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Daniel Short of Cornelia was named the winner of the cover contest for CNI’s fall edition of The Mountain Traveler magazine. Short won $100, and his photo of Lake Russell from Chenocetah Mountain will be featured on the magazine’s cover. (Photo/Kimberly Brown)
by Kimberly Brown
CNI News Service
With amazing colors and mountain vistas, fall is the most popular time in the Northeast Georgia mountains – for both visitors and photographers. One of those photographers, Daniel Short, has been named winner of the cover contest for the 2020 fall edition of The Mountain Traveler magazine.
Short and his wife, Rosanne, live in Cornelia.
Short’s photograph of a fall view of Lake Russell from Chenocetah Mountain in Cornelia is featured on the magazine’s cover, and he received $100.
The Mountain Traveler, a full-color regional visitor and travel guide for Northeast Georgia, is published each summer and fall by Community Newspapers, Inc. (CNI). It is a combined effort of the region’s newspapers — The Northeast Georgian, White County News, The Clayton Tribune, The Dahlonega Nugget and The Toccoa Record. The magazine, on newsstands now, brings readers features and special stories of life in Northeast Georgia.
In an effort to continue focusing on local talent, CNI Regional Publisher Alan NeSmith invited artists and photographers to submit his or her vision of autumn in the Northeast Georgia mountains.
“With about 60 entries for this contest - everything from mountain views, waterfalls, creeks and hiking trails - choosing a winner was a hard decision,” NeSmith said. “Mr. Short’s photograph of Lake Russell from Chenocetah Mountain in Cornelia captured the beautiful colors of fall in Northeast Georgia.”
Short, who owns Daniel Short Photography, enjoys nature photography, including flowers, wildlife, landscapes and even astral photography, done by connecting a camera with a telescope. He is also a licensed drone photographer.
A Habersham County native and 1979 graduate of Habersham Central High School (HCHS), Short began taking photographs in high school. He has also taken photography classes at North Georgia Technical College (NGTC).
“I was photographer for the Key Club (at HCHS), and we had a couple of nationally recognized scrapbooks,” he said.
Short moved away from photography and on to other things after graduating high school. He earned degrees at Young Harris College and the University of Georgia, and he became a local businessman, owning Short Manufacturing Company, Habersham Awning and Graphic Image USA.
Then he had a motorcycle accident in 2014, which limited his physical mobility.
“My wife and a friend of mine got together and decided I should start taking pictures again, to give me something to do,” he said. “It’s filled my time. I’ve always been real active, and that’s out of the question now.”
Short uses Canon cameras, shooting nature photographs with his 70D Mark II and EOS R, Canon’s first mirrorless camera. However, he said, “They say the best camera is the one you’ve got with you, including your phone if that’s all you have.”
Short is president of Foothills Photography Group, which met at NGTC until the pandemic. For the time being, the group holds meetings via Zoom.
“We offer a lot to people,” Short said of the photography group. In addition to having a speaker at each monthly meeting, the group provides mentors to new photographers.
“If somebody’s new to photography, we have people who shoot all kinds of cameras, so we can set them up with somebody,” Short said.
The group also takes field trips to places such as Cades Cove, Tennessee, to photograph wildlife, and they have more local field trips to farms and other places for photography practice. For more information about Foothills Photography Group, search on Facebook or visit foothillsphotogroup.com.
Short said he spends a lot of time sitting in his car with his 600mm lens to capture the beauty of nature. One of his current favorite spots is Cornelia Water Works, off of Camp Creek Road.
“There’s a lake behind the dam, and there’s blue heron, green heron, king birds, sandpipers, blue birds, belted kingfishers … there’s lots of birds out there,” he said. “I use the car as a blind.”
Short recommends new photographers “find something you’re passionate about,” as he is about photographing nature.
“Photography gives me a chance to really appreciate God’s world,” he said. “… How can somebody not believe in a higher power when you’re out in [nature]?”