CONTRIBUTORS

Johanna Colburn Hamilton

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

I am a freelance writer who has worked in public relations for 14 years. I moved to southeastern North Carolina four years ago and recently completed my graduate degree in coastal and ocean policy at UNCW. A book, art and travel nerd, I enjoy spending time with my husband and young daughter while we await our next family adventure.

Matt McGraw

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

I started out in newspaper world, shooting the NBA, NCAA and MLB in the Midwest. Those were awesome experiences that paved the way for my style of photography today. I started shooting weddings in 2002, and now I average around 50 weddings a year, along with about 150 family photo sessions a year. With McGraw Photo Consulting, I am also a photo consultant, primarily in the dental business. I love traveling, and I love what I do for a living.

Bill Ritenour

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

My first camera was a Kodak Instamatic back in 1966. It was not much of a camera but it got me interested in photography. I started seeing things differently and appreciating things more than before. There are so many things in everyday life that I had never really noticed before. I started composing images in the viewfinder of my camera, isolating what I wanted to emphasize in the finished photograph. The main thing I learned with time is how important light is as an element. Light affects color, shadows, contrast, texture, mood and the impact of an image. My wife and I moved from Richmond, Virginia, to Wilmington in 2011. After five years of visiting our daughter and her husband, and after the birth of their first child, we knew it was time to make the move. Wilmington and the surrounding area had already become to feel more like home than Richmond. With the beautiful coastline, slower pace of living and friendly people, we have never regretted the move. We are proud to be Tar Heels.

Life is better