About
Ben Ayling is an award winning photographer, educator, and owner of Ben Ayling Photography, a photography business and website where he sells nature and fine art images, benayling.zenfolio.com. As Co-owner of Nature Photo Workshops, https://www.naturephotoworkshops.com/, he teaches and conducts workshops on photography in various settings including The Biggest Week in American Birding and The Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Ben is the retired Director of Choral Activities at Ohio Northern University (2016). Additionally, he has taught at Bowling Green State University, Case Western Reserve University, The Ohio State University, and Kent State University where he was conductor and founder of the KSU Men’s Chorus. His teaching career began with twenty years as choral director at Northview High School in Sylvania, Ohio. He is a lifetime member of the American Choral Directors Association, which he served as the Ohio President.
Dr. Ayling is sought after as an adjudicator, conductor, clinician, and speaker. He has served as the guest conductor of state and regional honor choirs and as a clinician at music educator's conferences throughout the United States, Canada, England, New Zealand, Australia, and Russia. As a performer, he spent 17 years as a studio singer for radio and television commercials. He sang bass in The Ritz, the 1991 International Champion Quartet of the Barbershop Harmony Society which performed in 46 states, Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia, and Russia.
He has traveled extensively to many locales including South Africa, Canada, Mexico, Iceland, Russia, Europe, Australia, and The Great Smoky Mountains, Rocky Mountain, Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Grand Canyon, Zion, Crater Lake, Denali, Kenai Fjords, Yellowstone, Carlsbad Caverns, and Lake Clark National Parks. Most recently he made a birding trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and is planning his next photo safari in Africa.
Thomas Yackley’s lifelong passion for photography began when he joined his high school newspaper staff in 1973. The position included taking photos with a 35mm SLR camera and developing black and white images in the darkroom. He’s been shooting digital and developing on the computer since 1999. He is a member of the Georgia Nature Photographers Association, Southeastern Photographic Society, and the North American Nature Photographers Association.
In addition to photographing realistic scenes, Tom enjoys impressionistic photo techniques such as Intentional Camera Movement (ICM), Multiple exposure, digital painting and photo encaustic. The natural world is a favorite theme in his images. Besides shooting landscapes and wildlife, he enjoys teaching photo classes, leading workshops and giving presentations to photography clubs.
Following a 31-year career teaching choral music in public high schools, Tom and his wife Robin Yackley, founded the Alpharetta Community Chorus. They currently serve the group as co-artistic directors. The chorus performed several of his music compositions under his direction at Carnegie Hall in 2024.
His photo work has been featured in NANPA's Showcase and Expressions magazine for four years running, including a 2023 Best in Show award in the altered reality category. His works have been featured in galleries and stores in Georgia, Colorado, Virginia, and New York. His work is currently represented in “Nature’s Generosity,” a traveling exhibition of the Wilderness Photography Foundation through 2030.
To see more of his work please visit thomasyackley.com
