Photojournalism: Capturing Moments - with Ben Gray

Please join us for our June First Friday meeting featuring photographer Ben Gray and enter our print image competition, “NATURE" (more information below.)

Photography is about finding and capturing the moments that tell a story. This is especially true in photojournalism, where the photographer is the eyes of the public and is responsible for telling the story unfolding in front of them. With 30 years of experience, Ben Gray has captured these moments in just about every situation, from President Carter's funeral (see photo above) to abortion protests to a zebra loose in downtown Atlanta. See some of his favorite images and hear the stories behind them. He will also share some of the personal projects he’s done and talk about how he uses them to fuel his creativity.

Ben Gray is a creative visual communicator with more than 30 years of professional experience as a photojournalist, videographer, photo editor and communications officer. Ben is based in Atlanta where he works with a variety of clients including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Associated Press, the BBC, Cox Enterprises, Wells Fargo, the Carter Center and the Georgia Department of Economic Development. Previously, Ben lived in the Middle East, where he worked in Jerusalem and Palestine in the non-profit and religious sector with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land and the Lutheran World Federation.

Prior to moving to the Middle East, Ben worked for 18 years at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as a photojournalist, photo editor and director of photography. He is a graduate of Ohio University’s Visual Communication program and serves on the board of directors of The Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar.

Ben has written blogs, deadline stories and feature-length narratives. He is a winning ultramarathon runner who has completed 100-mile races, an avid motorcycle rider and a patented inventor (graymatterinventions.com).

To see his work and learn more about Ben, visit:
bengray.com or Instagram: @photobgray

Please note:

• This month’s meeting will be at our regular meeting location, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta at 2650 N. Druid Hills Road NE, Atlanta.
• Entries are limited to TWO prints per paid member – one color and one Black and White.
• Please BRING YOUR PRINTS to the meeting on an appropriate rigid backing surface. (No frames!) See competition rules for more information.
• The competition will be judged from the printed image during the meeting.
• We are requesting/encouraging members to submit a digital file of their printed image by the meeting time for display on the SPS website.
• The digital version of the printed image is to be sized appropriately; files are to be re-named using the SPS naming convention:
• Firstname Lastname – Image Title
• Digital images are to be uploaded to the links below:
• Black & White images: SPS Black & White Monthly Submissions
• Color images: SPS Color Monthly Submissions

All are welcome to attend the presentation.
***
SPS has three standing meetings each month for its members and guests. The First Friday meeting features a guest speaker and a members’ image competition. While competition entries at these monthly meetings are restricted to current dues-paying members, we ALWAYS welcome visitors interested in photography to attend. The Learnshops (Fourth Tuesdays) and Coffee & Critique (Second Saturdays) are intended for members, but again, we welcome visitors. If you attend regularly, we ask that you help support the club (which pays for the rental of the facilities, supplies and equipment) by becoming a member!

Signing up on the SPS Meetup page does not make you an SPS member. SPS members pay dues to engage in many activities that are unavailable to guests who only sign up on the SPS MeetUp.

To find out more about SPS, visit:
www.spsatlanta.org
To become a member, visit:
[www.joinspsatlanta.org](https://form.jotform.com/spsatlanta/club-membership-registration-form)