Each summer a herd of Angora goats graze on the Roan Mountain Highlands near the Appalachian Trail where it runs along the North Carolina/Tennessee border.
The goats spend the summer on the mountain balds at 5,700-5,800’ elevations as part of the Baa-tany Goat project. The 10-year project began in 2008 in an attempt to restore the Grassy and Alder Balds using goats as an experimental management tool.
I began photographing them the first year they were on the mountain. My Goats of Roan collection began that same year after my wife saw my first goat portrait (Arlo) and said he made her smile. I’ve been hiking to the balds every summer thereafter to make another goat portrait or two.
They make me smile too.—Jeffrey Stoner
Bio:
Jeffrey Stoner is known for making photographs that capture the essence of place. His passion is to capture images of the beauty and wonder that surrounds us. From the mystery of a trail leading through the fog, to the beauty of rhododendron flowers highlighted by the first rays of dawn, his images tell a story that touch the spirit.
Jeffrey had a lifelong passion for photography but only began selling his images in 2004 after a gallery in Pennsylvania asked to show his work. He expanded his gallery presence in Pennsylvania and then in 2007 he and his wife made the decision to move to northeastern Tennessee.
The move opened additional opportunities for making images in the mile-high mountains and fertile valleys of Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia and South Carolina’s Lowcountry. It also gave the opportunity for expanded gallery representation.
He is especially known for his Goats of Roan and Wild Ponies of Grayson series, and his landscape and wildlife images have been featured in international, national, and regional publications. In 2012 he released his book titled The Meaning in Trees. The book showcases his favorite tree images from the Highland mountains to the Lowcountry of South Carolina.
His latest book Current: Essays on the Passing of Time in the Woods was published by Shanti Arts Publishing and released October 2013. Fifty-five of Stoner’s images illustrate the short stories of Robert McGowan. He is currently working on two new books for 2016 and 2017.
Stoner is represented by galleries in Arizona, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Tennessee.
Contact: www.jeffreystonerphotography.com
When are they returning in 2016? Looking forward to see them in person!
Fun subject. Great images. Love the dog as an element of surprise!