Tony Gouge: Aiken resident excels in engineering, artistry

Jan. 1—Pixels and plutonium represent familiar territory for at least one Aiken resident — a native Tennessean with decades of experience at the Savannah River Nuclear Laboratory.

Tony Gouge, largely known as an award-winning researcher at SRNL, has also racked up accolades for his photography, and appreciates being able to work in both areas from day to day. He has been hip-deep — or deeper — into photography for about a decade, with a particular focus on landscapes, Aiken Civic Ballet and local horse races.

"I think his being an engineer first really influences his photography," said his daughter, Catherine Gouge, also known as the manager of Pitter Patter, a children's boutique in downtown Aiken. "He just hasn't had an outlet for his artistic side. The way he composes shots and puts things together, I think his engineering side really helps with the artistic side. It's interesting to see those two together."

Her dad is "a sunrise person," she confirmed. "He's gotten up at 2 a.m. and driven to the beach to see the sunrise."

The Aiken Chamber of Commerce's employees and frequent visitors may be familiar with one of Gouge's most prominent creations: a color picture — nine feet wide and divided into thirds — showing a sunrise behind "Blue Peter's Tree," the iconic live oak at Aiken Training Track.

Orange — a major element in beautiful sunrises — played a prominent role in the researcher's early years, as he was born and reared in Knoxville. "My blood runneth orange," he said, noting that he is a University of Tennessee graduate and a fan of Volunteer athletics.

"I was trained as a chemical engineer and had several jobs in production facilities ... and the Cold War ended," he recalled. "I knew the facilities were going to start shutting down, so I needed to find something else to do, so I found non-proliferation, and it's paid the bills since then. In some ways, I'm sort of a Cold War refugee."

Gouge's recent accolades include having been named as a "laboratory fellow" at SRNL. That honor, announced in July, also went to researchers Douglas B. Hunter and Tracy S. Rudisill, on the basis of "their outstanding scientific achievements, and exceptional accomplishments for SRNL."

The fellowship represents "a great honor bestowed to our scientists and engineers at the apex of their contributions with international peer recognition, and a great history in laboratory and community citizenship," in the words of the lab's director, Vahid Majidi.

The official announcement noted, "Anthony Gouge built an international reputation as a highly skilled and recognized technical expert in nuclear fuel reprocessing, heavy water production and nuclear chemistry. He uses innovative procedures and applies scientific knowledge to advance projects and formulate solutions that extend science and technology within and outside SRNL."

It added, "He is a recognized technical resource within, as well as beyond the DOE complex, both within the National Nuclear Security Administration in the area of nonproliferation verification, and the U.S. Intelligence Community. He is frequently called upon by outside laboratories and organizations to provide consulting on areas within his area of expertise."

His engineering background comes in handy in a variety of ways, she added, noting that he has computer-based tools to help determine, for example, what would be a particularly good time to get a nice seat in the shade at SRP Park. "He enjoys a problem, and solving a problem, and I think that's just what makes him tick."

Emily Ann Raynor, the ballet company's costume designer, added, "He is great at capturing movements, like from ballerinas to horses ... He will come to our dress rehearsals and will be able to capture how everything looked on stage and he also does candid photos backstage as well."

"I will retire at some point," he said. "I'm finding that there's more and more days, sitting in the office going, 'I could be out some place with a camera in my hand,' but you know, honestly, I'm still enjoying the work and, frankly, I like the direction that the lab is going right now, and so I like being a part of that."

The concept of nuclear power is rooted in Gouge's childhood, as his dad worked at Oak Ridge National Laboratory for more than 40 years — a span when the younger Gouge was first exposed to working with cameras.

"I did some photography in high school and college, developed my own black-and-white film and did some darkroom work with printing, and then I got out of school and life sort of got in the way," he recalled. "I've always had my cameras, but basically was taking what I refer to as 'happy snaps.'"

Life "got in the way" again, and professional chores led to Gouge traveling to Washington, D.C. almost every week over the course of about seven years. When that assignment ended, Gouge found himself with extra time on his hands.

"I saw somebody advertising a photography class. I said, 'I wonder if I can still do that,' and got a new camera and doing photography, and the bug bit hard. My wife calls it my addiction. I have way too much fun with it, and enjoy going different places and taking landscape photos."

Ballet productions and horse racing provide other favorite scenarios. "I just really enjoyed doing that and trying to translate what I see in this into something that other people enjoy seeing in an image," he said.

Newcomers may have noticed some of Gouge's creations on the cover of Aiken Chamber of Commerce publications, communicating a "welcome to Aiken" theme.

"I do a little bit of everything around Aiken, but also like to get out and about," he said, recalling a November 2022 occasion when he "had been traveling way too much and needed some 'me' time."

The result? "I just took a few days at the Outer Banks, and it was just me and my camera ... taking some photos and just seeing what I could get out of the scenes there."

He also confirmed his daughter's comment about pre-dawn excursions. "I've ... been known to do crazy things, like get up at 3 a.m. ... and drive to the South Carolina coast and take sunrise photos, so yeah, it's a little crazy at times, but you know, it comes with the territory."

Another highlight involved a workshop in North Carolina. "Ten years ago, I went to the Outer Banks, and ... it ended up, one of the photos was picked up by a magazine called NC Edge, and it's basically a North Carolina coastal magazine ... and then it got entered into their first annual photography contest and won first prize with that."

While Gouge is comfortable focusing on dawn's waves, clouds and driftwood, he lets other photographers handle brides and grooms.

"One rule that I have that I've been able to keep is, I don't do weddings. You can make a lot of money shooting a wedding, but it's also a lot of pressure, and it's like, I'm enjoying this too much. I just don't want to take anything away from it, with the pressure."

He occasionally shoots senior pictures, especially of students involved in the ballet company, "but you know, landscapes, to me, are a lot more fun," he said.

"You know, they're just there. You have to catch up with the light, and you don't have to worry about posing or anything. You figure out the angle, and then you wait for the light and then you take the image."

"Some people photography can be really fun — the dance photography, especially when you have a talented dancer who is really into it. The creativity and working together and everything like that can just be mind-blowing."

Catherine Gouge helps arrange "a dance perspective," and a friend with an Army background helps with smoke grenades, "and then, if you've got a talented dancer who's willing to try something different, it can just be a lot of fun," he said.

The Gouges are also known through their role in downtown Aiken, where the photographer-researcher's wife, Leslie Gouge, is the owner of Pitter Patter and Caroline's Boutique — "two distinct stores that are in the same building," as the family photographer put it. The family's eldest daughter, Laura, is much farther afield, residing in Arlington, Virginia.

There's also plenty of distance between nuclear research and photography — a pleasing arrangement for the researcher. "They're different enough that they're very pleasant escapes from each other. I refer to my work in the lab as my day job. I really enjoy what I'm doing, but the creative outlet that photography gives me is something that I don't necessarily get in my day job, and it's "always interesting to see how people react to that. I've actually had people say, 'You can't do art — you're an engineer,' and I've enjoyed proving them wrong."