Born and raised in northeast Ohio, Cynthia Strain was always an outdoors kind of girl. When she was just ten, her parents gave her binoculars and a bird book, which she embraced immediately, and soon she was scouring yards, woods and fields to identify the colorful birds she saw. After living in Kentucky, Florida, Tennessee and Arizona, she moved to Highlands in 1982 and worked at her parents’ business, the Bird Barn. The bird-themed gift shop was a perfect fit for her, and she helped her father run it for 15 years. With her interest in conservation, she went on to help found the Highlands Plateau Audubon chapter, the Jackson-Macon Conservation Alliance, and the B.E.A.R. Task Force In 2006 she founded the Highlands Village Square Art & Craft Show (now the Mountaintop Rotary Show), which she coordinated for 17 years.

Cynthia was a painter for some years, working primarily in pastels. A photography course in 1987 changed the course of her life. Over the years she developed her skill and gained a reputation as the “Highlands Photographer.” In 2004 she would devote herself entirely to her art by opening Mill Creek Gallery & Framing.. Since her retirement in 2021 she has devoted herself to photography and non-profit work. While the Highlands-Cashiers area offers a wealth of photographic opportunities, she also enjoys photographing birds in Florida and Arizona.

Cynthia’s 2012 coffee table book, Highlands Through the Seasons, was the culmination of years of photographing the Highlands area. Ten years hence she has combined her photographic talents with some fascinating history in Highlands Through the Years. The 121-page book is a condensed history of Highlands, Horse Cove and Scaly Mountain, illustrated with her full-color photographs. 

Now available is The Cashiers Valley Through the Years. The book features history and photographs of a wide area: Norton/Yellow Mountain, Pine Creek, Glenville, Sapphire, Toxaway, Whiteside Mountain, Whiteside Cove, and, of course, Cashiers.

All of Cynthia’s photos in the book are available as prints.