A native of Charleston, Jack opened Alterman Studios in 1980. He founded the Center for Photography in 2002 to promote and teach the art of photography. In 2004, he developed and coordinated a multimedia exhibition that brought attention to Charleston's homeless population. Who Among Us, featured more than 75 individual and group portraits by more than 30 professional photographers. His 2005 one-man show, The Bridge Builders, showcased the diversity of the workers who constructed the new the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge in Charleston. Also, in 2005, he published the Cornices of Charleston with artist Susan Romaine. The book is a collection of photographs by Alterman and corresponding paintings by Romaine. In 2000, Jack began his remarkable portrait series A Few Familiar Faces, which remains on permanent exhibit at his gallery on upper King Street.

All of Alterman’s images in the Palmetto Portraits Project are color digital prints.

“I love connecting with people through photography, and the Palmetto Portraits Project is an inspiring way to do exactly that.” – Jack Alterman

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GAYLE BROOKER, originally of Greenville, SC, received a BA from the College of Charleston in 1999 where she double majored in Studio Art and Spanish. She subsequently studied for a year at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and completed her M.F.A. in Photography from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in 2002. Following graduation, in the fall of 2002, Brooker accepted a teaching position at the College of Charleston and went on to be the sabbatical replacement for the Head of the Photography program for the 2003-04 school year. For the past three years, she has spent her time working as a photographer’s assistant in New York City under the direction of James Baigrie, Dana Gallagher, and Mathew Hranek. While assisting she continued to photograph for weddings and editorials. Her work has appeared in the editorial publications of Victoria Magazine, InStyle Weddings, Modern Bride, Brides New York and Brides New Jersey. Brooker recently relocated back to her roots in Charleston, SC and continues to work as a freelance photographer.

A Greenwood resident, Holloway's photographs have been nationally and internationally exhibited and collected by museums, private and corporate collections. His work has appeared in numerous publications including America 24/7, South Carolina 24/7, and National Geographic. His exhibits include Nature’s Rhythm, 3500 Years: Native America, India: A Journey, and Cuba. Jon travels extensively throughout the U.S., Central America, South Africa, and India, documenting the natural history and heritage of the lands he visits.

All of Jon’s images for the Palmetto Portraits Project are gelatin silver prints or type C prints.

"Too often in our society, we neglect the importance of creating meaningful connections with the world around us. I believe that, as soulful beings, we are made to share ourselves with each other. -- Jon Holloway

A lifelong artist and native South Carolinian, Caroline Jenkins received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Dance Theatre from The College of William and Mary in 1981. She subsequently moved to New York City where she was a professional actress for five years and then on to Los Angeles where she worked in film, television and commercial production.

It was during her years out west that she discovered her passion for photography and for finding ways to translate previously learned elements of movement, composition and light into her still images. She has worked as a full time corporate photographer and has freelanced from Key West to NYC. She finds photography to be an incredible process to explore and express the human condition.

Caroline lives in her hometown of Greenwood SC with her sweet husband Ralph, her amazing son Jones, her dogs Miki and Maggie, and a cat named Josh.

“While shooting for this project, I was continually amazed at the willingness of people to be present and available to the lens…their openness and generosity of spirit was inspiring to me as an artist and encouraging as a witness to humanity.”

JULIA LYNN’s photography reflects her love of the outdoors, meeting new people and storytelling. Her photographs are a blend of conceptual people photography, location photography and documentary photography. Constantly scouting for the perfect location, she is particularly drawn to the vibrant characters and historic architecture of her native south. The combination of a perfect location and an interesting mind can really bring a story to life on film. "Each photo should tell a complete story," says Julia, "like a movie in a single frame". Elements, location and character are all built around the story. Julia particularly enjoys traveling and does so for various photo shoots. Julia says discovering new subjects through the lens of her camera – people, places, food and cultures – they all inspire her. Every new experience brings new discoveries that may be interpreted through the camera. Originally from Roanoke, VA, Julia graduated from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee and then the Portfolio Center in Atlanta, GA. She currently resides in Charleston, SC working in the editorial, advertising and corporate markets, as well as pursues personal projects. She is a member of the SC chapter of ASMP and teaches at the Charleston Center for Photography.

Native of Atlanta, Georgia. Resident of McClellanville. Taught photography at Emory University for 17 years. Received the National Endowment for the Arts/Nexus Artist Book Grant, the Southern Arts Foundation Fellowship for Photography and was a fellow at the Ossabaw Island Genesis Project. Received the M.F.A. in photography from Georgia State University School of Art and Design in 1996. Marshall has work in the collections of the High Museum of Art and the Montgomery Museum of Art.

Phil came to this country 23 years ago from Scotland with an interest in photographing the working environments of ordinary people. “When I came to South Carolina, the textile industry was still flourishing, and I took an interest in photographing it because it had formed the environment of the Upper Piedmont,” he says. “Now, of course, things have changed dramatically, but I continue to document the effects of the textile industry on the Carolinas.” Phil teaches in the Department of Art & Design at Winthrop University in Rock Hill.

All of Moody’s images for the Palmetto Portraits Project are color digital prints.

“I have always been interested in photographing the working environments of ordinary people, and my work is still motivated by their stories.” --Phil Moody

As a documentary photographer, Vennie Deas Moore’s camera records stories; one image connecting to the next. When she first became a photographer/writer, she studied the 1930s photographers/writers like Julia Peterkin, Zora Neale Hurston, Doris Ulmann, Dorothea Lange, and Walker Evans. She was taken by the stories told in the faces of people in the era of the Great Depression. While these photographs often contained faces, they were usually nameless. With her Young South Carolinians series Deas Moore is focusing on young people in downtown Columbia, South Carolina. She says, “perhaps many years later, they, too, will tell a story.”

Vennie Deas Moore was a research specialist in Immunology at MUSC in the early 1980’s. In 1984, she left Charleston to work in Washington, DC. where she worked at George Washington University in Cancer Research. It was there, she said, where she was “bitten by the Folk-life Bug.” She attended George Washington University to study American Studies.

She returned back to South Carolina, to University of South Carolina as a guest curator at McKissick Museum. There she became a folk life photographer and writer. She has published numerous articles and books, notably, “Home: Portraits from the Carolina Coast.”

Since childhood, Milton Morris has always had a love for photography. After earning a degree in business from Clemson University, Milton spent a year in New York City working as a photographer’s assistant. When he returned to South Carolina he started his own business, photographing a wide variety of people and places for advertising, corporate, and editorial clients. While most assignments require digital capture, Milton prefers to shoot large format film. He recently acquired a 40 year old Deardorff 11x14 camera and had it fully restored. For the Palmetto Portraits project, all images were captured on 8x10 or 11x14 film using either the 11x14 Deardorff or a Horseman 8x10 view camera. When he is not behind the camera, Milton spends time with his wife and two sons.

BLAKE PRAYTOR was raised the son of a Naval officer in North and South Carolina. After his college years, his interest in architecture and design fueled his life’s direction. Blake’s passion for photography was born while working on the interior design staff of The R.L. Bryan Company. By the 1960’s, to escape his current lifestyle, Blake traveled to Nantucket, MA for the summer of 1970. In this time he met a local photographer named Charlie Foler who gave Blake his first camera, a 35 mm Kowa Six Camera. Soon after he enrolled in the photography program at The California College of Arts and Crafts. In 1974 he returned with his wife Margaret to her hometown of Greenville, South Carolina. Blake entered Graduate School at Clemson University studying Graphic Communication printing and publishing several small books of his own work. He taught public school for a year before becoming the Creative Director for the Greenville County Museum of Art. During the next several years Blake established a commercial studio in downtown Greenville and was recognized as one of the top advertising photographers in the area. After 25 years in the commercial photography business, he decided to close his studio and to return to graduate school at Clemson University, studying under the tutelage of Sam Wang, where he earned his MFA in 1998 at age 55. He joined the faculty of Greenville Technical College in 1999, served as Chairman of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts for 9 years, and is now Lead Professor of Photography. Blake continues to work with his first love, a Leica M3 Double Stroke with a 50 mm Dual Range Summicron.

Documentary photographer, RUTH RACKLEY, grew up with her feet grounded in the red Carolina clay. The daughter of a missionary, Ruth discovered a love of photography through the photographs her mom would share from her work abroad. Picking up the camera only seemed natural, and at an early age Ruth felt at ease traveling and viewing the world through the lens. The images she produces tell the stories of the people she meets. For Ruth, shooting is a quiet and emotional experience that allows her to focus on the nuances of her subjects and the decisive moment. It’s her think-feel-react way of photographing that allows the viewer to quickly and easily understand her images and relate to the moment. Currently Ruth works as freelance photographer and has traveled on assignment to Asia, the Caribbean, and Central America. Ruth has won international recognition for her work by the WPJA (Wedding Photojournalist Association)

Kathleen Robbins is an assistant professor and head of the art studio area’s photography program at the University of South Carolina. Her work has been widely exhibited, including the 2006 Ping Yao International Photography Festival in Ping Yao, China. Her work is also included in several public and private collections including the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans. After receiving a Master of Fine Arts degree in 2001 from the University of New Mexico, she taught at Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi, before joining the USC faculty in 2003.

Growing up in Massachusetts, Nancy first caught the photography bug while reading Life magazine at age six. She then asked for her first camera, a Polaroid Swinger, but instead received a mint green Girl Scout Brownie camera. After studying documentary photography at The Art Institute of Boston and freelancing for several years, Nancy moved to Charleston and got a job as a photographer for the City Paper, where she worked for seven years. She’s now the publications photographer at the College of Charleston and is once again freelancing. Nancy has won several national AAN awards for her photo essays on local artists, the East Side, and the Gullah community.

All of Nancy’s images for the Palmetto Portraits Project are silver gelatin prints.

“The people of the Lowcountry fascinate me. Their lives are rich with southern flavor. I am thrilled to get this opportunity to document and honor them in the Palmetto Portraits Project.” —Nancy Santos

Mark Sloan is a curator, author and artist. He has served as the director and curator of the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston since 1994. He has directed two national non-profit artists' organizations--The Light Factory in Charlotte, NC (1985-86) and San Francisco Camerawork in California (Associate Director, 1986-89). His 2004 book, Rarest of the Rare: Stories Behind the Specimens at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, features Mark’s photographs of this storied collection. As a photographer, Mark specializes in still life and portraiture. His photographs have been exhibited widely, including at the High Museum in Atlanta and the Grand Palais in Paris.

All of Mark’s images for the Palmetto Portraits Project are color digital prints.

“I set out to photograph independent King Street merchants, as I’m interested in showing the range of business types, the ethnic and cultural mix of merchants, and the contrast between older and newer businesses. I plan to continue this project chronicling the shifting fates of this historic main street.” – Mark Sloan

An associate professor at the College of Charleston, Michelle started the photography program at the college in 1997. Her photographs have appeared in exhibitions worldwide and are included in the collections of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Nevada Museum of Art, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, to list a few. A 20-year retrospective monograph of her desert landscape photographs entitled The Way Out West will be published next fall by the Center for American Places.

All of Van Parys’ images in the Palmetto Portraits Project are Silver Gelatin Prints.

“I was interested in photographing a cross section of individuals in the Lowcountry. The subjects represent a broader community of people, and each is pictured within an environment that supports his or her place in life.” – Michelle Van Parys

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Sam Wang was born in Beijing, China, and grew up in Hong Kong. He came to the US after high school and attended Augustana College in Sioux Falls. After receiving an MFA in photography with a minor in painting from the University of Iowa, he joined the faculty at the School of Architecture at Clemson University in 1966. He taught graduate and undergraduate photography and “art with computer” and helped initiate the MFA-DPA program that prepared students for the animation industry. He retired from Clemson in 2006 as an Alumni Distinguished Professor of Art.

Sam's art included many photographic techniques and processes, including photo-silkscreen, platinum/palladium, gum bichromate, pinhole and “zoneplate”, and digital imaging. In addition to Clemson, he has taught workshops in photography and digital imaging at Penland School of Crafts, University of Oregon, Notre Dame University, Appalachian Environmental Arts Center, Nanjing Arts Institute, among others. His work is in the collection of numerous museums and educational institutions nationally.

CECIL WILLIAMS is an Orangeburg, South Carolina based professional photographer. He started taking pictures at nine years old and by 15, was a freelance photographer for JET Magazine. Currently Williams operates a photography-videography-publishing business while working as the Claflin University yearbook and university photographer. He is the author of three books primarily based on his experiences as a civil rights photographer. With a comprehensive photographic collection of the civil rights era appearing in 126 books, 17 newspapers, and 11 television documentaries, Cecil Williams photographs have perpetually preserved the African American experience throughout the second half of the 20th Century.