By Rob Lorei
On Radioactivity Thursday our guest is nature photographer Benjamin Dimmitt, whose recent work includes photographs of the examines the impact of saltwater intrusion on the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge just north of the Tampa Bay Area. Over the years rising sea levels, along with weak flow from nearby freshwater springs, has caused saltwater to creep into the estuaries of the refuge, killing salt-intolerant trees and turning the once clear spring waters brackish. This weekend Benjamin will be open a solo exhibit at Clayton Galleries in south Tampa on his series of the damage occurring at the Chassahowitzka.
Benjamin was born and raised on the Gulf Coast of Florida.He graduated with a B.A. from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg and has studied photography in New York City; Sante Fe, New Mexico; Florence, Italy; and London, England. After college he held an adjunct professor position at the International Center of Photography in New York, NY for 12 years.He now lives and works in Asheville, NC and teaches workshops at The Bascom in Highlands, NC and at the Dunedin Fine Arts Center in Dunedin, FL.
