Charlotte, North Carolina

Left to right: Nick Layman, Albuquerque, N.M., Elizabeth Lemon, Asheville, N.C., and Marc Kawanishi, San Antonio, Texas, monitor judging at the 60th annual Southern Short Course for News Photography. The SSC was held Feb. 5-8 in Charlotte, N.C. and is the longest running photojournalism conference in the country. Kawanishi is the current CEO for the conference.

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Janet Sutton, Teachey, N.C., tapes sessions of the conference and comments from participants.

Billy Weeks, director of photography at the Chattanooga (Tenn.) Free Press does portfolio reviews during the conference.

Ashlie White, Raleigh, N.C., tries to avoid cameras at a surprise celebration of her birthday. James Gregg, Arizona Daily Star, Tucson, immediate left, Billy Weeks Chattanooga (Tenn.) Free Press, immediately behind Gregg, and Swayne Hall, Associated Press, New York, far left, bear witness to the event.

Light plays off buildings in downtown Charlotte.

This is not my friend, Gary Fong, but another Gary Fong who manufactures strobe diffusers which are on display at the conference and is a wedding photographer in California.

Ross Taylor, staff photographer for The Hartford (N.H.) Courant, lifts the bidding at the annual Southern Conference print auction.

A young girl enjoys her lunch at Razzoo's Restaurant outside Charlotte.