Amherst County, VA photographer — Madison Heights, the James River and two lakes.

Amherst County sits across the James River from Lynchburg and runs north from there. It has one thing I have not found anywhere else close by: a pair of 190-acre lakes that look like siblings and behave like opposites.

Engagements, senior portraits, families, branding, and weddings when the day suits it. Amherst, Madison Heights, Monroe, Clifford, Elon — I come to you. Natural light, and a photographer who would rather get you laughing than get you posed.

A young woman spinning in a striped dress on a bank above a quiet river bend, pines on the far side
A senior in a long blue dress walking a mown path through wildflowers, a small bunch of them in her hand

Amherst County spots I'd love to shoot

  • Riveredge Park, Rocky Hill Road, Madison Heights — the James River at the bottom of Rocky Hill Road, with the Sara Lu Christian Walking Trail running along the water, named in 2023 for a former Recreation and Park Director. Boat and fishing access, and a playground. It is the closest thing on this list to a golden-hour couples spot: water on one side, a trail to walk down, and nowhere for either of you to hide from each other. Amherst County publishes no photography rule I could find, so I check with them before we settle on a spot.
  • Thrashers Lake Park, in the Temperance area — the county's own write-up calls it the one many residents think is the most scenic, with a clear view of Mt. Pleasant. It sits on a 190-acre watershed lake, open for fishing only — no swimming, no gasoline-powered boats — with a boat ramp, picnic tables and grills, a play area and restrooms. It is also a stop on the Sleeping Giant Loop of the Virginia Birding and Wildlife Trail.
  • Mill Creek Lake Park, also in the Temperance area — the other 190-acre watershed lake, and here is the difference that actually decides it for a family session: this one has a small beach and is open for swimming. Boat ramp, floating dock, swing jump, picnic tables, grills, play area, restrooms. Same no-gas-boats rule.
  • The Virginia Blue Ridge Railway Trail, the Amherst County stretch from Roses Mill — built on the bed of the old Virginia Blue Ridge Railway, the longest-running commercially successful short-line railway in America, following the Piney and Tye Rivers through rolling country. A straight fact so nobody is surprised at a trailhead: the trail starts at the Piney River Depot in Nelson County and runs about 1.8 miles before it crosses into Amherst at Roses Mill, then carries on about three more miles. It is a shared trail. The Amherst side is the side I mean.

Or your own place — the porch, the barn, the stretch of river you grew up swimming in. I will take that over a landmark most days.

A senior in a white top and denim skirt at last light, the meadow behind her already going blue
A young woman turning on a narrow path between deep beds of late-summer flowers

Pennsylvania work you can judge me on

There is no Amherst County session on my blog. I could have quietly not mentioned that. Instead, here is Pennsylvania work, so you can decide on the photographs rather than on the county line:

More on the blog, and kind words on my testimonials page.

Amherst County questions, answered

Will you come out to Amherst County?

Gladly. I am a Liberty student, so through the school year I am just across the river in Lynchburg. Pottstown and greater Philadelphia are home base outside term, and I travel for the right session from either.

Do I need a permit for photos at the county parks?

Honest answer: Amherst County does not publish a photography rule that I could find, and I would rather tell you that than make one up. What I do is check with Amherst County Recreation before we lock in a spot - at Riveredge and at both lakes. If they want something arranged, I arrange it. Confirm current terms with the county before you set your date.

Thrashers or Mill Creek?

Depends what you want to be doing in the photos. Both are 190-acre lakes with boat ramps, picnic tables and play areas, and neither allows gasoline-powered boats, so both are quiet. Thrashers is fishing only, no swimming, and the county reckons it is the more scenic of the two, with a clear view of Mt. Pleasant. Mill Creek has a small beach and allows swimming, which makes it the one for a family session with kids who are not going to stay dry. The hour before sunset either way - that is when the water starts doing the work for me.

How do we get started?

Send me a note through my book me page with the kind of session and a rough date, and I will come back with what is open. Session length and the rest of the details are something we go over when we talk through your shoot.

Let's pick your Amherst County spot

Dates are limited — I book out early, so tell me roughly when and I will tell you what is still there.

BOOK YOUR SESSION

Nearby: what I photograph around Lynchburg · Campbell County, VA · Bedford County — the lake and the Parkway

More on portrait and senior sessions and on weddings.