Photographer Tim Ernst coming to UARM

Submitted by Ilana Burk

Using a grant from the Department of Arkansas Heritage, Polk County’s Quality of Life (http://qoloutreach.org/) will host a free event with Arkansas’ wilderness photographer and author Tim Ernst at 1 p.m. in the Ouachita Center on the UARM campus at 1100 College Drive on Saturday, March 11. 

Ernst has been hiking and driving around the wonderful Ozark Mountains for most of his life, preserving the images he sees on film for everyone to enjoy. His photographs have appeared in hundreds of national, regional, and local publications. Some of his credits include “National Geographic,” “Audubon,” “Backpacker,” “Outside,” “Outdoor Photographer,” “American Hiker,” “Natural History,” “Country,” “Chevy Outdoors,” and “Arkansas Times” magazines as well as the Sierra Club and Hallmark calendars, National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service maps and brochures, Readers Digest Books, and The New York Times.

Additionally, 20 collections of Ernst’s wilderness photographs have been published as coffee table picture books: “Arkansas Portfolio: Twenty Years of Wilderness Photography” (1994), “Wilderness Reflections: An Intimate Look at Wild Places in America” (1996), “Buffalo River Wilderness” (with watercolors by William McNamara, 1998), “Arkansas Spring: Dogwoods,” “Waterfalls and Wildflowers” (2000), “Arkansas Wilderness: My Favorite Photos from the Natural State” (2002), “Arkansas Portfolio II: Spectacular New Images from The Natural State” (2005), “Buffalo River Dreams” (2006), “Arkansas Waterfalls: Scenic Icons of the Natural State” (2007), “Arkansas Landscapes” (2008), “Arkansas Wildlife” (2009), “Arkansas Autumn” (2010), “Arkansas Portfolio III” (2011), “Arkansas Landscapes II” (2012), “Buffalo River Beauty” (2013), “Arkansas Nightscapes” (2014), “A Rare Quality Of Light” (2015), “Arkansas In My Own Backyard” (2016), “Arkansas Beauty” (2017), “Arkansas Splendor” (2019), and Ernst’s newest picture book (and his final one), “Arkansas Greatest Hit” (2020).

As a long-time outdoorsman and hiker, Ernst founded and was the president of the Ozark Highlands Trail Association for 28 years. This organization, with members in 25 states and five foreign countries, has contributed 350,000 hours of volunteer labor to the U. S. Forest Service and various local agencies. 

He was also president of Friends of White Rock, the volunteer organization that has restored and re-opened the Lodge and cabins at White Rock Mountain in the Ozark National Forest. 

He served on the board of the American Hiking Society (a past vice-Chair), the Arkansas Wilderness Steering Committee, was the Arkansas coordinator for National Trails Day, chairman of the Arkansas Trails Council, and served as an advisor for the National Trails Symposium. 

His books about hiking trails include “Arkansas Hiking Trails: A Guide to 78 Selected Trails in the Natural State,” “Buffalo River Hiking Trails,” “Arkansas Dayhikes for Kids and Families,” “Arkansas Nature Lover’s Guidebook,” “Ozark Highlands Trail Guide #7,” and “Ouachita Trail Guide.”

“Thanks to the Department of Arkansas Heritage, Quality of Life is able to partner with UARM to offer programs that celebrate Arkansas and all that has to offer,” QOL President Bethany Hughes stated. 

Dr. Diann Gathright agreed, “I am very pleased to partner with QOL and feel fortunate that we get to live in a beautiful state with a rich history We look forward to partnering with QOL to offer additional programs on the UARM campus later this year.”

Ernst’s presentation will include a double feature of his most popular slide shows, “Arkansas Nightscapes”

and “A Rare Quality of Light.” 

For more information about Ernst or to see his collection of photography, visit https://timernst.com/ . Follow him on Facebook or on his popular online journal Little Bluff Journal, which is also available as a print book, “Cloudland Journal Book One.” Ernst will have a limited number of books and prints for sale at the presentation. 

For more information about the event at UA Rich Mountain, call 479-394-7622, ext. 1370, email bminer@urichmountain.edu, or visit www.uarichmountain.edu. 

The event was made possible through the Department of Arkansas Heritage which was created to preserve and promote Arkansas’s natural and cultural heritage. Other divisions of the Department of Arkansas Heritage are the Arkansas State Archives, Arkansas Arts Council, Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, Delta Cultural Center in Helena, Historic Arkansas Museum, Mosaic Templars Cultural Center and the Old State House Museum. For more information, visit https://www.arkansasheritage.com/.

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Ethan Nahté

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