Check out ‘Southern Exposure,’ a photograph by Billy Weeks

By Mason Edwards, Chattanooga Times Free Press

"Southern Exposure," a photograph by Billy Weeks / The aurora borealis (northern lights) makes it to North Georgia and colors the night sky over the Florida Monument in the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Battlefield. The aurora borealis was caused by a geomagnetic storm strong enough that the lights could be observed across the southern United States.

William "Billy" Weeks doesn't just press buttons on his camera -- he hunts light, waits for truth and captures the moment the two collide. "My photographs are stories in one-500th of a second," he explains.

Now an independent photographer, associate professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and an adjunct professor at Southern Adventist University, Weeks started his career as a photojournalist, first at the Chattanooga Times in 1984 and later at the Chattanooga Times Free Press, before leaving in 2015.

As an independent documentary photographer, Weeks works with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), often focusing on poverty and social strife in Central America, the Caribbean and Southeast Asia. He balances the weight of those assignments with his daily visits to the Chickamauga Battlefield, arriving before dawn to capture how the light, nature and people change across the seasons.

In October 2023, Weeks captured a twice-in-a-lifetime sight: the aurora borealis over that national park. After struggling with light pollution and changing his plans, Weeks propped up his tripod and composed a long exposure over the Florida Monument to create "Southern Exposure," a vibrant image illuminating an amazing historical and natural space in Chattanooga's backyard.

For Weeks, teaching is a way to give back. "It's an honor to teach -- difficult and humbling," he says. "I love seeing the light come on for a young student working with their first camera."

To find more of Weeks' work, visit his website, billyweeks.com; Facebook, billy.weeks.98; or Instagram, @weeks.b.