Chai Style Home: Medical Couple Shoots with Nature’s Light

Georgia Brown and Dr. Alan Gardner have more than a medical profession in common … especially if one likes inspirational award-winning photography of Carolina swamps, countrysides in Cornwall and cascading waterfalls. Brown, a registered cardio invasive specialist and IR technologist, saw the “light” when she was matched up with Dr. Gardner, a Marietta dermatologist, as a photo buddy.

All that bloomed into romance and romantic scenery in their Old-World charming manse scoring a lot of “Bests in Class.” The site-specific home has a traditional bent without unnecessary formality resulting in clarity of light with the empowerment of photography making for an artful setting. Collectables like original maps from the 1600s lend an air of intrigue alongside their own photography that just might be interpreted as paintings.

Take the tour of the scenery and the shots of scenery.

Marcia: Describe the history of the house.
Alan: It was built in 1992. Three years ago, we had a major renovation with builder Joey Miller. We have 7,500 square feet and used David Incorporated for some of the décor like the dramatic alcove off the foyer with the Moroccan urn. There also is one of my photos taken in England. Allan Struletz, landscape architect, designed the backyard panorama based on a photo I saw of a European villa with a back terrace.
Georgia: We love our outdoor space and enjoy sitting on the patio watching the deer, birds, and an occasional bear. It’s also relaxing during thunderstorms.

Marcia: Many “collected” things are assembled here.
Alan: The main rug is a 100-year-old antique Persian from the area of Sultanabad. We have decorative plates form Italy, tapestry pillows from Belgium, and an antique Tiffany-style horse. In the living room is my father’s favorite: Steuben Glass’s “Arctic Fisherman.”
Georgia: I selected the perfect chandelier. We waited eight months post-pandemic for its arrival. I collect natural stone spheres from travels. Alan commissioned a painting over the fireplace by Patrice Marchal. The other main “painting” in the formal living room is actually one of Alan’s photos of an Irish castle ruin.

Marcia: Lot of history in the dining room.
Alan: The painting is of my mother in 1945. My uncle was in the Army during World War II; and as he entered Germany from Italy, he came upon a starving German civilian. After feeding him, the artist painted my mother’s portrait from a photo that my uncle carried with him. The other portrait is of my father, a marine in World War II.

Marcia: Your library is a treasure trove of …
Alan: I have an antique (early 1900s) NCR cash register next to a whale I carved out of pink marble. My photo is of a Cypress Lake during autumn along Georgia’s coast. The photo by the cash register was taken in the ACE basin estuary, part of an old Southern rice plantation in South Carolina Low Country.

Marcia: Share the provenance of your maps.
Alan: I collect rare antiquarian world maps from the Dutch Golden Age of cartography. These are original maps dated 1630. I actually went to New York trying to find some old pirate buried treasure maps with “X marks the spot” and learned that pirates did not make these. Instead, I came home with these world maps.

Marcia: Georgia, how did you two build this photography life together?
Georgia: We met through a mutual physician friend who matched us as “photo buddies.” Fifteen years later, we are happily married. Photographically, my aesthetic is moody, intimate landscapes and subjects with a touch of drama. I’m most proud of my waterfalls in New Hampshire and tulips from Amsterdam. We’ve had wonderful experiences photographing together in Iceland, Italy, England, Ireland, Canada, Holland, Belgium and coast to coast in the U.S. and Hawaii.

Marcia: How did photography become your passion? 
Alan: As I began hanging the photographs in my office, I noticed that many patients spent time viewing my art. It allowed for a relaxed dialogue, creating a special patient/doctor bond. Patients started to take a special interest in my art and wanting to know our next destination and were excited to see future photographs. Photography to me is the “art of seeing.” It incorporates light, tells a story, and allows me to be artistically and emotionally creative. It expresses an idea and rewards the viewer. I put my personality in the photo.

Marcia: You are known for gold leaf.
Alan: “National Geographic” magazine awarded one of my photos as a Top Photo of The Year/Gold Medal Winner. I also won Prix de La Photograph de Paris, Gold Medal Nature Category with my “Great Egret,” and also “Autumn Reflections.” My printer is a wide format 44-inch Cannon Pro 4000 which allows large printing and fantastic detail. I create a particular style of black and white photos using Photoshop. Then, on some special types of art papers, I apply 24K gold leaves to the photograph resulting in a gold toned piece of art.

Marcia: Magic in the kitchen?
Georgia: I prepare Ina Garten’s lemon skillet chicken as an easy yet elegant dish for company. My “claim to fame” is my universally loved Sloppy Joe’s, which I prepared for Alton Brown, who declared them “the world’s best.” Alan is famous for his Duck a l’Orange and “Brownie Pie.”