Getting Ready for The Great Adventure... Artist in Residency at Great Smoky Mountains National Park

You may ask why I'm leading off this post about heading off to the Smokies with the "Moon Over the Marsh" image photographed at Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in Boynton Beach, Florida. Thanks to this image and the five others below (along with the rest of the application package) for making all the difference in my being selected by the Artist in Residence selection panel.

"The Artist in Residence selection panel really loved your work and appreciated the strong images shared. You were the super scorer on our panel," said Sheridan Roberts, Great Smoky Mountains National Parkwide Volunteer Coordinator when she notified me of my being awarded this prestigious opportunity. 

In two weeks I'm driving up to America's most visited national park, the Great Smoky Mountains. I'll have the opportunity be there for five weeks enjoying the total mystery and wonder of mid- to late-fall, perhaps even an early winter, in this land that stirs my heart and spirit. Hopefully, I'll arrive in time to photograph the Milky Way. Rising to a peak of over 6000 feet, the Smokies encompass over 500,000 acres and 800 miles of hiking trails. Majestic sunrises and sunsets, gurgling mountain streams and waterfalls, stillness of the open forest, morning mist and autumn colors ...I can't wait to see what I capture through my lens. 

Also, I will be presenting three public service programs. One will be for park visitors. Another, I'll be working with students on a day hike and, the last, I'll be presenting to art students and faculty.

I hope you will follow my travels during this special time via Facebook and Instagram.  

Below are the other images that helped make this dream come true. P.S. If you haven't yet, you may want to read the blog from June 7 for more on this lifetime dream.

Thanks for reading!
Follow the Light!
~Phoenix

Pictured: Top - Moon Over the Marsh; Above, L to R, Top to Bottomw - Light in the Forest, Tree & Stream, Milky Way Over the Rockies; Row 2, L to R -Yosemite Daybreak, Early Morning Fog