Local Photographers Champion Conservation Causes

Written by Kaitlin Hill 

Middleburg Life Photographer Caroline Gray Gives Back Behind the Lens

Conservation efforts come in many forms, but capturing the beauty of a place is arguably one of the most effective in conveying the importance of preserving natural spaces. For Middleburg Life photographer Caroline Gray, supporting the missions of the Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) and Saving Gracie Equine Healing Foundation with the proceeds of her photography was a natural — pun intended — choice. 

“The conservation of our natural world and its inhabitants is a cause that I am passionate about for many reasons, but mostly I hope that future generations can experience our planet the way that I had the privilege to. As a child, I grew up spending most of my time in nature: between horseback riding, skiing, and hiking with my family, I was perpetually outdoors,” she explains. 

From a childhood spent outside, Gray shares that her path to becoming a photographer was “not linear,” but did start early. “At 16 years old, I had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel to Tanzania, Africa, and study large cats with my science teacher and a group of peers. For the trip, my dad bought me a starter Canon camera. The camera never left my hand… Suffice it to say, it was the start of a lifelong obsession.” 

Her college years would shift her away from photography to a career in advertising, before she pursued a master’s while working in retail. “I worked at Tuckernuck in a very analytical, business-centric role. At the same time, I was receiving my MBA at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. I had an innate creative, dreamer side that was stimulated by the fashion industry, but my day-to-day was very ‘left-brained’ and numbers-driven.” 

About to graduate and her career already thriving, Gray suffered a cerebral ischemic stroke. “It took me three months to return to 50% of where I was before my stroke, in terms of being able to do the basics like walk on my own. The lingering effects of the stroke are still with me. Having this near-death experience put my life into perspective,” she shares. 

She continues, “After I recovered and was able to return to work, the yearning to explore my creative side became an urge I could no longer ignore.”

While founding Caroline Jean Gray Photography marked a new chapter in her life, it also brought her back to her passion for horses, photography, and the great outdoors. 

A month after starting her company, Gray was invited to photograph wild mustangs in Utah and recruited by Middleburg Life. “Having grown up riding horses since the age of 4, horses and horse country have always been a central part of my life. From the wild horse experience and connecting with Middleburg Life, my photography business has brought me full circle. I am lucky to be living out my dream in Hunt Country, surrounded by horses, with a new lease on life behind the lens.” 

And part of that dream is giving back. “Both the PEC and Saving Gracie Equine Healing Foundation are very meaningful to me.” Locally, “The Piedmont region is currently threatened by the explosive and pervasive expansion of data centers and housing developments. The PEC is on a mission to mitigate the risk these developments pose. It is an organization that is very special to me and it works tirelessly to protect the land that I love.” 

Further afield, “I love spending time in the mountains. In my time out west, I connected with the Saving Gracie Equine Healing Foundation. Twice, I’ve had the privilege to photograph the Onaqui wild mustangs outside of Tooele, Utah. Seeing wild mustangs in their natural habitat is a surreal experience… Ensuring these horses have space and viable protection to live and roam is important to me so future generations can see with their own eyes the majesty of wild horses.”

She finishes, “Through my work, I have discovered many foundations that are making an impact to protect the natural world. However, given the importance of their work, these two organizations are particularly close to my heart.”

Prints from her Hunt Country Collection and Wild Mustang Conservation Collection are available at carolinejeangray.com and at Castle Gallery in Middleburg. Ten percent of the proceeds will be donated to the Piedmont Environmental Council and the Saving Gracie Foundation, respectively. Gray will also host a pop-up from April 30 to May 1 at Castle Gallery at 10 E. Federal Street in Middleburg. 

Scenic Virginia Partners with the PEC on Treasured Views 

Another group using the power of photography to preserve pristine places is Scenic Virginia, whose mission as stated by its website is to “preserve, protect, and enhance the scenic beauty and community character of the Commonwealth, with a particular focus on the preservation of our most significant viewsheds and on educating Virginians about the need to preserve these scenic resources through our Treasured Views program.” 

The program uses a science-backed approach and evaluation criteria to “identify, assess, map, and catalogue Virginia’s scenic resources,” all in the name of protecting them. Visitas can be nominated by an organization or community, and central to the nomination process is photographic evidence of how scenic the view is. 

In 2025, Scenic Virginia announced its three-year partnership with the Piedmont Environmental Council. John W. McCarthy, the PEC’s senior adviser and director of strategic partnerships, shares, “PEC has partnered with Scenic Virginia to help them manage the Treasured Views program. We know from polling and surveying the general public that the landscapes of Virginia are integral to their enjoyment of the outdoors, and so the program exists as a way to document those landscapes that are objectively important to us all. We view the Treasured Views program as complementing PEC’s land conservation work and showing that careful analysis can document the values that are held sacred by so many Virginians.”

Warrenton resident and PEC Multimedia Communications Specialist Hugh Kenny captured the stunning view of Piedmont Memorial Overlook. In addition to serving as our cover image this month, it is one of Scenic Virginia’s Treasured Views. According to Scenic Virginia’s program director, Gillian Grant, the site is as historically significant as it is beautiful. In a letter to Scenic Virginia subscribers, she described the area as “perched high above the Crooked Run Valley” and “a landscape that is both pastoral and majestic.” She continued, “From this elevated vantage point, visitors can take in working farms, forested hills, and a sweeping upland stream valley that winds south toward Goose Creek, a designated Virginia State Scenic River. The Blue Ridge Mountains anchor the horizon, creating a view that feels expansive, peaceful, and deeply rooted in place. 

“Historically, the Overlook lies within territory once occupied by Siouan-speaking peoples, whose lands spanned more than half of present-day Virginia. In the late 1990s, this area faced multiple development threats, including a proposed golf course and mountain-side housing. In 2000, the Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC), with the support of local families and foundations, purchased 1,235 acres to protect this extraordinary landscape. Shortly thereafter, nearly 450 acres were transferred to the U.S. Department of the Interior to realign and improve the Appalachian National Scenic Trail and to provide public access to this exceptional viewshed.” 

The site was nominated by the Fauquier County Community Development team and, as Grant wrote, “met all criteria.” 

More than pretty to look at, the work of Scenic Virginia and its partnerships with local organizations like the PEC is an important piece in preserving the places worth treasuring in Hunt County. ML

Featured photo by Hugh Kenny.

Published in the April 2026 issue of Middleburg Life.