Our Instructors

Jamila Brown

Jamila Brown is a Charlotte-based multidisciplinary artist who specializes in mixed-media collage, film photography, cyanotype, and fiber works. In 2018, She graduated from UNC-Charlotte with a BFA concentrated in Photography and a double minor in Journalism and Art History. She is currently working as a practicing and teaching artist, and beginning work in curatorial assistance. She has worked, taught workshops and classes at Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, The Light Factory, McColl Center for Art + Innovation, and Lórien Academy of the Arts. Her work has been displayed at the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, Goodyear Arts, BOOM Festival, The Light Factory, and various local galleries. She is looking forward to her upcoming residency program with La Wayaka Current in Guna Yala, Panama in 2022.

milazul.myportfolio.com

Carolyn DeMeritt

A Charlotte, NC, native and active Light Factory member since 1976, Carolyn DeMeritt is a self-taught photographer who has worked at her craft for over thirty years. Through personal interaction with her subjects, she concentrates on creating portraits of people or places underrepresented or undergoing dramatic changes. DeMeritt’s work has been widely exhibited and is represented in numerous public and private collections, including Virginia Museum of Fine Arts; High Museum of Art; North Carolina Museum of Art; Asheville Art Museum; Cameron Art Museum; and Mint Museum of Art.

carolyndemeritt.com

Nicole Driscoll

Nicole Driscoll was born and raised in Boston before moving to Charlotte in 2005. She graduated with a BFA in Digital Filmmaking and Video Production from The Art Institute of Charlotte in 2011. Driscoll’s films have played in local and national film festivals. Nicole is currently working as a freelance videographer/editor in and around Charlotte. She enjoys teaching young adults about the filmmaking and other aspects of film. She is also working on her next short narrative film, “POP.”

nicoledriscollfilms.com

Trent Glass

Trent Glass is a landscape and street photographer from Charlotte NC, as a broadcasting graduate at CPCC Trent’s skills includes videography, film photography, and darkroom printing. Trent’s documentary photography has been published in the Charlotte Observer and other online and print news publications. His street and landscape work has been displayed in various galleries and exhibitions. He enjoys sharing his skills, knowledge, and passion for photography with others.

Bunny Luna

Bunny Luna (they/them) is a queer agender ecosexual witch whose work honors the interconnectedness of creativity, exploration, self-discovery, + healing. Their nude self-portraits + 35mm film double exposures have been shown in galleries across the country + published internationally. Bunny has facilitated creative healing community events since 2016 both in-person + online with the intention to elevate + support the community through honoring the sacred uniqueness of life + enabling experiences of love + openhearted connection with people of diverse backgrounds.

bunnyluna.com

Kevin “Surf” Mitchell

Visual creative professional and N.W.S.A. High School graduate; Surf’s work ranges from videography, portraits, and installation art. Creator of the photo series Couchsurfing, a travel photography series based in the USA, Kevin uses this work to reflect the harsh reality for many of his struggling artist friends who inspired him to take his craft to the streets to explore the beauty and pain behind their sacrifice. Surf’s work has been featured in numerous national and local brands including Creative Loafing, BET, lnterscope Records, Universal Records, Universal Music Group, and Warner Brothers.

surfacemg.com

Herman Nicholson

Herman Nicholson was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. He received his BFA in photography from Savannah College of Art & Design and his MFA from Columbia College Chicago. His work has been exhibited internationally including the National Portrait Gallery in London. His work primarily focuses on portraiture and human relationships.

hermannicholson.com

Michael O’Neill

Michael O’Neill is an educator and fine art photographer in Charlotte, NC, and earned his MFA from New Mexico State University in 2007. His work has been exhibited at Notre Dame University, The Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe, NM, and in solo, juried, and group shows around the country. He specializes in infrared, large format, and pinhole photography.

michaeloneillphoto.com

Toby Shearer

Toby Shearer is a filmmaker, photographer, and video artist. He has created work for Charlotte Ballet, The College of Arts + Architecture, the George Balanchine Trust, The Latin American Coalition, Project Scientist, and many others. He co-created the class Digital Skills for Artists at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and has taught community filmmaking workshops.

In 2013 he completed his first feature documentary film, From the Back of the Line, following the lives of undocumented immigrants in North Carolina. In Spring 2021 he began his NFT journey minting and selling collections of photography and video.

tobyshearer.com

Scott Stallings

Scott Stallings is a fine art and commercial portrait photographer living and working in Charlotte, NC. He specializes in creating one-of-a-kind, heirloom-quality portraits primarily using (but not limited to) antique photographic processes such as traditional film and wet plate collodion photography.

greylightphoto.com

Hamilton Ward

Charlotte-based photographer and filmmaker, Hamilton Ward, utilizes experimental film techniques along with found footage to create works that evoke a nostalgic recollection. His films have been featured at Indie Grits and the Bitter Southerner and he was also awarded the Southern Documentary Fund Grant. His series of self-portraiture has been featured most recently at c3lab and Goodyear Arts, where he curated an alt process photography show.

hamiltonyoungward.com

Caroline Waterman

Caroline Waterman grew up in Dublin, Ireland. She moved to the United States in 1986 and lives in Charlotte, NC with her husband and three children. She took film photography classes in Dublin in the 1980’s and again in Boston; she completed her BFA in Photography from UNCC in May 2016. During her time at UNCC Caroline has explored various historic processes and concentrates on large format analog photography. Caroline specializes in Silver Gelatin Lith and Platinum Palladium printing. Her work deals with the themes of memory and loss and she has drawn on her connections to family, heritage and place as inspiration. She has conducted workshops on Lith printing at UNCC, at Appalachian State University and at the Light Factory. Her Silver Gelatin Lith prints are currently being exhibited at the University Hilton Hotel in Concord, NC and Caroline has also exhibited her work at UNCC and The Photo Place Gallery in Vermont. Her first solo show opened in September 2017 at Through This Lens Gallery in Durham, NC.

carolinewaterman.com