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View Finders: Landscape Photographers Chris Greer and Jason Clemmons Host New TV Series Exploring Georgia

Chris Greer and Jason Clemmons of “View Finders” in the Okefenokee Swamp.

Offering a refreshing take on exploring Georgia’s natural beauty, “View Finders” is an upcoming television series on Georgia Public Broadcasting that balances adventure with education. Through the lenses of professional landscape photographers Chris Greer and Jason Clemmons, the series showcases unique geological destinations while providing expert tips for taking incredible photographs along the way.

In addition to working as a professor at Georgia College & State University, Greer is the author of travel guide Georgia Discovered: Exploring the Best of the Peach State and plans to release a photography book named Naturally Georgia: From the Mountains to the Sea this summer. A resident of Blairsville, Clemmons is the owner of Sunrise Grocery, touted as “the South’s most charming general store” by Southern Living. After initially meeting through Instagram, Greer stopped by Sunrise, which happened to be located just down the road from his family’s cabin, to talk shop. 

“We decided to go photograph a waterfall a few days later and realized that we have pretty close alignment with what we like to photograph, and the hikes we like to go on,” says Greer.

As the years passed and their friendship grew, the two began creating content for YouTube, but it wasn’t until after a chilly hike together in February 2021 that the idea for a television series struck.

“I was frozen to my core, and so after I got back to the cabin I put on the fire, poured a glass of bourbon, and turned on the TV,” says Greer. “‘Georgia Outdoors’ was on, and I have seen almost every episode over the years. It got me thinking about how Jason and I could do a similar type of show, but with a different angle.”

New TV Show | Hiking, Adventure, Photography | Coming April 23rd from Adventures With Light on Vimeo.

After pitching the series to GPB and receiving a green light to start working, Greer and Clemmons lined up sponsors to help fund the project: REI, Troncalli Subaru, Explore Georgia and Terrapin Beer Co. In addition to filming and shooting photographs at each location, the two were responsible for scheduling interviews, obtaining permits and editing their own content. The series took the better part of a year to complete, in part because, like any dedicated photographer, they wanted to visit locations during peak conditions. 

The five-episode series kicks off with a visit (or three) to Cumberland Island, Georgia’s largest and southernmost barrier island that has a diverse landscape full of ancient moss-strewn oaks, white sand beaches, dense palmettos, mansion ruins, marshes and estuaries. The show then hits the road to Blood Mountain, the Okefenokee Swamp and the entire length of the Chattahoochee River. A second season is already in production with plans to venture just beyond the state’s borders to iconic locations such as the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway. 

Beyond capturing natural beauty across the state, the show aims to introduce viewers to some of the talented musicians who call Georgia home. Founded by Sarah Lawing and Brian Smith roughly a year ago in Athens, folksy Southern Gothic act The Lonesome Dawn created the series’ title music. Their eerie, hummed “Autumn Song” is featured in the first episode during a montage of various scenes: wild horses walking along the beach, a flying hawk carrying a fish, a time lapse of the sun rising above the ocean. Hughes Taylor, an energetic blues guitarist from Macon, provides “Excuses” as the backdrop to a segment in which the photographers experiment with nighttime light painting at the Dungeness Ruins. 

“When I started editing the episodes, I knew that music would be a big part of the show because I wanted it to help drive the narrative and the emotions,” says Greer. “If we were feeling excited or anxious, then the music would help to communicate that to the viewers. As I was trying to find some music, I thought about the great music scene in Georgia and how cool it could be to use the show to expose their work to a big audience.”

After putting a call out for musicians on social media, Greer spent hours reviewing albums to find and license tracks that could complement the scenery. The series incorporates songs from a total of 15 contemporary artists from or currently living in Georgia. In addition to rootsy folk duo Cicada Rhythm and psych-tinged Americana band Heart of Pine, both also from Athens, the show features tunes by freak-folk artist Trappers Cabin and poetic singer-songwriter Wilder Adkins. Altogether, the soundtrack perpetuates the state’s rich musical legacy, much of which has always been deeply connected to place and landscape. 

“View Finders” will air on GPB Saturday mornings at 9 a.m. beginning Apr. 23, and will rerun on Wednesday evenings at 7 p.m. during the month of May. Stream episodes for free at gpb.org, and stay tuned to viewfindersontv.com for updates.

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