The Picture Kentucky Photojournalism Workshop will be held in Lawrenceburg, Ky on Oct 23-26, 2024.
We assembled another world-class team for our students this year. Meet our five coaches at Picture Kentucky 2024.
Gary Cosby Jr.
Gary Cosby Jr. is a photojournalist in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and has the overblown title of director of photography, overblown since he comprises a staff of one (there used to be three, but staff cuts …). That aside, Gary is a veteran of 32 years, having worked previously at the Decatur Daily in Decatur, Alabama and at The Daily Advance in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Gary is a graduate of the University of North Alabama. He is married and the father of eight children. His hobbies include woodworking, home renovation (mostly involuntary!) and novel writing. While working for newspapers in Tuscaloosa and Decatur, he has shot nine football national championship games and has a great deal of experience covering tornadoes and breaking news. Gary also writes for the Tuscaloosa News and does a weekly opinion column as well as news stories, news features and people profiles.
Matt Detrich
Matt Detrich’s career started with a Nikon FG in hand and a darkroom (with fixer!) in the basement of his childhood home. From age 12, he began his journey in photojournalism, while honing his craft and his passion for telling stories.
Nicole S. Hester is an American photojournalist from Champaign, Illinois and currently working as a staff photojournalist for the Tennessean in Nashville.
Her career has taken her from the midwest to the deep south. In 2016 she moved to Natchez, Mississippi to accept a full-time position as the sole staff photographer for the Natchez Democrat, where she covered daily and breaking news until 2019.
While at the Natchez Democrat, she won multiple awards for her work, her coverage of one of the largest dog-fighting ring busts in Mississippi history. Her photographs and her colleagues reporting helped to change the state laws on animal cruelty.
Her series ‘Growing Up Southern’ which she started shortly after moving to Natchez, Mississippi looks at the different aspects of the life of kids growing up in the deep south.
She has also covered national news from the March for Reproductive Rights in Alabama to natural disasters in the deep south and midwest, to White Nationalist rallies and counter-protests in the northwest. Nicole has documented the pandemic, social upheaval, and the mass school shooting in Nashville in 2023.
Grace Hollars
Grace Hollars is a Visual Journalist (Sports Specialist) at The Indianapolis Star, a USA Today Network. She has photographed the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, 2016 Summer Olympics, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil & 2018 Winter Olympics, PyeongChang, South Korea. Grace was a Student Photographer at Ball State Creative Services & Communications, interned at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and worked as a photographer for the Daily News in Muncie, IN.
Jenna Watson
Jenna Watson is the Art Director for Mirror Indy and is a graduate of Kent State University (and a Picture Kentucky Alum!)
Before joining Mirror Indy, Jenna was a staff photojournalist at the Indianapolis Star for 8 years where she helped lead the newsroom’s union. She is a versatile news and sports photojournalist with a knack for video storytelling.
When not working, Jenna is usually seeking out some sunshine and rest. She enjoys hiking, dancing, practicing yoga and meditation, eating good food and being with my people.
“I see local journalism as a public service and believe it is our duty to meet community members where they’re at. I’m eager to join a newsroom that is rethinking how we report local news and tell stories.”