FACULTY
Christy Frank is a filmmaker, photojournalist and writer based in the Great Lakes region. She is passionate about storytelling that intersects environmental, human and wildlife conditions. She combines a background in art, journalism, business and biology to help manage projects from start to action and to convey stories from a unique perspective. Christy’s work has appeared in bioGraphic, National Wildlife Federation, PBS, Great Lakes Now, Audubon, CBS News, PBS Nature, several galleries and for numerous nonprofit causes.
CHRISTY FRANK
Michael Edrington is an accomplished photographer and editor with an impressive 31-year career as a U.S. Army officer having held various command and staff positions related to photography, publishing, and visual communications. Notable roles include commanding the Army’s 55th Signal Company (Combat Camera), serving as deputy commander/publisher of Stars & Stripes Pacific in Tokyo, Japan and commanding the American Forces Network Europe in Frankfurt, Germany. Additionally, he served as the civilian director of the Defense Imagery Management Operations Center overseeing the DoD visual archive and dissemination of military operational imagery in support of the Department of Defense. Edrington's most recent work includes serving as managing editor for esteemed photo books Relentless Courage—Ukraine and "The World at War, the New York Times best seller Where Valor Rests—Arlington National Cemetery, as well as For Children of Valor. He also co-curated the photo exhibit "Desert Storm, A Photographic Diary" at the Smithsonian’s American History Museum. Throughout his career, Edrington has been honored with numerous military and civilian awards, including the National Press Photographers’ Association Morris Berman Award and President’s Medal for his outstanding service to photojournalists and the photojournalism profession.
MICHAEL EDRINGTON
SCOTT ALLEN
Lieutenant Commander Scott Allen served 26 years in the Navy as a military photojournalist, then as Public Affairs Officer. For his final tour, he served as Deputy Director for Current Operations, Multi-National Force, Strategic Communications in Baghdad, Iraq. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois and his Navy Commission from the Illinois Institute of Technology. Scott attended the Syracuse University Military Photojournalism program in 1987 and attained his master’s degree in visual communications from Syracuse University in 2022. He recently self-published a book titled: SHOOTING FROM WITHIN, Capturing Military History One Frame at a Time. He is a recipient of numerous photography awards from the National Press Photographers Association, Military Photography of the Year Contest, and The Naval Institute. In 1990, the U.S. Navy named Scott its Photojournalist of the Year. He has documented breaking news and military operations, including the recovery of Space Shuttle Challenger, conflicts in Panama, the Persian Gulf and Iraq, the discovery of mass graves in Iraq, the pre-trials of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and many other international news events. He’s been published by the Associated Press, Washington Post, New York Times, USA Today, London Times, U.S. News and World Report, Sporting News, Sports Illustrated and in books and other publications worldwide. In 1989, he was selected for the Eddie Adams Workshop, and has returned every year since as part of its staff helping to mentor future photographers. He is currently the Chairman of the Board for NYC Salt, a photography and mentorship non-profit for inner-city youth in New York. He lives in the Chicagoland area and works for the U.S. Department of Labor where he serves as Regional Director for Media Relations and Public Affairs for 12 Midwestern states.
AARON ANSAROV
Aaron Ansarov is a passionate creative with over 30 years of experience. He started his career as a Navy photojournalist and combat cameraman. He then transitioned to commercial and fine art photography in South Florida, where his work has been recognized and published globally. Aaron considers himself a visual entrepreneur, constantly seeking out unique and inspiring projects that resonate with others. A constant learner, he then expanded his skill set by earning a Bachelors in Advertising which allowed him to find unique markets for his projects. Following the loss of his best friend, mentor, and grandfather, Aaron chose to make another transition and prioritize time with his family while exploring and learning new creative pursuits. Whether it's woodworking, sculpture, painting, or any other form of "creative constructions," Aaron embraces the freedom to follow his artistic instincts each day. He cherishes this creative freedom as a rare blessing most never achieve. In addition to his many creative endeavors, Aaron and his wife spend their summers in Poland, where they organize and facilitate an annual horse camp. Over the next five years, Aaron's main focus is on providing a nurturing and creative environment for his teenage daughter and son, whom he considers his greatest creations. To see some of Aaron's previous projects, visit Ansarov.com
Sharon Farmer is a photojournalist and lectures extensively on photography and photojournalism. Her recent solo photographic exhibit entitled Pro-Active Women was exhibited in 2009 at the Sewell-Belmont House and Museum on Capitol Hill in Washington. She was the curator for the photography show entitled Cuba Now at the District of Columbia's Sumner Museum and curator for Touchstone Gallery's Regional Photography Competition and Exhibition. Formerly an assignment editor for the Associated Press, she was part of the A.P. team in 2003 that covered the Super Bowl in San Diego, California. Ms. Farmer was the campaign photographer for Sen. John Kerry's presidential election campaign in 2004. Farmer served as Director of the White House Photography Office from 1999-2001. A White House photographer since 1993, she documented the Clinton-Gore Administration since it's beginning. Ms. Farmer has been a professional photojournalist and exhibition photographer for more than 35 years, shooting news stories, political campaigns, cultural events, conferences, and portraits. Over the years she has photographed for The Washington Post, the Smithsonian Institution, The American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority to name a few.
SHARON FARMER
CHIP MAURY
Maury began his photography career in 1956 as a U.S. Navy Photographer's Mate. During his illustrious Navy career, he was a diver and underwater photographer. He served in Underwater Demolition Team Eleven. With the team he served in three combat tours in Vietnam. He was also a Naval parachutist specializing in free-fall photography and made more than 1,500 jumps. His last assignment before retiring from the Navy was as the Photo Chief at Pacific Stars and Stripes, Tokyo where his staff took first, runner-up and almost one half the individual awards in Military Photographer of the Year competition for three years. Maury retired as a Chief Petty Officer in 1975 and worked as a staff photographer with the Associated Press in Boston. After spending four years with AP he became the Director of Photography for The Providence Journal in Rhode Island. After nearly eight years at the Journal he moved to Indianapolis, IN. There he worked as the Director of Photography at The Indianapolis Star for 15 years. He has been a visiting professor at Syracuse University and working with the Military Photojournalism Classes for more than 30 years. Maury retired and is now living in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York and continues to be a mentor to his protégé in the position of National Press Photographer's Association liaison to the Department of Defense, a position he held for over 13 years.
SVET JACQUELINE
Svet Jacqueline earned a Bachelor of Science in Photography from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. She has done commercial work and freelance for Sony Records and managed studios in Los Angeles, California. During the global pandemic, she began documenting the Black Lives Matter movement and published her first book, 100 Days of Protest. In 2021, she split her time between Los Angeles, Mexico, and Texas documenting migration at the U.S. border and the cycle of poverty on Skid Row. Her work won first place in the International Photography Awards and NPPA Best of Photojournalism. When Russia invaded Ukraine, she began focusing on visual stories around childhood trauma in conflict zones. She is a photo essayist in the book, Relentless Courage: Ukraine And The World At War and Ukraine: A War Crime by FotoEvidence. All About Photo named her one of the best modern photographers in their September issue and CNN featured her as one of 12 women and nonbinary photographers capturing 2022. She has participated in the “Eddie Adams Workshop,” and the “Missouri Photo Workshop.” Recent exhibitions have been at the Orlando Museum of Art, NYU, and The Ukraine House in Washington D.C. She was shortlisted for the Mary Stafford reportage grant and received The Yunghi Grant for her ongoing work, “Too Young To Fight.” You can find more of her work in The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, and Zeke Magazine. HEFAT, HEAT, and New York Times safety trained - She is currently based in Ukraine and available for new assignments on a freelance basis- represented by ZUMA Press and Leica Camera.
Mark Kettenhofen’s work spans across decades and genres. He has been behind his camera covering war in Iraq, to spending weeks in the jungles of the Amazon River basin for NGOs. His efforts and talent were recognized through numerous awards, including being awarded the prestigious Military Photographer of the Year. After retiring from the Navy, Mark spent 21-years working for Nikon Professional Services, as a senior staff photographer where he produced several award-winning UHD time-lapse movies highlighting the D850 and Z7. Mark is the co-author of America from 500-feet II, a photographic study of the United States using experimental aircraft with legendary landscape photographer, Bill Fortney. Mark’s passion for photography is only eclipsed by teaching, mentoring, and sharing the magic of photography with others. This has allowed Mark to be a workshop leader for Defense Information School, Nikon School, Eddie Adams Workshop, Arizona Highways Magazine, US DOD Military Workshops, National Geographic’s Lindblad Expeditions, and now Santa Fe Workshops.
MARK KETTENHOFFEN
Shane is an original plank owner of the DC Shoot off and has worked with Johnny Bivera since inception in 2006. He's the US Marshals first photojournalist & videographer, his operational photography is used by media worldwide to help explain the US Marshals mission. He also edits video, creates multimedia presentations and does layout and design for the Marshals. He is a former member of the Legion Photo Agency and a freelance photojournalist in Washington, DC. He was an active duty Navy photojournalist for over 15 years working at commands like the Office of Naval Intelligence, Combat Camera Atlantic and All Hands Magazine, where he was Photo Editor for close to six years. He attended the military's advanced PHOJO course at SU in 1999, a mentor for 7 Military Worldwide Workshops and Black Team member for The Eddie Adams workshop for the last four years. He lives in the DC area with his wife and two daughters.
SHANE MCCOY
BRIEN AHO
Brien is a native of St. Paul, Minnesota, and a co-founder of the Shoot Off photography workshops. Brien joined the Navy in 1991 and has photographed in 45 countries. As an instructor at Defense Information School for four years he helped mold the future of military photographers. After graduating from the 2002 Advanced Military Photojournalism program at Newhouse School of Communications, Syracuse University, Brien started working as a combat photojournalist at Combat Camera Atlantic where he completed tours in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay Cuba. Brien won over 33 awards to include first place wins six times at the Military Photographer of the Year competition in different categories and won the prestigious Communicator Award for “The Road to Recovery” a photo documentary about burn patients and their ordeal. Former President of the D.C. chapter of the National Association of Naval Photography, Brien produced their annual 4 day photography workshop “The D.C. Shoot Off”. Brien is also a twenty-year veteran of the “Black Team” at the Eddie Adams Workshop and was a student on the 2003 purple team. Brien has been published in numerous books, magazines and newspapers such as National Geographic, Time, Newsweek, GQ, Washington Post and the New York Times. His work appears in many books pertaining to the war in Iraq like the critically acclaimed ‘This Is Our War” and the recently published “War/Photography Images of Armed Conflict and it’s Aftermath”. A proud father of 2 lovely daughters Sophia and Bailey, Brien lives in Austin Texas and is currently working for USDA FSIS as an Audio Visual Production Specialist. Contracted Photographer with Associated Press & Getty Images.
Jim is an accomplished public affairs specialist with more than 40-years of experience as a photojournalist, photo editor, designer, and photography director. His professional career began as a U.S. Navy photojournalist working with the Blue Angels and All Hands Magazine. He began a career in newspapers as a photographer at The Denver Post, becoming the Director of Photography after five years. He has also worked as a photographer and photo editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer; Photo Director at the Houston Post; Assistant Managing Editor of Photography at The Sun in Baltimore; and Director of Photography at The Cape Cod Times.
Jim served as the Deputy Director/Senior Photo Editor for the White House Photo Department for the final three years of President Obama's administration, assisting in the daily editing of the visual historical record of the President. He recently retired from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum where he served as the Supervising Photographer.
JIM PRESTON
Kenneth D. Aston Jr., a seasoned photographer hailing from Cherry Hill, New Jersey has a remarkable 30-year career behind the lens. He honed his craft and passion for visual storytelling at the Antonelli Institute of Art and Photography, where after graduating embarked on a photographic journey as a lab technician in Camden, New Jersey, where his aspirations reached higher altitudes which fueled his dreams of becoming a photographer in the United States Air Force. During his 12-year enlistment he found himself at the Defense Information School in Pensacola, Florida, expanded his skills and knowledge. After a fulfilling military career he collaborated with the US Army at the Raven Rock Mountain Complex, supporting both Army and other military units. His work extended beyond borders, documenting events in Kuwait in support of U.S. Military Moral, Welfare, Recreation and USO programs. Kenneth currently serves as a dedicated photographer with the U.S. Naval Academy’s public affairs office.
KEN ASTON
Matthew Breitbart is a Digital Imaging Specialist at The Library of Congress. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photojournalism from the Rochester Institute of Technology. Matthew also has 40 hours of continuing education credits from the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s International Forensic Photography Workshop. His federal imaging and photography experience includes a very wide variety of materials ranging from the human remains of five presidents, the bullet that killed President Lincoln, the skeleton of Able the Space Monkey, Paul Revere’s dental tools, the skull of an unknown 54th Mass Soldier from the American Civil War, President Garfield’s spine section, the comic books Batman #1 and Superman #1 and countless other national treasures. His work has appeared on the cover of medical journals and in numerous books, magazines, and newspapers such as the Washington Post, Military Times, Stars and Stripes, Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research and Military Medicine: International Journal of the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States.
MATHEW BREITBART
Bennie J. Davis III serves as a visual media producer for the U.S. Marshals Service, helping to tell the story of the nation’s first federal law enforcement agency. Before landing that sweet gig, he retired from the U.S. Air Force as a photojournalist for Airman magazine, taking every advantage of every opportunity he could with his camera. He truly enjoys meeting people and respects the responsibility of telling their stories. Davis won a few awards and traveled around the world, but the real reward was simply connecting with people followed by all the amazing food and coffee he ate and drank along the way. He loves cameras and has collected way too many of them, but to him the magical little light box that brings people together might just be the greatest gift he was given, a purpose to help others.
BENNIE DAVIS III
Christophe Paul was born and raised just outside Paris, France. After finishing his Bachelor degree in audiovisual communications in 1997, he moved to the U.S. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1999 as a combat cameraman and retired in 2020. He received multiple assignments over the years. He was most notably stationed in Germany, with the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command in Hawaii, at the Pentagon, in South Korea and on Fort George G. Meade where he first served with the 55th Signal Company and then at the Defense Information School where he was a basic still photography instructor and taught the Instructor Training Course for his last year in uniform. He came back to DINFOS in August 2020 as a contractor and taught the visual documentation course to young Marines, Sailors and Soldiers until July 2022. Paul is currently working as photojournalist for the Office of Communication at the United States Department of Agriculture.
CHRISTOPHE PAUL
Robb Hill is a photographer specializing in documentary and assignment photography. Adept in long-form storytelling as well as shooting daily work on location or in studio. Robb has extensive experience working domestically and abroad for newspapers, magazines, and digital news outlets. Robb’s photographic work focuses on understanding how identity and place intersect to create our notions of self and belonging. By blending personal narrative with documentary methodology Robb tries to remove the omniscient narrator from his work to allow viewers to be welcomed participants. Robb grew up in Southern Indiana and has lived and worked in Budapest, Chicago, Atlanta, and now Washington D.C. His work has been featured in The New York Times’ Lens blog, NPR’s Picture Show, and Lenscratch.
ROBB HILL
LEONARD ADAMS
Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Leonard Howard Adams Jr., a 2nd generation Sailor and native of Detroit, Michigan, joined the Navy in December 2008. His initial tour after graduating from Recruit Training Command and MC “A” School at Defense Information School (DINFOS) was aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) as a Mass Communication Specialist for the ship’s media department. While on Bush, Petty Officer Adams had the opportunity to capture imagery from a plethora of subjects, including her maiden deployment in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and New Dawn, as well as in support of a Carrier Strike Group 2 backed patrol along the shores of the Great Lakes in 2012 during the War of 1812 Commemoration. In January 2013, Petty Officer Adams rotated to shore duty at Defense Media Activity (DMA), Headquarters in Ft Meade, Md. There he worked for the Production Support Directorate, where he honed his video skills by supporting over 281 productions for the Department of Defense. Midway through his stint at DMA he attended the Intermediate Photojournalism Course (IPC) at DINFOS, where he was taught the latest techniques in multimedia storytelling. Upon completion of IPC, MC1 Adams was reassigned within DMA to Navy Production where he worked in both its image acquisition and All Hand Magazine divisions. After his tour at DMA Petty Officer Adams was selected to attend the Newhouse Advance Military Visual Journalism Program at Syracuse University, which he graduated from in May of 2016. Adams also served as creative director while part of U.S. 7th Fleet Staff, embarked aboard USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) forward deployed in Yokosuka, Japan from June 2016 to August 2020.
MC1 Adams has a passion for sound design, storytelling and travel.
MICHAEL LOPEZ
Currently serves as the principal Visual Information Specialist supporting English language products of the Army University Press (AUP) using computers and specialized editing software for postproduction to modify, color correct, and arrange images for publication, printing, reference and/or presentation for the layout, design, and overall appearance of the Military Review journal, Military Review Online Exclusive, and other related projects. Experienced in Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator, Rush, Premier, After Effects, and InDesign. Formerly worked as a Visual Information Specialist at the VA Hospital in Loma Linda working in Medical Media field. Producesd images and electronic products covering Veteran Affairs employees, facilities, policies and programs, agencies and staff offices, and events in all appropriate settings. Performed photographic and videography functions and processes images including sizing, color balancing, optimizing, and formatting. Have produced, filmed and edited various small videos to promote special events at VA Loma Linda Healthcare System. Worked extensivley with cameras, lenses, tripods, electronic lighting, including studio and portable, light meters, filters, props, and reflectors. Fort Benning, GA as an Audio Visual Specialist maintaining over 100 laptops from falling off the system and making sure all of them were up to date with the most recent updates as well as maintaining sound and video equipment with emphasis to running 3 auditoriums for events and conferences including and not limited to VTC conferences. Formerly worked Professional photographer working at The United States Military Academy West Point in the Public Affairs and Multimedia Department where I document history, photograph VIP's using DSLR with a wide variety of lenses capturing, guests, dignitaries, graduations and ceremonies for archival purposes as well as printing, laminate and mount imagery for various projects and before that was a staff photographer at the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin and Orange County Register and also freelance for Zuma Press, Reuters and other agencies. Used the understanding of the client’s intentions to deviate from the script and take additional field shots that will facilitate editing, capture interesting scenes that were not anticipated, and minimize distracting audio and visual elements, capturing and accurately records information about the work product for historical and archival purposes.
TODD FRANTOM
Todd Frantom received a degree in commercial photography from the Art Institute of Atlanta in 1994 and worked as a traveling studio & portrait photographer for Life Touch Photography Agency. In 1998 he was hired by The National Turkey Federation as a video specialist and traveled throughout the country producing video products for the Outdoor Channel. He joined the
U.S. Navy and was ships photographer on board USS Kitty Hawk and documented the Iraq and Afghanistan war. He later became photo editor and journalist for the Navy flagship All Hands magazine. He is a graduate of theadvanced military photojournalism program at Syracuse University graduating with top honors. He served as combat photographer while stationed in Norfolk, Virginia documenting special and conventional joint military force missions. While serving in Iraq he was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star for valor and heroism and made a total of six separate deployments to the war zone. He has been published in over 30 military magazines and books to include leading newspapers globally. Todd would return to the nation’s capital again as photo editor for All Hands Magazine and become president of the National Association of Naval Photography, Naval District Washington chapter. His love for nature led him to establish a photography training company called Nature Images LLC. And in the spirit of continued service he volunteered as an official photographer for The Eddie Adams Workshop, the country’s best four-day photojournalism seminar globally conducted in upstate New York where over a hundred prospects are invited to participate from college students, professionals and U.S. military photographers. Todd is currently a portrait photographer at Pax River, Virginia and an independent contract photographer for Visual Media One LLC in Washington, D.C.