Kelli Thompson: America’s Park, Our Backyard

June 6 – July 3, 2025
Kelli Thompson: America’s Park, Our Backyard
Opening reception: Friday, June 6, 5:00-9:00 PM
Gallery hours: Mon-Fri 9-5; closed Thu Jun 19 and Fri Jul 4 for the holidays. Additional hours: Sat Jun 21, 10 AM – 2 PM (Make Music Knoxville).

Kelli Thompson loves to capture nature, whether it is water, wildflowers, landscapes, or wildlife, and there is no better place in America to do that than the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, known as the Wildflower Park of America with good reason. Thompson follows the blooming cycle of her favorite trails such as Cove Hardwood Trail, Schoolhouse Gap, Chestnut Top, or Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail capturing the diverse range of spring ephemerals that bloom in waves. GSMNP offers opportunities to capture landscape vistas and various historical structures found throughout, and at various times of the year, photographers can also capture wildlife, particularly bears and elk. Bears emerge in the spring in places such as Cades Cove, and elk are predominant in the Oconaluftee River Valley near the visitor’s center as well as in Cataloochee. It takes dedication to plan adventures at the optimum times to capture flowers or wildlife. Through these photographs, Thompson represents some of her favorites ranging from historical structures to a variety of wildlife and wildflower photos.

Kelli Thompson received her first SLR camera as a high school graduation gift from her grandparents and quickly developed a love of film photography. Through college, law school, and her career as a lawyer, she has photographed a wide variety of subjects. As film photography gave way to digital photography, she followed her passion to capture the beauty of nature. Her biggest inspirations through the years include Senator Howard Baker and Mandy Lea. Her primary subjects are streams, waterfalls and lakes, as well as wildflowers and birds (particularly the American Bald Eagle). She has also photographed a wide variety of subjects from University of Tennessee football to NASCAR races. Her favorite places to photograph are where diversity of life is found: state and national parks, as well as the Clinch and Tennessee River systems. Thompson’s work has been exhibited in Arts in the Airport in Knoxville, the Southern Appalachian Nature Photographers Salon and the Arts & Culture Alliance’s National Juried Exhibitions and Knoxville Photo Exhibitions, including Best of Show in 2021. For more information, visit www.kellithompson.smugmug.com, Instagram @kellithompsonphotography, or Facebook at Kelli Thompson Photography.