2024 GCA Photography Conference Reimagine the World

January 31, 2024

Four expert photographers share insights and images
Kathryn Pritchett, Vice-Chair Communications Public Pages

On January 25, the 2024 GCA Photography Conference, Reimagine the World, showed photography enthusiasts how to look through the lens with a new perspective. Three renowned photographers encouraged the audience to immerse themselves in the environment, take time to shoot the image and, most importantly, “play around.” Xuan-Hui Ng shared poetic images of snow-covered Japanese forests. Stephanie Johnson demonstrated how to intentionally blur images to achieve vibrant abstract images. Nevada Wier explained the theory behind her captivating travel photos. A fourth expert photographer, Santiago Lyon, discussed the perils of AI when used to generate a photograph from text. Building on last year’s storytelling theme, all four presenters inspired their viewers to pull out their cameras and make authentic, inspiring art.

Tokyo-based Xuan-Hui Ng showcased ephemeral photos captured in some of her favorite Japanese woods. Raised in Singapore and educated at MIT, Ng worked as an investment banker for years before turning to photography full time. Her poetic presentation was laced with technical advice about capturing ethereal “diamond dust” ice crystals and snow-covered “sun pillars.”

Stephanie Johnson lives in Iowa, but her images are out of this world. A practitioner of Intentional Camera Movement (ICM), she uses both a traditional camera and mobile phone to create evocative images filled with color and light.  She gamely demonstrated various movements to achieve these effects.

Nevada Wier is based in Santa Fe but travels the globe to capture the award-winning photos she’s published in premier publications like National Geographic and the New York Times Magazine. Along with exploring the elements she considers every time she takes a photograph, she gave expert advice on how to approach people to photograph.

Santiago Lyon heads up the Adobe-sponsored Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI) which is working to authenticate photos and provide transparency as to their provenance. Though this initiative is backed by large tech and media companies, NGOs, and academics, Lyon encouraged GCA photographers to join the CAI to stay abreast of developments in the quest for truth and authenticity in the images we see.

From the serenity of snow-covered forests to the turmoil of AI-produced propaganda, the images presented at the conference opened attendees’ eyes to new ways of seeing and capturing the world.

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