I arrived home late last night after a 7 hour drive back to Virginia from North Carolina and felt that sleep was somehow a little more important than meeting my normal posting deadline. I didn’t really have much time to shoot but I did manage to pull the camera out for a couple of shots while I was was gone. It was quite cathartic to shoot in the tiny town of Mars Hill because I had spent so many wonderful times there in my youth. Nestled in the hills on the northern edge of the Smokies in the southern Appalachians, Mars Hill is just a tiny speck of a town. This is where my mother grew up and I still have kin scattered throughout the area. It had been about 15 years since I had last visited but like many small towns, little had changed. I can say with some certainty that I won’t wait that long to return.
The Mars Hill exit from the Highway leading to Ashville, NC
The College of Mars Hill is one of the reasons that the town has been able to survive over the years. It is a small but beautiful campus.
Main Street Mars Hill. Little has changed over the years except they now have a traffic lights and there’s a tattoo parlor (must be a college thing).
Like most small towns in this part of the world, the local Baptist church stands out prominently.
The theater on Main St. still stands but has not seen use in many years (yes, it’s an HDR shot).
When it’s time to recreate, you just grab your lawn chair and head out to the local driving range.
Unfortunately the clouds started to roll in as I was heading out of town so I couldn’t get any great shots of the surrounding countryside.
A small church in the valley
The area is dotted with small farms but the urban sprawl from Ashville has started to pop up in the area.
I really wish that I had better weather to shoot in and that I had a better reason to be in the area. During my Grandmother’s service, the pastor said that one of the blessings of a funeral is that it gathers friends and family together who might otherwise not see each other. This was the case for me as I was reacquainted with some distant relatives, but also with this town that holds a special place in my heart.
♦If you are interested in shooting in this part of the world, you should check out the Great American Photography Workshops . They hold a photo workshop every spring in the Smokey Mountains. My buddy Matt Kloskowski was one of the guest instructors last year and I am hopeful to one day get in on that trip and spend some quality camera time in this special location.
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I’m a native North Carolinian (who’s currently living in the midwest). North Carolina is such a beautiful state, especially the western half. Thanks for sharing your pictures.