Braam Oberholster – 2025 July Speaker

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.