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Wataugraphy - Capturing the Wonders of Watauga County
Rachael Salmon’s Wataugraphy
Story by Harley Nefe
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Meet Rachael Salmon
Award-winning photographer Rachael Salmon can be found most Saturdays at the Watauga County Farmer’s Market - one of her favorite places. The frame photo is titled “Sliver of Sunshine.”
Rachael and her sister Rebecca share a close bond and touch base weekly about happenings at the Watauga County Farmer’s Market. Photo by Rachael Salmon
As summer returns to the High Country, there are many events that make their annual appearances – like concert series, theater performances, and art shows. However, there’s one popular place to be on Saturday mornings that’s like no other: the Watauga County Farmers’ Market.
Located at 591 Horn in the West Drive in Boone, the Watauga County Farmers’ Market has been considered the town square of the High Country since 1974. Vendors in the region provide locally made and produced food, art, music, crafts, and more. Visitors can find everything including a variety of meats, eggs, fruits, vegetables, pastries, breads, flowers, plants – the list is endless and ever changing. However, for the past 19 years, one thing has been consistent: Rachael Salmon and her photography.
Rachael can be found smiling and radiating joy every Saturday morning selling prints of her artwork from 8 to 1 p.m., which is one additional hour this year for the farmers’ market.
“I’m hoping that extra hour will be good for all of us,” Salmon said. “I know that community members have come up to me saying they are so thankful for it. People are excited for the extra hour, and I’m definitely excited for it too.”
Rachael is so ecstatic to be at the farmers’ market every weekend that calling out is difficult for her. In all of her years participating, she has only missed a few weekends.
“You know something’s up if I call out,” she explained. “I’ll even get phone calls from people asking if I’m okay or if I’m stuck on the side of the road. That makes me feel good that the moment I’m gone, people are calling just to make sure I’m okay.”
Even after the farmers’ market, Rachael has the weekly routine of calling her older sister, Rebecca Kane, to update her on her day’s adventures.
“She calls me every Saturday when she has the farmers’ market, and she’s always like, ‘Hey!’ And I’m like, ‘Okay, so what happened today?’ and she tells me all about it,” Rebecca said. “This has been going on for years because we are so close, and we talk a lot and discuss how things are going.”
“She loves living in Boone,” Rebecca added. “She absolutely adores the community. To see her not only love the community, but the community love her back – that’s what really makes me feel good. It’s all the support she gets. She tells me when she’s at the farmers’ market, people come up to her and approach her.”
Rachael has definitely left her impact on the vendors and consumers of the market, but even more so, the Boone community has made its mark on her as well.
“I love the farmers’ market,” Salmon described. “I’ve been there 19 years in that parking lot. It doesn’t seem like that time has gone by. The people you meet, the community, the friends, and vendors – it always is a pleasure to be there with them. When you’re having fun, you just keep doing it.”
And Rachael has been doing photography for many years, but just recently, she’s been reaching milestones that she never expected.
“I feel that everything changed for me when I won a grant from the Watauga Arts Council two years ago, which was to upgrade my booth at the farmers’ market,” she said. “The grant provided me with new dis-
Rachael enjoys sharing her passion for photography and nature with patrons who visit the Watauga County Farmers’ Market at Horn in West.
plays, tablecloth covers, barn wood frames, and a vendor canopy tent. I then went on to become the Artist of the Month for four months in the Mazie Jones Gallery at the Jones House in downtown Boone from November 2020 to February 2021. And more recently, my photo ‘Eagle Soaring over Price Lake’ went on to win the Appalachian Mountain Photography Contest in the Blue Ridge Parkway Category this past April.”
These events are experiences that Rachael will never forget, which is actually the reason why she started photography in the first place.
“I’ve been capturing photos for most of my life, and I always thought that I was going to forget important moments,” Salmon said. “Cameras will always capture more details than our memories, which is why I’ve always been drawn to photography.”
“It’s interesting because it was all just a hobby to remember at first, but then I kept going back out and taking more photos,” she continued. “There’s so many things to appreciate, especially up here in Boone! Every day there’s something different. You just have to keep your eyes open and see it evolve and bloom. It’s never ending for me.”
Rachael grew up with her sisters on Vancouver Island, off Canada’s Pacific Coast, as her dad is from New Zealand and her mom is American.
“We’re very happy that we have those memories because the island was so beautiful; I wish I would have had a camera in my hand as a child then,” Salmon said.
She lived on the island for 13 years before her parents divorced, and her mom brought her and her sisters to North Carolina, which she describes as a similar environment as to where she was raised. “It was an easy transition, and that’s probably why I fell in love with this place,” she said. “It felt like home. The moment I came to Boone I will never forget – I could breathe! And I was like, I want to live here! And from that point on, I moved here with my mom and sisters, and I just always stayed. I’m in Boone, my forever home. I have grown up here for the past 30 years. I’m the only person in the family that lives here now.”
Rachael’s mother passed away around 18 years ago from a car accident.
“Our mom – losing her was huge because she was literally our cheerleader,” Rebecca said. “So, it was a huge, devastating loss for all of us. Mom was always very supportive of everything.”
“I love the farmer’s market...I’ve been there 19 years in that parking lot. It doesn’t seem like that time has gone by. The people you meet, the community, the friends, and vendors – it always is a pleasure to be there with them. When you’re having fun, you just keep doing it.” Rachael Salmon
“Blue Ridge Sunrise” by Rachael Salmon
“Goshen Creek” by Rachael Salmon
Rachael said, “My first real camera was an AE-1 Canon that my mom had given me for Christmas months before she passed. So, she actually planted the seed back then of the person I am today.”
Photography – that is Rachael’s calling.
Rachael remembers her first camera being a small point and shoot. She would print a few copies of her photos so that she could give them away to people. This photography hobby would eventually grow into so much more.
“I think all of it comes from trauma I have experienced,” Salmon said. “I’m trying to find a purpose through the pain. So, for me, it’s healing – not just to help other people, but it really is helping myself. As I went through these experiences, and when you step out of your comfort zone, that’s when things start happening on a grander scale. You don’t realize that you’re actually manifesting something bigger than yourself. I’ve always been a deep kind of person because I’ve experienced so much.”
Apart from her parent’s divorce and losing her mom, Rachael has had numerous other experiences that have shaped who she is today.
“My cleft palate was traumatic,” she reflected. “I’ve had over 20 reconstructive surgeries on my face.”
“When she had her surgeries, I would always be there,” Rebecca said. “I helped our mother take care of her because I was eight years older. Her reconstructive surgeries spanned up until adulthood.”
“But the trauma was really the bullying,” Rachael added. “It doesn’t actually bother me like it used to because if you’re going to pick on somebody by the way they look, then that’s not a person I really want to get to know. But to me as a kid, it was a lot harder to process.”
Another traumatic experience Rachael endured was an incident she was in as a child.
“When I was five, I was skipping ahead of my family on Vancouver Island because skipping was always my form of walking,” Salmon said. “I was five, and I was turning the corner of a bank. A man on a bicycle had just avoided an elderly man and hit me head on, which made me fly into the road. The next thing I knew I was laying in the road, and my whole face was covered in a sticky, warm fluid, which was blood. As a 5-year-old, I just started laughing because I was in shock, and my sisters were worried that I had brain damage from the impact.”
“I was there when she was walking down the street,” Rebecca recalled. “And I’m the one who rode in the ambulance with her when she got hit by the bike.”
“The man that hit me never showed any remorse,” Rachael said. “He went to jail for three months and got let out. I ended up getting a letter from the Prime Minister at the time because the injury was so severe. It shattered my nose, which was a big deal with everything I was already going through.”
Another accident Rachael was in happened on Junaluska when she was 16 years old with a friend. “It was an icy road, and we were turning around to come back down Junaluska,” she said. “We were at the top, not even a mile up, and the car slowly spun around. The car slid off the road and started flipping down the embankment. A tree caught the vehicle and stopped us from going another 100 feet down the cliff. We were able to climb out of the car, but it was still a very scary experience.”
Rebecca said, “I was pretty much there for everything, taking care of her. We’re very close; I’m lucky to have her. I try to always support everything that she needs. I just remember growing up, I was always protecting her. Even as a child, Rachael was always happy and had a positive attitude. She was always a joy to be around.”
“I think that’s the reason why I’m so caring, because I’ve experienced so much that I feel having been through such trauma and tragedy has opened my heart to other people and what their experiences are,” Rachael said. “You can’t choose what happens to you, but you can choose how you feel about it. For me, I have to find my purpose through the pain.”
“But the trauma was really the bullying. It doesn’t actually bother me like it used to because if you’re going to pick on somebody by the way they look, then that’s not a person I really want to get to know. But to me as a kid, it was a lot harder to process.” Rachael Salmon
“Family Tree” by Rachael Salmon “Appalachian Beauty” by Rachael Salmon
Despite the traumatic experiences, Rachael seeks to capture the beauty and wonders of the world with her photography, and she has different niches including landscapes, wildlife, mandalas, and art in motion. However, all the categories fall under one topic – nature – or more specifically, Wataugraphy.
“I just love Watauga County,” Salmon said. “From our lush waterfalls to our gorgeous sunrises, with all the beauty in between, this area always continues to amaze me.”
Rachael likes to remain local when capturing all of her pictures, and she has always possessed a love and appreciation for the great outdoors. Her portfolio includes landscape views from various outlooks on the parkway like Thunder Hill, Rough Ridge, Grandview as well as close-up captures of animals like owls, morning doves, monarch butterflies, goslings, cows, and racoons. She’s always ready to capture the natural beauty surrounding her.
“She’s dedicated,” Rebecca described. “She gets up early at 4-5 a.m. every morning. She knows what she wants, and she knows those Blue Ridge Mountains. She’s looking for the best sunrises with her co-pilot dog, Spirit.”
Spirit is 3.5 years old, and Rachael has had her since she was four months.
“She has heterochromia, so she has a brown eye and a blue eye,” Salmon described. “She’s my spirit guide. She makes sure I feel safe walking on trails in the dark. She is essential to why I can do what I can do.”
One project Rachael initiated within the last couple of years is de-
signing symmetrical mandalas. “Being self taught in photography and in my knowledge of plants, I one day explored taking flowers apart and making kaleidoscope mandalas with them. Most of my mandalas have deep meanings and come to me as I make them,” she explained. “I would source my nature items from the woods, my garden, and sometimes even get flowers from the farmers’ market. My hope is that my mandalas bring a sacred space of healing and creativity for all to enjoy.” For example, one of the popular pieces is the Healing Mandala, and it contains flower petals from dahlias, zinnias, and hydrangea petals that shape angels with wings and their heart-shaped loving minds. They also have white pieces that represent eternal white lights that help guide people in this realm. The entirety of the mandala is also the color of the chakra. “It really amazed me that I came up with this idea,” Salmon said. “I really love being creative, so I’m glad that things like this come to me. For the mandalas, I wanted to bring creativity and inspiration to people. I always think about what’s going on around me, so I incorporate that in my art since all art is healing.” Rachael described that the process to create mandalas involves takRachael and her dog Spirit love spending time in nature. ing flowers apart and laying out the Photo by Dawn O’Neal-Shumate pieces on a black mat and capturing a photo of the art looking down. “With these mandalas, it’s literally like 5-6 hours before the petals start wrinkling and withering,” she said. Another part of Rachael’s collection of the series is the Berry Fruit-
“Berry Fruitful Mandala” by Rachael Salmon
“Late Spring Mandala” by Rachael Salmon
“Healing Mandala” by Rachael Salmon
ful Mandala. It’s made with different kinds of fruit, such as strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, kiwis, cherries, and blueberries.
“My mandalas have deep meaning,” Salmon revealed. “What I was thinking with this one is that it would be great for a new house or a new baby on the way, because the fruit goes from an unripened point, to partially ripe, to almost ripe, to ripe. So, as you’re growing into your new house or with a baby, it’s like becoming that ripened point throughout time. And I like to have hearts in everything, like a heart cherry or hearts in the strawberry because I see hearts everywhere. I also like to have a special happy vibe to everything I do because I’ve been through so much in my life that I know that the happy vibe can carry far and make ripples into waves.”
Rachael’s most recent project is with icicles and food coloring, a concept that is part of her Art in Motion series. The idea came to her at the beginning of the year.
“It’s a project that I started doing to bring creativity and light to unsuspecting passersby, and so as I was doing it, I liked to see how people perceived it as they drove by,” she said. “What really got me was people were stopping like, ‘This is the coolest thing!’ I also call it Art in Motion because when you put the food coloring on, it’s immediately in motion; it’s combining; it’s ever changing. And depending on the temperature and the conditions involved, it can run completely off in a couple of hours or it could stay for a couple of days depending on the temperature. There’s a lot of factors to think about with this project that I’ve been understanding this whole time.”
Oftentimes in the winter, everything can seem so bleak, and seeing a frozen rainbow waterfall is never expected; therefore, it sparks happiness in viewers. However, it did even more for Rachael.
“The winter has always made me nervous living up here ever since Junaluska and my mother’s passing,” Salmon explained. “These icicles – to bring joy to the community, it brought joy to me because now I found a new appreciation for winter.”
However, the healing process has been ongoing for Rachael for a while.
“This has been a whirlwind for her,” Rebecca said. “It’s literally whirlwind after whirlwind.”
Overall though, Rachael has been recognizing the lasting impact that she has on those around her.
“Now, what I’m realizing is people come up to me and tell me, ‘I received your photograph, and it meant so much that it was yours,’” Salmon reflected. “Everything has just moved along so quickly, and it’s really heartwarming to me that people perceive what I’m putting out there. I want to inspire people. I’m so thankful for all the support I have received throughout the years. From my family to my friends who have helped tremendously along the way – they are the reason I can live my dream.”
Many of Rachael’s customers constantly share sweet messages about
“My mandalas have deep meaning...I like to have hearts in everything, like a heart cherry or hearts in the strawberry because I see hearts everywhere. I also like to have a special happy vibe to everything I do because I’ve been through so much in my life that I know that the happy vibe can carry far and make ripples into waves.” Rachael Salmon
her.
“I do get people who say, ‘Rachael, I saw this beautiful rainbow and this magnificent color behind it with this blooming bush, and all I could
“Frozen Rainbow Waterfall (First)” by Rachael Salmon
“Stained Glass Waterfall” by Rachael Salmon
“Frozen Rainbow Waterfall (Second)” by Rachael Salmon
“Saw-whets in a Forest” by Rachael Salmon
“Tiger Swallowtail” by Rachael Salmon
think about was you and your camera,’” Salmon described. “So, they see this most pristine stunning moment, and all they can think about is me with my camera. It just makes me feel so loved and cherished. At this point, I’ve decided that I’m going to have to get a journal and write down the compliments I receive every weekend because they are so amazing and inspirational, and I don’t want to forget them.”
Diane Mazza, who worked with Rachael at least 10 years ago, can still speak on her personality and talent.
“Rachael is a kind and happy woman who has made a place for herself here in the High Country,” Diane shared. “She is by far one of the most talented nature photographers I’ve known. Her patience and eye to capture the most perfect shot astounds me. She loves what she does, and it shows. Her love for nature and any living thing makes her such a remarkable and very talented woman.”
Rachael’s dear friend Ellen Lloyd said, “Rachael is a true Nature Whisperer in her ability to capture special moments of Mother Nature’s blessings and beauty. Her photography and mandalas, like herself, are a sunbeam of inspiration and delight.”
Keith and Dora Andreasen, customers of Rachael’s, had very similar words to share.
“We have loved Rachael’s stunning photography and magnificent art for years,” Keith and Dora said. “Her ability to bring nature to life is truly remarkable. We’re grateful for the way Rachael shares her profound and often playful connection to nature, making our part of the world a happier place.”
Rebecca responded, “I’m so glad Rachael is somewhere where she feels like she’s a part of the community because she is, and she’s an important part of the community.”
Michelle Dineen, who is the Market Manager of the Watauga County Farmers’ Market, couldn’t agree more.
“It has been such a joy to know Rachael and to watch her grow as an artist over the years,” Michelle said. “She has been a staple at the Watauga County Farmers’ Market since before I started coming to shop at the market over a decade ago and well before I came on board as Manager. So, even before I knew her personally, I sought out her special photos and greeting cards to give as gifts and to display in my own home. Her work, to me, is about this place and this land that we love and call home. She has an uncanny ability to capture her subjects in the perfect moment and to highlight the little miracles found in nature that are all around us, but which often go unseen or unappreciated. When we see them in her art, we are reconnected to a sense of place and reminded of what a gift it is to get to live where we do and to be a part of the natural world around us. Over the past few years in particular, Rachael has begun creating mandalas using natural, found materials like leaves, pinecones, and flower petals. The piece that hangs in my bedroom is one of these works. It was
Rachael is pictured following the yellow brick road at the Land of Oz in Beech Mountain. Photo by Rachael Salmon
Keith amd Dora Andreason
“Dreaming of Spring” by Rachael Salmon “Masked Beauty” by Rachael Salmon
a gift from someone I love and includes petals from nasturtium blooms grown on my own farm, so it is even more special to me for these reasons. It is inspiring to see Rachael find new ways to engage with her subjects and to watch her explore her own connection to her surroundings through the compositions she creates. The Farmers’ Market wouldn’t be the same without her, and I count myself lucky to know Rachael both as an artist and a friend.”
What started out as joining the Watauga County Farmers’ Market as a way to showcase her photography 19 years ago, Rachael has since seen her passion evolve into a career.
Now, she puts her prints into frames and sells them at the market, she takes special orders that she fills, and she even has her own greeting cards located at stores across the High Country, including Earth Fare, Be Natural, Fred’s Mercantile, Cove Creek General Store, Bouquet Florist, Folklore, Blowing Rock Art & History Museum, and Bald Guy Coffee in Blowing Rock.
Her work has been found across the region from Asheville to High Point and many places in between, and she says her goal is to have everyone “take a part of the mountains home with them.”
Folks are encouraged to follow Rachael Salmon Photography on Facebook and online at www.rachaelsalmonphotography.com. There, they’ll find Rachael’s plethora of pieces, old and new, as well as her pricing and press information.
Rebecca, who works as a graphic designer in Greensboro, helped create Rachael’s website within the past year.
“We’re a really good team together,” Salmon said. “It’s nice to have my sister involved in my passion. My sister helps with my editing and does my website. I couldn’t have asked for anybody better to help me.”
Rebecca responded, “Everything she takes is pretty much out of the
camera. I definitely put time into the website and getting things up on there as well as I do little postcards and business cards.” Rebecca also likes to share her advice with Rachael. “I give her tips because I did go to art school, and I did take a lot of photography classes,” Rebecca explained. “We’ll have conversations around her photography. She’s reached this point where she’s come so far, not only with her creativity but with the outlook that she has and her mind’s eye of what she wants to create. The frozen icicles she colored turned out great. I was shocked with her next level of creativity. I’ll definitely love to see what she has next on her plate.” As for what the future holds, Rachael said, “I achieved the Appalachian Mountain Photography Award – that was my “My excitement – I don’t hide it. I realize that’s just goal for my future for the who I am, and I’ve been like that my whole life. Just longest time.” put out the love you wish to get back. I really feel “She literally had that goal for so long; she wantblessed because looking back in hindsight, the cam- ed it so badly, and she got era was really my way of coping with all the things I it,” Rebecca explained. Rachael added, “To see have been through. I realized that the camera really how much I touch people gave me a newfound appreciation for life.” and inspire people – that’s what keeps me motivated. Rachael Salmon In the future, I plan to expand on my mandalas, learn how to create time-lapse videos, and brainstorm what my next Art in Motion series will be for the year.” Rachael will continue selling her photography at the Watauga County Farmers’ Market every weekend as well as at the Boonerang Festival on June 18 in downtown Boone. Her life is photography, and just hearing the word puts a big smile on her face. “My excitement – I don’t hide it,” she said, beaming with happiness. “I realize that’s just who I am, and I’ve been like that my whole life. Just put out the love you wish to get back. I really feel blessed because looking back in hindsight, the camera was really my way of coping with all the things I have been through. I realized that the camera really gave me a newfound appreciation for life.” ♦
“Till the Cow Comes Home” by Rachael Salmon
Rachael Salmon’s photo “Eagle Soaring over Price Lake” won the Appalachian Mountain Photography Contest in the Blue Ridge Parkway Category labeled “The Power of Nature” in April 2022. The picture is of an eagle taking advantage of the dam failure at Price Lake, which resulted in historically low water levels. The lack of water yielded an abundance of fish for the eagle.
