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Clarkesville resident Carter Benton receives his $100 prize from Alan NeSmith, Community Newspapers Inc. chairman. Benton’s photo of a street in The Orchard subdivision ablaze with fall colors will grace the cover of the 2023 fall edition of The Mountain Traveler magazine. (Photo/Kimberly Brown)
by Kimberly Brown
CNI News Service
Though he’s officially lived in Clarkesville for less than a month, newcomer Carter Benton has made a splash by winning the cover contest for the fall edition of The Mountain Traveler magazine.
For almost a year, Benton, 20, his mother, grandmother and aunt, have been having a home built in The Orchard subdivision in North Habersham County, and the family has recently moved in. It was during one of the family’s visits in October 2022 to check on their home’s progress that Benton took his winning photograph inside The Orchard.
Benton’s winning photo depicts a road leading into the colorful mountains, with the golf course in the distance.
“We were building a house, and we’d come up and visit every so often,” he said. “This was one of those days when we came up to visit, and I asked them to pull over, and I snapped the picture. … We’re from Florida, so we had never seen those kinds of colors before.”
Before moving to Habersham County, Benton and his family lived in Lakeland, Fla., where he took photographs for local realtors. Benton attended the University of South Florida, majoring in studio art. He graduated cum laude in May 2023.
Benton currently works at The Orchard Golf Course, but he is looking to connect with local real estate agents through his photography business, CNB Photography, found at cnbphotography.com.
“When I lived in Florida, I did real estate photography, including drone photography,” he said. “The drone photos are a bonus to the Realtors, because they love to have aerial shots from different angles, to show how big the yards are and stuff like that.”
In addition to his winning photograph, Benton submitted to The Mountain Traveler contest three other photos taken in the same October week. His photo taken at Tallulah Gorge State Park is featured inside the magazine.
Besides the beautiful landscape, what attracted Benton and his family to Northeast Georgia was the small size of the towns and the friendly people.
“We decided to move to here [to Clarkesville], where there’s literally less than 3,000 people, which is amazing to me,” he said. “Everyone is so much nicer. Southern hospitality is a real thing, and the sweet tea is better. It’s just a better life up here, and a new start for us.”
Benton said he was “ecstatic” about his win, and his family was equally excited.
“It’s such an honor,” he said. “I was so excited.”
Alan NeSmith, Community Newspapers Inc. chairman, said, for each photo contest, the magazine staff looks for wildlife, scenery and “The Mountain Traveler in action — photos of people enjoying our beautiful outdoors.”
“Our cover contest is always an exciting time for The Mountain Traveler team and those submitting,” he said. “We received a lot of great entries for the fall edition. Carter’s winning shot this time was framed well with the leaves at their peak and the perfect spot for our logo.”
Published in the summer and fall, The Mountain Traveler is a full-color regional visitor and travel guide for Northeast Georgia. It is available now at stores, shops, visitor centers and other key distribution points all around the region.