Lance Murphey, 43, worked his way through college as editor-in-chief of the University of Colorado student newspaper before a light bulb went off and illuminated a sudden switch to photojournalism. He got his first break after he leaned off a dilapidated chair on the edge of a stage and shot a birdseye perspective of a juggler balancing nine objects at once – a picture that was sent worldwide by United Press International (UPI). Since then he has worked as a photojournalist for the Coeur d’Alene Press, the Naples (Fla.) Daily News, the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper, the Associated Press, Reuters, Polaris and dozens of clients worldwide. His newspaper career has taken him from the FBI siege of Randy Weaver’s North Idaho cabin to the path of Hurricane Ivan and the Haitian and Cuban refugee camps at Guantanamo Bay.  He has witnessed unspeakable tragedies and covered three major airplane crashes before losing his own brother-in-law on Swissair Flight 111 over Nova Scotia. Murphey has produced photographic essays on India, Portugal, cotton, African American farmers, and a father's lifesaving donation of a kidney to his son.  His work has been recognized by the Best of Photojournalism, Pictures of the Year, the National Press Photographers Association and the Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar.  He was one of 10 photographers picked to photograph the State of Tennessee for the America 24/7 project, and is a two-time Scripps Howard Photographer of the Year.

Alan Spearman, 35, was born in Atlanta, Ga., and graduated with honors from the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia in Athens.  In college he was twice a national finalist in the prestigious William Randolph Hearst Foundation's Journalism Awards Program, the first runner-up as College Photographer of the Year and was selected for the Eddie Adams photojournalism workshop. He has worked as a photographer at the Concord Monitor, The Minneapolis Star Tribune, The Portland Oregonian, The Miami Herald and The Memphis Commercial Appeal. In 2006 he was inducted into the Scripps Howard Hall of Fame. During his career he has documented mothers in prison, life in one of the nation’s busiest trauma centers and Hurricane Katrina as she devastated the Gulf Coast. He has produced major photographic works on the Mississippi River, Morocco, globalization (working in China, India, Zambia, South Africa, Israel, London and Brazil) and Memphis music. Alan was the official still photographer for the motion pictures "Hustle and Flow" and "Nothing But the Truth". In 2008-09 Alan collaborated with MTV New Media and Craig Brewer to create 12 documentaries for the series $5 Cover. 

Ron Franklin is a musical cardshark hiding out in Memphis, Tennessee. He has authored nine albums, including the new releases "City Lights" and "Blue Shadows Falling." In addition to solo work, he has performed with several Memphis garage rock acts, including the Natural Kicks and trash-blues guru Monsieur Jeffrey Evans. Franklin is also active in the film medium and is completing a documentary about Evans, "The Man Who Loved Couch Dancing." For his score of Nobody, Franklin played a variety of fretted and slide instruments. His score also features a cross-section of Memphis and Mississippi jazz, classical, and old-time musicians. Among others, this list includes chanteuse Lorette Velvette, and The Rising Star Fife and Drum Band."