His work: Senior lead photographer for Lifetouch National School Studios' Chattanooga territory office. "I'm responsible for the training and development of photographers and the overall quality of photography for our senior and underclassmen portraits." He's been with Lifetouch since 2001, after spending 25 years as a studio photographer, trainer, and quality assurance troubleshooter for Olan Mills Inc. in Ohio and Chattanooga, though his job often took him far from both places. "I literally saw the country on their ticket, from Miami to Minneapolis, even the Bahamas. It was great for a photographer because I have pictures from all those places, including some things you can't take pictures of any more, like the World Trade Center."

The place he'd most like to photograph: "Alaska. I never made it, but I'd love to photograph nature in such an unspoiled setting."

Is photography a natural ability or an acquired skill? "Both. There are people who just have a knack and see everything naturally, but composition and balance can be learned, along with the basic mechanics of how a camera works. If it's not in focus, for example, there's only so much you can do. But photography has become so accessible to the masses that the technical aspect is handed to them, and a person can take a good picture without knowing how. The edge is creativity and technical consistency: knowing how to backlight a photo, how to use a fill flash, little things that distinguish a fine photo from just a picture. A photographer is someone who's able to do what Aunt Sally can't do."

His own background in photography: "I started working with SLRs and different lenses and flashes in high school. I was one of those kids who never skipped school, but there were some times I never made it to class because I couldn't leave the darkroom. But it started when I was younger than that and sent in two cereal box tops and two dollars for an instamatic camera. I got the camera and got the bug."

What is the photography bug? "It's when you'll photograph anything and just can't get enough. Even if it's just a weed coming up out of a gutter. You lie down on your stomach and start shooting it from different angles trying to find that one great picture. Focused on one thing like that, it's almost like being in a different world." Spitler's focus has varied from sunsets to nighttime cityscapes, and he's currently working on photographic studies of rustic barns and outhouses. "The process of seeking out and taking the perfect shot gets me excited, and seeing the result makes me happy. It may or may not end up on my wall, but I enjoy the satisfaction of creating it."

Some things he enjoys about Chattanooga: "No snow. I grew up in south central Ohio where it starts snowing around the holidays and you don't see dry ground again until March. I like the pace of life here, too. It's not as fast. And I like the mountains. The part of Ohio I'm from is pretty flat. Plus, I'm a history buff, and this area has so much Civil War history to offer."

His favorite periods of history: "World War II. It's amazing how much it changed the world. A lot of the social habits we still have can be traced straight back to World War II. I also love ancient history: Alexander the Great, the Caesars, Egypt, China. My ideal vacation would be to see Greece, Rome, the Valley of the Kings, or European castles, just to be in the presence of things of such antiquity."

The historical figure he'd most like to meet: "Ben Franklin. The way history paints him, he was a pretty cool guy. He was way ahead of his time as a philosopher, statesman, and inventor. To sum it up, he was a thinker. He thought outside the box of his time.

His favorite food: "Buffalo wings, as hot as you can get them. Most places never have them hot enough for me. But I've never met food I wouldn't eat. Except okra. That's probably the northerner in me."