gap in offerings for female landscape and nature photographers, moments of blushing fog in West Virginia, and a new tiny-but-lovely gallery of firefly images from Great Smoky Mountains National Park. More below on all of these topics.
As always, for those of you interested in ebooks, online mentoring, or private workshops, you can find out more about those at these links:
