Springtime in the Smokies: A Week That Changed Everything

Written by Heather Earl, 2026 Tremont Springtime in the Smokies Photography Workshop participant. Cover image by Steve Zigler, workshop instructor.

There’s a particular kind of quiet that exists just before dawn in the Great Smoky Mountains. Not silence, because the mountains are never truly silent, but a held-breath stillness, the kind that makes you slow down and actually feel and truly see. I found that quiet at the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont, and I haven’t quite let it go.  I came to Tremont for the Springtime in the Smokies photography workshop, and I left with SO much more than better images.

The Place
Tremont sits tucked into Walker Valley along the Middle Prong of the Little River, surrounded by old- and second-growth forest and the kind of light and sights photographers dream about. Spring is extraordinary with wildflowers carpeting the forest floor, waterfalls full from April rains, new leaves filtering the sun into something soft and golden and magical, and butterflies drifting through it all like nature’s confetti. Every morning felt like the mountains were offering something new and all we had to do was show up with open eyes (which is easier said than done with wheels up at 5:15 AM, but I promise the early wake-up calls are well worth it!)

The Honest Part
I’ll admit something: I almost talked myself out of going. Not because of the photography or the beauty of the Smokies — that part I was SO ready for. It was the people part that gave me pause. I’m an introvert by nature, and the idea of spending several days living and working alongside strangers 24/7 — sharing meals and sleeping space, sharing field time, driving around the park together for hours on end, sharing creative space — it felt like a lot. I worried I’d be drained by the end of day one and counting the hours until I could be alone again with my camera and my thoughts.

Boy, I could not have been more wrong! It didn’t hurt that my stepmother regaled me with stories about how she brought her 5th-grade students to Tremont decades ago and the experiences she had then have remained with her for a lifetime. (She is now in her 80’s).  I think she may have been almost more excited than I was when I told her I had signed up for the workshop!

The Instructors and Staff
I’ve taken workshops before, but something was different here. Steve, Tom, Rich, Sue, Dan, and special guest Bill Lea didn’t just teach technique and how to use equipment (though I needed and appreciated that) — they taught seeing, feeling, and storytelling. They gave me a friendly, gentle yet quite firm shove right outside my comfort zone, but that is where growth occurs!  They asked questions that made me slow down and reconsider what I thought I already knew. Why this frame and not that one? What drew your eye here? What story are you trying to tell? There were so many moments when their feedback landed and something genuinely shifted — the kind of shift you can’t quite explain but can feel in how you hold the camera and process and feel about the images you created afterward. I came in confident in my work as a wildlife photographer and a novice at landscape photography. I left humbled in the best possible way, with a longer creative horizon ahead of me than I’d had before.

None of it would have flowed so beautifully without the Tremont staff — Kathleen, Mattie, and the rest of the Tremont team made the whole experience feel warm, welcoming, and effortlessly organized from the moment we arrived. It was the kind of behind-the-scenes care that you feel even when you can’t quite put your finger on it.

The People
I didn’t expect the friendships, but then, I rarely do — that’s an introvert’s blind spot. There’s something about rising long before dawn together, scrambling down to waterfalls chasing the same light, and sharing a meal after a long day in the field that creates a kind of bond that happens fast and runs deep. These were photographers from different places and different backgrounds, united by the same quiet obsession. By the end of the weekend, these folks felt like people I’d known for years. The strangers I’d been nervous about were some of the most genuinely warm and inspiring humans I’ve met in a very long time. That sense of community and of being truly understood by people who speak your language is something I’ll carry long after I am done editing my workshop images. “Finding Your People” is truly special and not something to be taken for granted.

What I Took Home
This trip was made possible for me by a grant from the Women’s Photography Circle. I am so grateful they believed I was worth investing in. I felt that responsibility in the field every day: to pay attention and learn, to grow and hone my craft, and to bring something back worth sharing.

What I’m bringing back: a deeper patience; a willingness to wait for the light instead of forcing it; a reminder that the best images often come not from technical mastery alone, but from genuine presence. I also took home some recommendations for inexpensive additions to my photography kit to help me harness the light and better capture what I see in my mind’s eye to share with the world (read: cool photo gadgetry and book shopping!).

If you’ve ever thought about investing in an immersive photography workshop, I can’t recommend Tremont Institute enough — not just for the skills, but for the reset and for the reminder of why you picked up a camera in the first place. If you’re an introvert who’s on the fence? Go anyway. You might just surprise yourself!

I came home as a better photographer and (more importantly) with a full heart. I’ve already signed up for the Autumn Brilliance in the Smokies workshop because some places don’t let you go so easily, which feels like the best way to describe my experience at the Springtime in the Smokies Photography Workshop.

Group photo by Steve Zigler.

About Heather
Heather Earl is a Florida-based nature and wildlife photographer who strives to merge artistry with advocacy. From childhood, Heather has been inspired by the unfiltered beauty of the natural world, and her photography reflects both its aesthetic wonder and the urgent need to protect it. Beyond the frame, she engages in education and hands-on conservation driven by a lifelong commitment to safeguarding the planet’s ecosystems. Through her lens, Heather invites audiences to experience the beauty of nature and join in preserving it for generations to come. By day, Heather leads an exceptional team of safety professionals helping protect the magic at one of the world’s most beloved vacation destinations.

• Instagram: http://instagram.com/heather.earl.photography
• Facebook: http://facebook.com/HeatherEarlPhotography
• Website: www.heatherearlphotography.com
• Email

About Women’s Photography Circle/Florida Women Photographers
Women’s Photography Circle was created by Beth Mancuso with the mission of bringing its more than 15,000 women members together through the love of photography.  There is a “Circle” for each state providing safe communities for female photographers of all skill levels to inspire, connect, create and network through Facebook groups, online learning, in person events and more.  The Florida Women Photographers Circle has 2200+ members from the panhandle to the keys and have held photography meetups in state/county/local parks, botanical gardens, boat excursions, horse farms, animal rescues, wildlife refuges, national monuments, portrait studios, street photography, photography lecture presentations and more.  Heather has led the Florida Circle since 2021 when there were only 30 members.