Speakers

Finding The Sweet Spot – A journey toward photographic art

Experienced and inexperienced photographers find themselves exposed to a huge array of photography-related material, images, tutorials, advice, and information. A large volume of this material is technical in nature – camera features, lens characteristics, Lightroom tricks, post-processing techniques, etc. While this technical material is important in photography, it does not speak to the heart of photographic art making. In the presentation, we intend to present a framework of the elements that make up photographic art and suggest an approach to giving priority to applying these elements in image making.

Braam is a perpetual learner of photographic art making. He acquired his first camera in 1977 as a young college student and, within a couple of years, earned awards in various local competitions with his bird photography. Missionary work assignments to Malawi, South Africa, and Indonesia provided him with opportunities to learn how to take pictures of a variety of people and places. His images were widely used by the Tourism Office of Malawi for many years. However, documentary photography did not quite satisfy his desire to showcase the beauty and wonder of God’s creation. In recent years, he has focused more on the aesthetics and emotional appeal of photography, but is quick to add that it is a journey with an elusive destination.

Braam is a member of the Photographic Society of Chattanooga (PSC) and also maintains membership with the Southern Appalachian Nature Photography Association (SANPA). He is a lifetime member of the Journal of Wildlife Photography and Photowild Magazine.

Dusty Doddridge is a landscape photographer based in the vibrant city of Nashville, situated between the majestic Mississippi River to the west and the ancient Appalachian Mountains to the east. For more than twenty-five years, he has been captivated by the magic of light on the landscape which he began discovering on extended backpacking trips to the arctic wilderness in northern Sweden and deeper explorations into the Great Smoky Mountains and beyond.

Dusty leads and guides photography adventures in the beautiful and diverse landscapes of the United States and around the world including Arctic Scandinavia, Iceland, and Canada. His teaching approach focuses on small groups, intensive field work, and individual time for image processing and feedback. He’s a frequent speaker to photography organizations, conferences, and has more than thirty years of experience training university and corporate audiences. Dusty is an author of ebooks on composition and personal expression and his work has appeared in respected photography publications including Lenswork’s Our Magnificent Planet and On Landscape magazine.

Glen VarnHagen is a passionate, lifelong traveler and photographer dedicated to capturing the world’s beauty through his lens. He began his career in sports photography, honing his skills in dynamic, fast-paced environments. Over time, he shifted his focus to landscapes, immersing himself in the serene, breathtaking vistas of nature. Today, Glen blends these two passions—sports and landscape photography—into his current pursuit: wildlife photography, where he captures the stunning, raw essence of the natural world in all its glory.

Discover how to maximize your photographic opportunities on every journey.  This presentation will walk you through the essential steps for planning a photography-focused trip—from selecting the perfect destinations and identifying ideal shooting spots to packing the right gear and optimizing your itinerary for those unforgettable shots. Whether you’re a first-time traveler or a seasoned explorer, this session will equip you with the tools and inspiration to turn your travels into extraordinary photographic adventures.

Mark Gilliland is a photographer and photo editor for Pioneer Utility Resources out of Hillsboro, Oregon. He’s also been a photographer in the  Chattanooga, Tennessee area for over 40 years and is a graduate of the Southeast Center for Photographic Studies in Daytona Beach, FL.  He is also a contract photographer for The Chattanooga Times Free Press where his assignments includes food, fashion, and portraits. Gilliland has also covered sporting events including the I AA Football Championship and the Southern Conference Basketball Tournament. 

You can find out more about Mark and his work at https://www.markgillilandphotography.com.

Mr. Gilliland will give his presentation about his ongoing rodeo project called “Shadow Rider’s”. It’s a project he’s been working on since 2001. He will talk about how the project got started. Camera settings and what he looks for when he covers a rodeo.

For the last decade the subject of my photographic efforts has been the city of Atlanta where I live. I have done two book of this work, Fernbank Forest, an urban old-growth forest in downtown Atlanta, and Work in Progress, a collection of drone photographs of Atlanta constructions sites. I will show selections of this work as well as other recent projects.

Peter Essick is a photographer, editor, author, speaker, instructor, and drone pilot with 30 years of experience working for National Geographic Magazine. He specializes in nature and environmental themes. Named one of the forty most influential nature photographers in the world by Outdoor Photography Magazine UK, Essick has been influenced by many noted American landscape photographers from Carleton Watkins to Robert Adams. His goal is to make photographs that move beyond documentation to reveal in careful compositions the human impact of development as well as the enduring power of the land.

Essick is the author of four books of his photographs, The Ansel Adams Wilderness, Our Beautiful, Fragile World, Fernbank Forest and Work in Progress. He has photographed stories for National Geographic on many environmental issues including climate change, high-tech trash, nuclear waste, and freshwater. After 30 years travelling the world as an editorial photographer, Essick decided to focus his work on a more personal documentation of the environmental and cultural changes in his hometown of Atlanta.

Essick’s photographs are in the permanent collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, the Booth Western Art Museum and many other private collections. He is represented by Spalding Nix Gallery in Atlanta, Georgia.

Mr. Lakey is the co-owner and operator of Art Warehouse, with his brother Mitch. Their family-owned business has been providing boutique digital photo lab services, custom frame building and professional art reproduction in Chattanooga since 2006. Mark will be discussing, “Digital Printing”.  The presentation will begin at 7:00 P.M.  Visitors are always welcome.