In November I enjoyed visiting for the first time Carver’s Creek State Park in Spring Lake, NC for a photo session for this beautiful couple, Heaven and Jadon, who have come to North Carolina all the way from Missouri. Carver’s Creek State Park lies north of Fayetteville, NC and the army base of Fort Bragg. The park has nature trails, a large grassy field, a mill pond full of cypress trees, and the historic retreat home of a member of the Rockefeller family. While we walked about the park I saw other photographers having sessions. It has several nice features for photo sessions. The tall grasses provide nice filtering and softening of the autumn late afternoon sunlight.

The main paths at Carvers Creek State park have white sand or soil which provides a nice neutral reflection in the midst of the greens and browns of the grass and trees. The path rises up as you walk toward the Rockefeller home and the lake and curves around giving visitors and photographers different perspectives and potential backdrops.

The home itself has a fence around it and you cannot go inside at this current time. You can walk around it though as you head to the pond where you can see the cypress trees in the water.

I shot most of Heaven and Jadon’s images by the tall grasses behind the parking lot of the park’s office facility that stretches quite a ways. The farm road beside the grasses with the side fencing would make a beautiful backdrop in the early morning at Carver’s Creek State Park.

The location provides facilities, picnic tables, paths, shade, and convenience to town. Someone inside the facility can answer questions about the park. She will also provide the photographer a permit registration form to fill out before the session which is free but must be done. She also warned us to beware of things in the grasses like copperheads, ticks and chiggers. Fortunately, we all wore boots and stayed near the edge of the field. Heaven and Jadon were unafraid of the grasses, telling me they came from a rural area of Missouri and were used to places like Carver’s Creek State Park. Jadon himself called the flat area of the grasses “dear flats” which we decided to use as a place to stand.

I think if we had stayed longer we might have found plenty of locations with nice foliage and filtered sunlight at Carver’s Creek State Park for our outdoor photo session. I would enjoy returning if just to have the pleasure of the fresh air, quiet, and the lovely walking trails. So, welcome Heaven and Jadon to North Carolina!