Each year Arts Clayton Gallery in Jonesboro, Georgia holds their juried photography exhibition. This year I was invited to be their juror. It was not an easy task. I’d like to share with you the winning images for 2016. -Editor
Large parts of Georgia, my home state, are covered by long-leaf pine forests and grasses and junkyards. By contrast the landscape of the Okefenokee Swamp feels other-worldly. It is teaming with abundant prehistoric creatures and the suggestion of so many others that lie just beneath the surface of the black water. All of it, under the careful watch of the birds, always overhead and alert.
Bio: Tina Brown came to enjoy fine art photography late in life. She spent many years in the corporate world of Human Resources. Now, she photographs her environment, always seeking new ways to see and experience the people, nature and events around her. ©Tina Brown
I was almost three months old when Keith and Mick happened to bump into each other at a train station rekindling a childhood friendship over American Blues records. The summer I turned four, Satisfaction was hitting Number One on the U.S. charts. I’ve loved The Rolling Stones before I knew who they were. While beach balls and the smell of pot drifted through the air, I stood, the whole time, watching these guys, almost my parents’ age, electrify a crowd just shy of 50,000 at Bobby Dodd Stadium in June, 2016.
Bio: Donna Rosser was born in Virginia in 1961. Prompted by her mother and grandfather (both amateur photographers), she was introduced to the camera at an early age. Known for her photography, Rosser is also a writer and paints. She recently participated in the Art Gone Wild event at Zoo Atlanta; painting and creating cyanotypes using plant material found at the zoo. Her photography has been exhibited in many public spaces including the Georgia Capitol, Hartsfield Jackson and Denver Airports, and the DC Metro. Rosser recently co-curated Southern Icons; A to Z with Rob McDonald and Meryl Truett.
Donna@thebarefootphotographer.com
©Donna Rosser
The Barefoot Photographer®
Solidifying Roots
While Mother was in hospice I sat with her as she told me family stories about my relatives, who was related to who and each of their stories. Some of the people and stories I recognized; some I didn’t. They poured out of her with an urgency to share all that she knew, like a computer downloading all its information, and I knew to be patient and listen carefully as these were the oral traditions of our family.
When she died 8 years ago and my dad moved into a smaller place, I inherited boxes and boxes of things that ranged from a sundry of family pictures, spanning back to the 1800’s, to a wide variety of objects, including art and my grandmother’s cooking fork.
These items have filled my guestroom closet and sat in my garage gathering dust. A bit overwhelmed, I kept thinking, “What do I do with it all?” Feeling the responsibility to preserve my family’s ancestry in a meaningful way, I came up with the aesthetic concept of beautifully photographing the old photos and pairing them with items related to the person in my family. My four children were all named after a family member so this process is also a means for me to tell them part of their ancestral story.
I feel a deep satisfaction in this artwork as my heritage bridges to my present, merging our family roots and visually telling our story.
Bio:
To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition in a fraction of a second of the significance of an event. Henri Cartier-Bresson
I am a fine art photographer based near Atlanta, Georgia. I am drawn to subjects that make me contemplate my awareness of existence and the legacy of all the sacred and beautiful things that I am privaledged to experience in my time here. My imagery creates visual storytelling and my wish is that it engages the viewer to want to know more. I have taken photos for over 40 years. I have moved from film to digital and wet darkroom to the digital darkroom of the computer. The fragility of life is a catalyst for me to do what I can to preserve it one frame at a time.
www.dalenilesphotography.com ©Dale Niles
This photograph was taken during my recent trip to Cuba. I noticed the unique shape and faded blue of the telephone booths on my first day in Havana and as I found them throughout the island I began capturing them during the subsequent days. This pair of phone booths was photographed in the bayside city of Cienfuegos just before sunset. I especially liked the way the shadows from the palm trees danced on the walls of the building behind the phone booths.
Bio: Photographing everyday life in new and different ways is something I enjoy and I have done so for over 30 years. The message in my photos is that if you just slow down and look closely, you can find beauty in things you look at every day.
I appreciate the patterns in ordinary things, using the contrast of light and dark to capture feelings. However, my favorite photos are ones in which I capture bright colors.
Taking candid photos for school yearbooks and photographing high school and college baseball games, is my passion. I specialize in still life photos, painting my own backdrops and in travel photography. My most recent photography trip was to Cuba.
BIO: I own StrawberryRose Photography, located in Douglasville, Georgia. I earned a Certificate of Photography from Emory University in January, 2016. As a member of Sweetwater Camera Club, I was the Featured Member in the Chapel Hill News & Views, in the June, 2016 issue.
tawni.blamble@gmail.com ©Tawni Blamble
I have never had a close encounter quite like this one! Visiting the Serengeti Safari at Bush Gardens, I was able to get a once-in-a-lifetime shot. One stop on the safari is to feed the giraffes. They come right up to the open aired vehicle with their cute faces, waiting to be petted and fed. While everyone was vying for the giraffes’ attention, there was one giraffe who singled me out and was vying for my attention…and, he got it! He was so curious about my camera and lens, coming closer and closer and closer. I was frantically clicking away as fast as I could. Snap! I captured the shot right before he tried to sink his teeth into my lens. What a moment! It was such an exciting, amazing and unforgettable experience!
BIO: My passion for photography centers around my love for animals and the majestic beauty of nature. Animals can be so animated and so full of life and for one split section, that decisive moment can be captured through the lens of a camera.
I have had an enthusiasm for photography for as long as I can remember. Photography was a “family affair” with my mother constantly documenting our lives by taking pictures of everything (and everybody) and my father recording the world with his video camera. They were very influential in my life, and it is no surprise that I would inherit this love for capturing life one frame at a time.
©Susan Perry
Baiting is an image I made on one of my many trips to Apalachicola Bay to document the oyster and fishing culture. We were at Smith Creek in the Apalachicola National Forest visiting some oystermen and their families on opening day of squirrel season. We found their camp and everyone was enjoying the midday around camp. I just walked around talking and photographing the oystermen and their kids.
These two were fishing and playing around the creek when I walked up and got this shot. This is still one of my favorite images made around the bay.
BIO: Mike has been photographing since 1974 where it all started as a hobby. He studied photography at the Art Institute of Atlanta where he has an Associate Degree in Photography. He owned and operated a studio in Marietta, GA until 1985 when life got the best of his photography work.
Mike became active again in the art world in 2006 when the urge to photograph grabbed him once again. He has worked prolifically in digital ever since. He has spent the last 6 years documenting the oyster and fishing culture in the Apalachicola Bay area of Florida. Over the years he has made some wonderful friends and made some great photographs of the oystermen and women, fishermen and seafood workers in the area.
Mike has won many awards over the years. He has exhibited all over the Southeast and can be found most days rambling with his camera in hand in search of that one more subject.
mikenalley.photography ©Mike Nalley
