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Joanna McMahan takes pictures at a SCHS basketball game
Hannah Styles
hstyles@thesmokymountain.com
If you have ever attended a sporting or extracurricular event at Swain County High School, I’m sure you have seen Joanna McMahan perched behind her camera, seeing the world through a different lens.
Anyone who loves photography knows the feeling of capturing the “perfect shot,” and Joanna McMahan captures many of them at SCHS sporting events, sharing the joy on youth’s faces with the community.
McMahan grew up on the eastern coast of North Carolina, while her father was stationed at Cherry Point in the Marine Corps. In her teens she attended high school in Havelock and college in Chapel Hill, until eventually meeting her husband, Chuck, while a police officer in Hickory, and eventually made her way to the area.
Joanna, an Exceptional Children's teacher at Swain County High School, said her mom always pushed her to become a teacher, but McMahan had other plans.
“My mom always wanted me to teach but who listens to their mom?” she said with a smile. “I thought I wanted to be a detective, save the world, but that was not for me.”
After spending several years in child support enforcement, she moved to Bryson City with her husband Chuck and answered an ad for an EC assistant, where she was encouraged to get her certification in special education. Ever since, she has spent 24 years teaching foundational classes preparing students for math and reading courses and works with the exceptional children program at Swain.
“Seeing kids doing things outside of the classroom, that’s what’s important, that’s why I keep doing what I do,” McMahan said.
Joanna got involved with photography later in life after her son graduated high school.
“I guess it was sometime after Scotty graduated from high school. I was so appreciative of the people who did (photography) and shared them with me, especially when we won the football state championship,” she said.
At first, McMahan was hesitant about buying a professional camera, but once she took the plunge, she learned just how fun capturing once in a lifetime moments were.
“I did not have a camera, and it was such a big expense, but I thought I would try it and found it was really fun and after lots of practice, I became pretty good at it,” she said.
McMahan was already involved in sports, with her kids playing and she began keeping the scorebook for basketball and baseball, but those weren’t the first sports she began capturing.
“I started with football when Ryan played, and then started keeping the scorebook for basketball and baseball and found out I could get on the field to get the best pictures I could — it just continued from there.”
Growing up, her mom always had a passion for photography, but Joanna didn’t see the special knack it took for it until she became enticed by it, later on.
“My mom took pictures all the time, and I really did not appreciate all of the time and effort she put into that. But I have so many pictures of memories from when the boys were little—literally albums full. I am so grateful for the time she took to do this.”
Although she loves the environment and excitement of sporting events and practicing with nature shots, you probably won’t catch her photographing a wedding anytime soon.
“I guess you would say I now have a passion for photography, I love to practice, flowers (sunflowers are the best)—sports, you name it— have even done some weddings but those are too stressful!