Lynn Willis standing in front of one of his photography pieces that he donated.
This story appeared previously in the Watauga Democrat as a part of an internship sponsored through Watauga High School. This version includes a different title, main image, and edits from the Powderhorn Editorial staff.
Local photographer Lynn Willis donated a large sum of his photography work to Watauga High School on March 29, 2024 for all visitors to see when they enter the building.
Willis dates the beginning of his long career back to when he was a boy and received his first camera from his father, who was an amateur photographer himself. This Kodak camera would influence his early life in photography, eventually leading up to a course he took in college.
“I picked up my dad's old camera that everybody had: a brown Kodak Brownie camera. It was 120, film, black and white,” Willis said. “You know, I started doing photography as a kid, but then in college, I took that one photography course. And that kind of gave me the skills to start creating, you know, the photos I wanted to.”
Photography wasn't Willis’s only passion, as he spent much of college traveling around the country for rock climbing. It was during his travels to locations such as Yosemite and various national parks that Willis began taking landscape photography.
“When I was climbing at all of these amazing places, you know, Yosemite and other national parks, I was always at such beautiful and natural locations,” he said. “So that's what turned me on to landscape photography.”
Willis would spend the better part of his young adult life using a camera that his parents had given him after college graduation. That would thrust him into the career of photography where he would be published in a few magazines before ending up at Mast General Store as a graphic designer.
“That gave me a lot of experience,” Willis said. “Then we kept growing and growing and hired two other photographers and I kind of managed them in the studio. We would go out and do a lot of...disposable art.”
After his time at Mast General Store, Willis has since spent his time doing freelance photography work throughout the county, and even in other parts of the country, including in Missouri to photograph the solar eclipse in early April 2024.
When asked about why he decided to donate to the high school, Willis focused his attention on the fact that he likes to choose many conservancies and organizations that are in need of decor to donate his art to. Then, a family friend of Willis, Ginger Powell, who is one of the WHS administrators, approached Willis for a possible donation. He went through his closet of artwork to display at the school. His hope in this donation was that the art would inspire the students to explore nature more.
“We can just get stuff on the walls to beautify the workspace for the administration here and for students that pass through,” Willis said. “I hope that my art will inspire people to get out in nature more. You all living and growing up in this area is pretty amazing. I hope nobody takes it for granted.”
The photographer once again emphasized that this has not been his only donation throughout his career and that he contributed a lot of his work to Blue Ridge Conservancy, and Mountain Alliance at WHS. He pointed out that he likes to pick organizations that he is passionate about, which is why WHS was included in his decision.
“That goes a long way, because nonprofits, they can't really afford to pay you anything,” Willis said. “But you can donate your time, or volunteer your talents. So that's kind of how that came about here.”
Willis drew back one of his favorite memories involving a photograph of his, when a high school therapist told Willis that his work could be used to help calm kids as they expressed their life struggles. The one thing these kids would look at would be the picture that Willis had captured.
“She commented that this is the image they are going to be looking at,” Willis recalled. “It just gave me a little sense of peace. I had never thought that images could even be utilized like that.”
The artwork included several large images from Grandfather Mountain, waterfalls, and other natural landscapes throughout Watauga County. His photos can be seen in different administrative offices and at the entrance of the school.