Instructor Profile

Paul Hassell isn't strictly a photographer. Paul is in the light business. An entrepreneur since the age of fifteen, a lover of solitude, and a loyal friend, Paul defies convention at every turn. You’ll walk away from talking photography with him, and you’ll have the sense that Paul is doing what he was created to do. This at-home-ness in himself and his craft becomes a kind of permission for others to find their vocations and live them. Paul found what makes him tick and organized his life around that calling. He designed his own major at The University of TN: Freelance Photography and Writing for the Natural Environment. That's a mouthful. He's a member of NANPA, SANP, and the NSA, but the credentials matter less to him than sharing the profound experience. He points the way to a bigger truth and deeper reality. Though he travels the world leading adventurous photography tours, Paul places a high value on shooting in his backyard where his journey first began—the Great Smoky Mountains. Paul believes that the intimate knowledge of a place will always show clearly through in an artist’s work. Thus, it is his portfolio of images from the Great Smoky Mountains that he sells again and again. Paul is the proud owner of Light Finds, Inc. He lives with his wife Nora in the comfortable town of Kodak, TN. Their home along the French Broad River has become their base camp. Paul has been published in National Parks Magazine, Time/Life, Nature’s Best, National Wildlife, and National Geographic books.