Appomattox County photographer — Holliday Lake, and a Main Street that burned twice.

Appomattox County sits northeast of Campbell County, out past the edge of Lynchburg, and it is quieter than anywhere else on this list. That is the appeal. A 150-acre lake with a loop trail around it, a preserved village where the Civil War ended, and a Main Street depot that burned down twice and got rebuilt both times.

Weddings, engagements, senior portraits, families. Appomattox, Pamplin City, Evergreen, Spout Spring — towns and communities, and I come to all of them. My style is natural light and as little posing as I can get away with.

A bride and groom holding hands and walking away down a brick colonnade under a dark wood ceiling
A bride and three bridesmaids pressed together laughing in front of an old stone building, bouquets in their hands

Appomattox County spots I'd love to shoot

  • Holliday Lake State Park, State Park Road — a 150-acre lake made by a WPA-built dam on Holliday Creek, ringed by a 6.5-mile loop trail. You do not have to walk all of it: the 0.7-mile Dogwood Loop, the 0.4-mile Northridge Trail along a ridge toward the north end of the lake, and the 0.1-mile Saunders Creek Trail from the campground to the picnic area give you three completely different backdrops without a hike. Virginia State Parks require a commercial photography permit for a paid session — arranged directly with the park, annual, and it carries a fee, so it needs processing time. Confirm current terms with the park before you set a date.
  • Appomattox Court House National Historical Park — the preserved 19th-century village where Lee surrendered to Grant in April 1865. The Park Service's rule is that permits and fees are generally not required for still photography involving eight or fewer people; above that, a permit plus location and cost-recovery fees apply. The park also runs its own permits and reservations process, and I confirm its current conditions with them before the date rather than assume the general rule covers everything.
  • The Appomattox Visitor Information Center, Main Street — the historic train depot, and the best small story in the county. It survived the Battle of Appomattox Station in 1865, burned in 1889, was rebuilt, burned again in 1923, and was rebuilt straight after. When the depot finally closed, its brick, wrought iron and wood were salvaged and built into the visitor center standing there now. Brick, iron and small-town Main Street light in one frame.
  • Court Street and the Appomattox County Historical Museum — the courthouse block and the streetscape around it. One thing to know before you plan a session around the museum itself: it is open April through October only, Friday to Sunday, ten to four. In January you would be photographing the outside of a closed building, which is fine if that is the plan and a disappointment if it is not.

Or somewhere nobody else would think to photograph, because it is yours. Say the word and we go there instead.

Black and white frame of a young woman sitting on a low stone wall in front of a long row of fountains
A young woman leaning back against the edge of a stone basin in front of a carved fountain wall

Pennsylvania work you can judge me on

Nothing published from Appomattox County yet, and I will say that out loud rather than let a page imply otherwise. Judge me on these instead:

More on the blog, and what clients said on my testimonials page.

Appomattox County questions, answered

Do you shoot in Appomattox County?

Yes. I am a Liberty University student, so Lynchburg is where I am through the school year and Appomattox is an easy run from there. Pottstown and greater Philadelphia are home base the rest of the time, and I travel for the right session either way.

Do I need a permit at Holliday Lake or the Court House park?

Both, in different ways. Holliday Lake is a Virginia state park, so a paid session needs a commercial photography permit arranged directly with the park - it is annual, it carries a fee, and it needs processing time, so we do not leave it late. At Appomattox Court House the Park Service generally does not require a permit for still photography with eight or fewer people, but the park runs its own permits process on top of that and I check their current conditions before the date. Confirm current terms with each before you set yours.

When is the light best?

The hour before sunset. Out at Holliday Lake it comes across the water and through the trees at the same time, which is the whole reason to be at a lake. Downtown, on Main Street and Court Street, the brick holds warm light late and bounces it back at you off the buildings. Sunrise if you would rather have the lake to yourselves.

How do I book?

Send me a note through my book me page with the kind of session you want and a rough date, and I will reply 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 get your Appomattox date down

Dates are limited and I book out early. Holliday Lake's permit needs its own run-up on top of that, so the useful move is to tell me early even if nothing else is decided.

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Nearby: Campbell County, VA sessions · Bedford County — Smith Mountain Lake and the Parkway · photography around Lynchburg, VA

More on weddings and portraits.