Inside the Photo #36

Talking with Mashal Smith

Happy Tuesday everyone, and welcome back to another appointment with Inside the Photo. As it always happens, this is the small corner of the crazy internet world where I like to show you the work and tell the stories from dear fellow photographers.

This month, my very welcome guest is Mashal Smith.

I am so grateful to each of you who support my work and follow along with my journey.

This past year has been unbelievable...and with new people checking out my gallery all the time, I felt it appropriate to say thanks and tell you more about who l am.

My name is Mashal Smith, and l am a full-time nature, travel and landscape photographer based in North Carolina.
I use the Canon EOS R6 body mainly and multiple lenses.

While many of you follow along for my landscape work, just as many follow for inspiring stories and bits of adventure, and ethereal woodland images.
My work takes me in the mountains, forests, in the air, to our beautiful national parks, and even on the ocean.
I also do a lot of work with yachts and sailboat photography.
In 2026, I have many new places to share with you both in the US and abroad.

My best to each of you and I wish you adventure.

If I had to choose one single word to describe Mashal's images, I would pick "fairytale". Every picture is a fantasy story, a place that seems to be taken out of a dream. The use of colors and contrast gives an atmosphere of peace, calmness and magic. I've been following her work for a long time, and I have never enough. When I look at her images, I just feel like I'm breathing fresh air.

© Mashal Smith

This image was taken with a Canon body EOS R6, and the lens was 24-105 mm (2.8) / f4 in early winter 2026, on the intercoastal area of the Crystal coast in North Carolina.

I often visit these paths that lead into the marshes.
On this particular day, we had gotten an extra cold blast of weather that resulted in a frost for many areas.
It was rather concerning because we have so many birds and marshland wildlife that winter here because of the warmer weather we have, and this was exactly the opposite.

This was an emotional image in the end because I was witnessing how cold it really was for the animals, and not only could I see my breath, but it took me a long time to adjust my camera to the temperature that I was in, which was about 28°.

These kinds of images are really some of my favorites because of the fact that they look so ethereal in the end when I’m editing them with a very soft finish.
It’s a very fine line making it work, because when you reduce clarity in exchange for softness, you miss a lot of details and with a landscape like this details are precious indeed.

I remember that the light was very rich, and in my final edits, I chose to highlight complementary colors in blues and more gray’s and orange.
The reason for this is that winter being such a rare crossover for us in our area in North Carolina, still had a lot of the fall color that was trying to hang on, and it looked like an absolute braiding of the seasons, and it was stunning.

The story that goes along with this is that, I was walking along and trying to be quiet, but not too quiet. And I disturbed a few of the egrets here, but they allowed me to pass with no more than a greeting.

I am honored every day and thrilled that this is become my work and I endeavor to always improve.

This is such a beautiful image. Like walking into a dream land. And Mashal well described the magic of the transition between seasons, when something unexpected can turn into something this wonderful.

I recommend you check out her profile so you won’t miss any of the incredible stories and pictures.

Instagram

Thanks a lot for being with us today, Mashal, and for taking us into your stunning art.

Take care and talk soon!