Speakers

Barry has been fortunate to live on both ends of the Appalachian Mountain range that runs North and South inside the East coast of the United States of America. He was born and raised on the coast of New Hampshire in Northern New England. He was given his first camera for Christmas at the age of 10 years old. The 110 Kodak Instamatic camera was soon traveling everywhere that his parents would take him.

Upon graduating high school, he started working in the automotive parts industry. After just working a few months, he purchased his first film SLR camera. Weekends were now spent revisiting his childhood trip locations. But now the agenda had changed to capturing moments in time as the photography passion grew inside him. In 1990 he vacationed in the Smoky Mountains and moved to East Tennessee just months later.

After going to digital photography in 2004, Barry started putting together a portfolio in hopes to sell his work upon his retirement. Little did he know that retirement would be sooner than later. In 2007 at the age of 43 he retired with 25 years in automotive parts. He soon began his 2nd career in Nature and Wildlife Photography by selling his prints at both indoor and outdoor events. He opened his own gallery in 2015 in Townsend, Tennessee. In 2017 he closed that gallery to open his current Cades Cove Gallery also located in Townsend. His wife retired in 2018 from the same company Barry had worked for and began managing the gallery. This has allowed Barry to reach out into other avenues of Nature Photography including teaching, workshops, guiding, presenting and getting published in print.

Jackson Hole and the Grand Teton Mountains – A Photographer’s Paradise

Many locations that photographers travel to are much better for either wildlife or landscape photography. Rarely does one location have multiple wildlife subjects as well as exceptional landscape opportunities. Jackson Hole, Wyoming and the Grand Teton National Park have both and are truly a nature photographer’s paradise.

Take a journey to the Northwest where herds of bison are in the hundreds, the Snake River winds its way through amber colored prairies, and snow-capped peaks hover over 13,000 feet.

Hear tips about what gear is best to bring, when and where to use that gear, and even gear that you may want to borrow or rent for this location. Learn about how much walking is required, what this trekking is like, and where and when you can just shoot from your vehicle. Find out the dos and don’ts of Jackson Hole and the Teton National Park for your safety as well as to protect the park and the wildlife that call it home.

Join us for this photographic presentation of one of the most photographed parks in North America. See the variety of wildlife and learn how to photograph it with the beautiful backdrop of the Teton Mountains.

Billy Weeks has worked as a journalist for over 39 years. His career started with the Chattanooga Times in 1984 as a staff photographer.  In 1995, he became the Photo Team Leader, and in 1999 he was named Director of Photography/Graphics at The Chattanooga Times Free Press and in 2010 he became an independent documentary photographer working in many countries.

As a photojournalist, Weeks has covered assignments that range from the World Series to small villages in Central America and Asia. In 2016, he was honored to give a TEDx talk “Two Views in Documentary Photography.” In 2023 and 2021 his sports photographs was awarded a top honor in Pictures of the Year International.  His photographs of poverty in Honduras were selected as an award of Excellence for editorial photography in the Communication Arts Photography Annual. Additionally, he has won the Gordon Parks International Photography award twice. He was awarded the Freedom of Information award from the Associated Press and over 50 awards for journalism.   CNN and Photography District News featured his photographs on baseball in the Dominican Republic and Central America. His work has been exhibited at the New America Foundation in New York City, Hunter Museum of American Art, Art of Photography Show, Slow Exposures, South x Southeast, and several universities.

Weeks is an Associate Lecturer in communication at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and an adjunct professor at Southern Adventists University. He has been a visiting speaker at many Universities and a presenter at serval workshops.  He believes that not only should journalists cover their assignments, but should also give something back to their profession. Today he lives in Ringgold, Georgia with his wife and a blind Labrador retriever.

AUGUST PSC PROGRAM:

GOING FORWARD BY LOOKING BACK

Richard and Louann Smith, PSC members and avid amateur photographers, will present the program at the PSC meeting on August 17.  The title of their presentation is “Going Forward by Looking Back”.

This program will offer a different way of dealing with the photographer’s version of writer’s block. Maybe you’ve had that experience where your photographic creative juices have dried up, and nothing inspires or motivates you.  How to get out of this funk?  The Smiths think that one of the best ways to move forward is to look back at the work of photographers with established artistic reputations, to study their way of seeing the world and how they compose photographs to communicate their vision. 

The Smiths will focus on four 20th Century photographers whose work has inspired them. The stunning, critically acclaimed images created by these photographers are displayed in museums and books, but you may not have heard of them at all or know their work only vaguely.  The Smiths will show you some of the work of these photographers, talk about what they have learned from this work and how it has influenced their own photography.

Looking back at the work of these four photographers may change your view on what constitutes the boundaries of good photography. It could move you out of your comfort zone and encourage you to experiment with new ways to find and communicate your vision through photography. 

Betsy Bird of Ride the Sky Equine Photography spends her days doing insane things to make horses look at her. Clearly, she’s desperate for attention.

Outside of acting like a total weirdo, she invests in growing her business, hanging with her favorite dog, Nitro, mentoring photographers, dealing with her teenagers’ angst, and planning her next big wheels-up adventure.

Betsy is a Certified Professional Photographer (CPP) with the Professional Photographers of America (PPA). She serves on the Board of Directors for the Professional Photographers of East Tennessee and is an active member of the Tennessee Professional Photographers Association. She is also a professional member of the Equine Photographers Network.

Betsy’s award-winning work has been featured in a variety of publications, Hair of the Dog, and Equine Photographers Network, and is found

 throughout homes and stables in the United States. She has also been featured on The Business Animal Podcast, Scenic Trend, the Chattanoogan, and Shoutout DFW to name a few.

Betsy has a strong background in entrepreneurship, building a brand, goal setting, and workflows that work for business. She also has a lot of experience in training and empowering others.