Speakers

June 20, 2024

David Akoubian – 2024 July Speaker

The Decisive Moment in Wildlife Photography

with David Akoubian

During this presentation we will learn about how to prepare for, and implement, capturing the decisive moment with wildlife. We will talk about settings, gear, and preparing for “that” moment. We will also talk about wildlife photography in general, but focus on predicting behavior that will take an image to the next level.

David has been a photographer since 1972 when his father presented him with his first camera, but his career in photography started in 1992. David learned his craft originally as a painter and from his father who shares his love of nature and photography. Early in his career he traveled with, learned from and taught beside some of the masters of nature photography including John Shaw, Art Wolfe, Galen Rowell, Bryan Peterson, Pat O’Hara, and Rod Planck. David has been teaching photography since 1994 in the classroom and leading workshops around the United States. David presents and leads workshops at many of the country’s top photographic conferences such as the Photographic Society of America Annual Conference, as well as many camera clubs across the United States.

David’s clients include, but are not limited to, Coca Cola, PNC Bank, Tamron, Sirui, the Mountain Conservation Trust of Georgia, Lensbaby, The Nature Conservancy, Scholastic Books, and Gibbs Gardens. His photographs and articles have appeared in publications such as Nature Photographer, Audubon Magazine, Blue Ridge Country, Birder’s World, Outdoor Photographer, Backpacker Magazine, and many local publications. His work has appeared in several feature books, calendars, as well as in instructional guides. David is a Tamron Image Master as well as being designated as a Sirui Professional.

David resides in the mountains of North Georgia with his wife Evelyn in an area they have named Bear Woods. www.bearwoodsphotography.com

May 17, 2024

Vinny Colucci – 2024 June Speaker

“The Photographic Journey”

Vinny will go through phot image samples from wildlife to landscape. He will share camera setting and techniques for the images as well as locations and stories on how the image came about. He will also share his equipment list, why he picked what he carries and how he gets it to the locations.

Filter techniques for landscape will be gone over as well as when to use filter for wildlife and birding photography.

Presenter and award – winning photographer Vinny Colucci has been an active photographer since 1979 and a shooting professional since 1995. He has photographed North Carolina to the west coast and north to the Canadian Rockies. Along with his wife Annette, Vinny conducts nature and wildlife photography workshops throughout the year.

Vinny is an active outdoorsman and a member of Nikon’s Professional Services and Wimberley Professional Services and a Singh-Ray Filter Ambassador & Technical Advisor. Vinny is represented by Picture Stock. His images have appeared in multiple publications, including Nature Photographer Magazine, New Bern Travel Magazine, Microwave Journal, and various other publications. His speaking engagements have included Popular Photography Magazine, as well as presented at Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI), St. Augustine Photo & Birding Festival, Orlando Wetlands Festival, Crane Festival and multiple universities around the country. He has also authored and co-authored multiple books.

April 19, 2024

Hazel Meredith – 2024 May Speaker

Hazel Meredith is an award-winning photographer and a sought-after teacher, speaker, and competition judge. She began teaching in 2007, and now does seminars at camera clubs and conferences across the U.S. – both in-person and virtual. She offers her own workshops and webinars, and has done webinars for several software companies.

She has written two eBooks on working with textures, and released two creative courses. She and her husband, Dave, produce the “Virtual Creative Photography Conference” with attendees from around the world. Hazel loves the creative aspect of photography and postprocessing, specially the use of textures and software to create unique images.

She is actively involved with the photographic community, and has held leadership roles and received honorary distinctions from several organizations. In the Fall of 2020 she was the recipient of the Ashbrook Award for Digital Imaging Instruction from the Photographic Society of America.

www.MeredithImages.com
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www.Facebook.com/MeredithImages

April 12, 2024

Colby McLemore – 2024 April Speaker

Mr. McLemore is the owner and visual storyteller of Colby’s Photo & Videos. He is a full-time professional whose work revolves around advertising photography and videography for businesses as well as for individuals. Colby has earned his Master’s, Craftsman, CPP and Certified Drone Photographer designations. He has also won many prestigious awards. Mr. McLemore’s presentation will be, “Pocket Pixels: Harnessing Your Cell Phone Camera’s Potential”. To learn more about Colby and to see examples of his work, visit his website www.colbysphotosvideos.com. The presentation will begin at 7:00 p.m. Visitors are always welcome.

Join Boot Camp at 6:00 p.m. Maury Griffith will be discussing, “Pixel Dimensions, Resolution, Aspect Ratios and Image and Print Sizing”.

February 19, 2024

Donna Bourdon – 2024 March Speaker

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. Thursday, January 18, 2024, the Photographic Society of Chattanooga will present Donna Bourdon. Ms. Bourdon is a former healthcare executive who left corporate life to pursue her lifelong ambition to share the beauty of wildlife through her lens. In 2021, Donna joined the team at Denise Ippolito: A Creative Adventure as a workshop leader. Her approach with all projects is to capture the spirit and drama of the wild through the photographic medium, expressing not only the beauty, but also the hardships and challenges that are being faced by wildlife each day in their ever-changing world. For her work, Donna has received critical acclaim for many of her works and her images have been featured in several publications and social media posts. Her most recent publication is an image of a bald eagle featured on the cover of the 2023 Winter edition of “Sierra” magazine. You can find Donna’s work on her website, https://donnabourdon.smugmug.com.

Ms. Bourdon’s presentation will be, “Wildlife Photography: From Good to Great”. She believes that what separates a good image from a great image often comes down to attention to the little details. While proper exposure, shutter speed and aperture are the foundation of a good image, the magic comes with the little details. She will discuss composition, use of light, background considerations, action and more.

February 5, 2024

Barry Spruce – 2023 February Speaker

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.

January 12, 2024

The Photographic Society of Chattanooga presents Donna Bourdon

For photographers that want to get their camera off of “Automatic”, join Boot Camp at 6:00pm. Maury Griffith will be discussing, “Spaces”.

The presentation will begin at 7:00 p.m. at the St. John United Methodist Church, 3921 Murray Hills Drive, Chattanooga, TN 37416. For more information call 423-344-5643, or e-mail Lin Prabish at president@chattanoogaphoto.org.

November 27, 2023

PSC Annual Christmas Banquet

October 19, 2023

Billy Weeks – 2023 November Speaker

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.

September 18, 2023

October – Open House

Karen Fox: is an award-winning artist whose goal is to create unique art for her clients. She serves on the executive board of the Tennessee Professional Photographers Association, and is an active member of the Professional Photographers of America and the Professional Photographers of Middle Tennessee. Karen regularly competes in image competitions at the state and international levels. Her work can be viewed on her website at www.karenfoxphotography.com, and demonstrates her passion for digital art in combination with digital photography.

Lin Blackwell-Prabish: is a local professional photographer and artist who has been working in portrait and commercial photography since 1975. She was a professor of art and photography at her local college in Illinois for nine and half years, and served as President of the Associated Professional Photographers of Illinois. Lin has her work displayed in museums in Alabama, Illinois and North Carolina, as well as in the Gallery at Blackwell in Chattanooga and the Craft Axe Throwing Sports Complex in East Ridge. She is a member of the Professional Photographers of America, Tennessee Professional Photographers and the President of the Photographic Society of Chattanooga. You can view Lin’s work at her website www.Linbprabishartist.com.

Kevin Kibble: is proud member of the Professional Photographers of America who specializes in Portraiture, Event, Headshots and Product photography. He has been published in journals such as, “Forks Over Knives”, “Business Jet International” and “Floor Trends Magazine”. Trip Advisor has designated Kevin a “Senior Photographer” and he’s received a “Certificate of Excellence” from Bark.com. Viewbug Organization has awarded him “Achievement in Originality”, “Curator’s” and “Zenith” awards. Kevin finds smiles of satisfied clients as the most rewarding achievement. You can view Kevin’s work on his website at www.kphotokraft.com.

Steve Thomas: has been involved with photography for over 35 years. He is the owner of SGT Photography, specializing in headshots, portraiture, landscape, fashion and event photography. Steve has been published in “Bicycling” and “Outdoor” magazines, and has images hanging in many businesses, hospitals and homes across the southeast. He is a member of the Professional Photographers of America (PPA), is an incoming board member of Tennessee Professional Photographers Association (TNPPA), as well as being a Certified Professional Photographer (CPP) and a Certified Welding Inspector (CWI). In his free time, Steve donates his time to Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep and the Rise UP Cooperative for Chattanooga. You can view Steve’s work on his website www.sgtphoto.com.

Randy Ware: is a retired photography teacher who’s love affair with photography began in the 1970’s when he took a class in college that included how to use a 35mm film camera and developing black and white film. After graduation, he set up his own dark room for color prints and started capturing images with a medium format camera. Since retirement, Randy will photograph anything of interest, but he loves photographing people the most. He loves capturing people’s stories through their facial expressions and eyes. He is an active member of the Photographic Society of Chattanooga.

Tom & Pat Cory: are semi-retired nature and travel photographers who have been members of PSC for many years. For 35 years they led photography tours throughout the United States, Europe, Latin America and the Pacific Rim. Tom and Pat have spent extensive time in Iceland, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and the Faroe Islands. In addition to their travels, they have published three photography books and had their work featured in numerous publications such as Outdoor Photography, Nature Photographer, the PSA Journal and Sierra Club Calendars.