Concentration is sometimes hard to come by for artist and high school photography teacher Kyle Petersen. After teaching teenagers all day in San Antonio, Texas, Petersen returns to the lively home he shares with his wife, two kids, and dog. It’s a full life, but his selection as August Artist-in-Residence at Great Smoky Mountains National Park is allowing Petersen a chance to fully immerse himself in his craft.
“It’s been wonderful,” said Petersen, who arrived in the Smokies on July 30. “I’ve done as many hikes as I could squeeze in. Yesterday I did a nine-mile hike with Will Kuhn from Discover Life in America to Gregory Bald, collecting specimens and learning about things we found along the way. I got to photograph some specimens in the park’s collection at the Twin Creeks Science and Education Center, and I’ve tried at least three or four different kinds of photography since I’ve been here. I’ve gotten a good start on all the things I was interested in.”
Petersen will share his experiences and lead visitors in some photographic adventures of their own from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, August 11, at Oconaluftee Visitor Center, and Saturday, August 17, at Sugarlands Visitor Center. In addition to displaying examples of his own photography and being available to answer questions, Petersen will offer visitors the opportunity to make their own cyanotype prints from objects found in the park. In this process, objects are laid in the sun on top of the blue cyanotype paper, and the resulting chemical reaction leaves a white print where the objects have blocked the sun’s rays.
Petersen will also give a presentation on Wednesday, August 14, from 12:45 to 1:10 p.m., at Gatlinburg’s Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts.
The Artist-in-Residence Program, funded by Friends of the Smokies, invites selected artists to spend four to six weeks living inside the park. During that time, they explore the park, create art, collaborate with rangers, and share their work with the public. Artists receive free housing and reimbursement for art materials, with three to five artists typically selected each year. The Smokies’ Artist-in-Residence Program is one of more than 50 such programs at National Park Service sites across the country.
“A lot of conservation needs to start with appreciation and paying attention to the importance of the natural world around us,” said Petersen. “I think photography and art in general can be a good vehicle for that.”
Petersen’s own photographic journey began when he took a darkroom photography class during his senior year of high school. He tried other majors but couldn’t shake his love of the art form, eventually earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in photography. In addition to producing his own fine-art photography, Petersen quickly found he enjoyed teaching as well. He spent nine years teaching at various colleges across the country and is now in his seventh year at the high school level.
“Seeing my images arise in the chemicals in the darkroom was the first bit of magic that caught my attention, and then since then I’ve really enjoyed the different challenges that photography presents,” he said. “There’s always something new to learn, whether that’s a new version of Photoshop or a historical technique that I’ve never heard of before. There’s always new challenges. And that’s a big part of what I love about teaching it as well.”
When the pandemic hit in 2020, Petersen developed a fascination with macrophotography that has persisted in the years since. To fight the frustration of being locked in the house all day, he turned his lens to the tiny scenes and creatures that often go unnoticed in everyday life. Eventually, he fell in love with the opportunity macrophotography affords to showcase the miniature—and that fixation led him to apply for the Artist-in-Residence Program. The more than 20,000 species to have been documented within the park so far include myriad creatures that are both tiny and beautiful.
“We often see a lot of landscape or nature photography that focuses on large and sweeping cinematic panoramas,” he said, “but I enjoy focusing on some of the beautiful, smaller details that maybe we’re walking past but don’t normally spend time looking at.”
Learn more about Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s Artist-in-Residence Program at nps.gov/grsm/getinvolved/artist-in-residence.htm.
The Great Smokies Welcome Center is located on U.S. 321 in Townsend, TN, 2 miles from the west entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Visitors can get information about things to see and do in and around the national park and shop from a wide selection of books, gifts, and other Smokies merchandise. Daily, weekly, and annual parking tags for the national park are also available.
