Georgia Mountain Beacon

North Georgia – Spring break was an opportunity for learning for five Commercial Photography students from North Georgia Technical College as they accompanied their instructors, Jeff Gulle and Ginger Moseley, to the Southeastern Professional Photographers Convention in Athens, Georgia.

Arriving a day earling on March 23, the crew setup for the convention and logged in prints for the print competition.  They then spent two very long days working the print saloon where judges viewed photographs, gave critiques and gave scores.  “We had to organize the registrations and coordinate how and when the prints were displayed during the judging,” said student Lynn McCollum.  “It was a great experience hearing critiques about incredible photos.”

“I really enjoyed the chance to talk to professional photographers about their experiences and the techniques they used,” said student Julia Triassi.

From Delaware to Florida and Mississippi to Puerto Rico, over 227 competitors entered 900 prints.  For this competition, only SEPPA members were allowed to compete.

Jeff Gulle won several awards including Best of Show for the image “Homeward Bound,” a photo of a bear taken in Alaska, and the Dick Dickerson Award for the most improvement of his average print case score.  In addition, he got two distinguished prints for “Golden Girl,” a portrait taken under a dam, and “Check yourself at the door,” a portrait taken in the doorway of a abandoned building.

Although Ginger Moseley has been a professional photographer for over eighteen years, never before had she entered prints in an official print competition.  Three of her four submitted images, “Movie Kiss,” “Say What,” and “Doorway to Forever,” each earned a state merit.  “It was very interesting to see what the judges were looking for and also how things are run behind the scenes.  There is a strong group of volunteer-oriented individuals who put in a lot of time and effort to make sure things run smoothly,” she said.  “It was nice to see our students serving side-by-side with some of the state’s finest photographers.”

“It was a fascinating experience to be in the print salon and watch the judging process,” said student Stephanie Maley.  “I learned so much about photography.  And I learned that our instructors are the best!”

For more information on the Commercial Photography program of study at North Georgia Technical College, contact Jeff Gulle at jgulle@northgatech.edu.

Pictured:  l-r-ginger-mosely-sara-chambliss-richard-hayes-julia-triassi-jeff-gulle-lynn-mccollum-and-stephanie-maley

Tags: clarkesville georgia, commercial photography, ngtc, north Georgia, north Georgia technical college, photography, technical college