Greetings - Nice To Meet You!
“A picture is worth a thousand words” - this statement illustrates my intent in this periodical. I believe that photographers share their gift and their curse in each photo. When a person fixes our focus on a scene; be it a boat along the coast or a bright golden sunset, others can never truly capture the scene we see from our own perspective. This is the case no matter how much time we spend describing our personal experience.
Photography helps us to get close! Even after sharing our own photographic experiences, viewers still see the elements of our frames through the lens of the details that stand out to them. The shape of a tree may be more captivating to your friends than to you. An errant rock that is slightly mismatched in color could stand out to someone looking for those details.
In addition, photographers are cursed with showing our vulnerabilities. We show the world what grabs our attention, the secrets behind what enthralls us, the details that trigger our inner creativity. We show the world how we are evolving, how we are improving our art and fixing what we view as imperfections as we evolve and practice. It is a daunting metaphor for the human condition!
Focus:
I would like to share my retrospectives in this section of the blog - those of experiences working with specific photography skills or my explorations of new locales. I’ll host galleries of my projects and collaborative art in this section. I want to share an in-depth view of my evolution and those of artists I meet and work with. Come along with me wherever this photography journey takes us. For the premier release of this blog I am primarily talking about myself - giving you a narrow introduction to my art and inspiration.
So how did I get started making photography?
My name is Stanley John, I am a landscape and street fine art photographer. I was born and raised in one of the world’s coloring books; the South Eastern Caribbean island chain St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG). These days I live in New England, an adventure I gratefully credit my wife, a Mainer, with. My discovery of photography isn’t a straight forward one. In many ways, I might say my subconscious chased the art form for years before it became truly obvious to me. I remember three particular experiences from my childhood, that on reflection, were the earliest photography seeds planted in my mind:
My first experience with a digital camera. It was 2001 and my father purchased a digital camera, with the intent of capturing family moments. As a youngster I had an intense fascination with technology and “figuring things out.” Unfortunately this curiosity often accompanied a somewhat destructive streak. In the case of this camera (whose make and model I cannot remember) I spent hours mining ways to utilize all of it’s features. I distinctly remember taking my first macro shot. Just outside our front door was a large Buttercup bush, draping two wooden awnings hanging above two windows. I can recall the bush’s vivid golden flowers almost perennially in bloom. I remember taking a photo of a buttercup flower, as well as the blossoms of the mango tree in the center of our yard. The details in these photos were unbelievable! I had seen similar photos in books or while watching nature television shows, but the thought of recreating anything of the sort seemed so foreign to me. Here I was, holding in my hands, a device that would allow me to explore the fibrous details of the yellow buttercup leaves and their water filled nooks. I was able to see the singular flowers on the long strand of mango blossoms, some of them on the verge of bursting. Most importantly, I could spend hours doing this, experimenting, deleting photos, taking them again and again. It opened my imagination and made me curious about what else I could see from this perspective all around me.
Using a disposable camera exploring Times Square, NYC. It was 2003 and my Mom and I were in NYC visiting my aunts over summer vacation. We found ourselves wandering around Time Square with my uncle, who was listening to me wax lyrical about all the lights, the air dense with noise, the buildings and the various ways this environment was engaging my senses. He popped off to a street vendor selling random bits and bobs and came back with a disposable camera and suggested I “capture it all with that roll of film.” I burst into action. taking photos of taxi cabs whose roofs were mounted with ads for The Lion King on Broadway. Of the building that housed MTV. I captured Astor Plaza and the Paramount Building. I made sure every surface of every building was memorialized. I was back in SVG in the Spring of 2019 and came across these pictures I snapped over a decade before and the rush of my senses related to each scene came back to me. The glass buildings with light reflecting off them, the people in funky clothing, a gentleman covered in silver paint plying his trade as a robot, the manhole covers donning the brand of the city, taxi cab medallions. I could not believe even in those moments, the attraction to photography had not gripped me entirely.
The first Digital Camera I owned. For my 16th birthday my Dad bought me a Konica Minolta Dimage Z5 (I still own this camera today). From our veranda in SVG we have a beautiful view overlooking the bay, and I am certain I took thousands of sunset photos from almost the identical view over the next couple of years. I also remember when some family members came to visit us in SVG, we ventured down to the Grenadine islands. I went truly photo crazy snapping anything of interest visible from the water. The yachts sitting in the bay, the colorful fishing boats locals venture far out to sea in, the flora littering the coastline and the waves lashing against the boat whenever we were anchored in place. Again, how did I not notice the calming and creative effect photography had on me?
Fast forward to current day, as I approached the height of my need to capture. My wife and I went to Thailand for our honeymoon. We only scratched the surface of what this country has to offer, but I could comfortably draw similarities in Thailand’s colors, culture, food and sounds to my origin. We stayed on one of the busiest streets in Bangkok which was our first chance to see how the people and this city ebbed and flowed. I remember in particular, how these tall, colorful, aged buildings and ornate temples soaked up or reflected the morning and afternoon light. We were also treated with a rain storm sprinting across the city on our first day. The rain, almost adhering to the rules of hustle and bustle found on the streets below, quickly uncovered a blast of rays for sunset as the peaks of the city’s towers held on to today’s light. I captured as much of it as I could on my phone - sparks flew like flint against steel.
New England also draws so many parallels in culture to SVG. Fishing villages along rocky coasts. Deep rich accents the further you travel into rural communities. Towns showing signs of change, but holding on to their traditional roots. Capturing all of these spectacles is cathartic for me. I sometimes even try to recreate classic Caribbean stages where I can find them. The color and flare of buildings in SVG just does not exist in New England. I am still on the hunt for a cliff hanging home screaming with color saturation from between dense green flora - an interesting challenge. My camera allows me to sort the complexities of my memories. Photography helps me to feel comfortable in the most unfamiliar places, but most importantly to immortalize my mood and the narrative of my experiences.
“I don’t photograph a scene, I photograph light. Everything else in my photos is there by coincidence or convenience.” - C. Stanley K. John
I hinted at the confession above in my earlier words - I have distilled the essence and inspiration of my art to the available light in a composition. While I do love and enjoy color, I chase light in each of my frames. For a large portion of 2020 I heavily desaturated my photos, almost entirely flattening their color palettes and adjusting the tones to recreate what captured my attention when I decided to snap my shutter. I had a blast diluting the drama of saturation in many scenes and distilling these compositions to their bare essentials. It was an exploration of my attraction to light. I played with long exposures, with sunrise and sunset photography, with the harsh shadows of midday photography and really figured out how much of a priority color in my photos was to me.
It was a strange experiment, up to this point I critically highlighted the colors of my compositions. For example the last times I was in SVG actively practicing my photography were during Carnival 2018 and in 2019 on the edge of hurricane season (late March through the beginning of June), when the islands begin experiencing light but consistent rainfall. During these seasons, color and energy are thick in the air - plentiful, almost inescapable. The capital Kingstown on what we refer to as Carnival Tuesday (Mardis Gras) is a color wheel of people donning feathered and patterned costumes. The flora and forested areas are in full bloom, thick and full of nourishment from the consistent rainfall, and longer days of rich sunlight.
The photo accompanying the title of this blog post is from a hike my wife and I did with some close friends up the La Sourfreire volcano on mainland St. Vincent. The deep greens and clouds provide a rich contrast of natural colors. On a worrying note, La Soufreire is an active volcano, and at the time of writing is effusively erupting. The people living on the northern points of St. Vincent are on tenterhooks. Each day could show signs of increased activity; in these areas folks are ready to hop into action if evacuation is necessary. This ying-yang scale seems to be a consistent theme with phenomena of beauty. La Soufriere can be primarily credited with much of what provides us Vincentians with a wonderful environment to live in and explore. Rich fertile land to survive from, and for the creatives throughout the length and breadth of the islands, unlimited subjects to spark their creativity. Still, the volcano is a dangerous sleeping giant that can cause immense chaos. Finding balance and ensuring we appreciate and understand these natural phenomena, learning from and offering them deserved attention, are key for a successful co-existence. Most importantly, all Vincentians at home and abroad wait with baited breath for developments at La Soufriere and rally our faith for continued minimal activity from this seismic giant.
Brick buildings, blue skies, patterns of steel and concrete surfaces, continuous movement of city life or waves breaking on a rocky coast are all brilliant surfaces for trapping light. Flat overcast days where the sun acts like a soft box, lightly cloaking a mid-century modern building or a classic New England clapboard house provide lovely dancing shadows. St Vincent is brimming with homes designed to contour to their landscapes. Also, privately erected, small wooden structures on roadsides where vendors sell fruit, or blast rhythmic Soca music while grilling local delights. I am dedicated to peppering this website with these illustrations. My gallery will serve as a well stocked library including the stories behind all of my compositions, and opportunities for you to own a few pieces if you are so inclined. Of course the major contributor to it all will be….Light!
METER:
I appreciate you taking the time to read this quick introduction to my art and intentions with this blog. This part of the blog is going to require a few more minutes of your time. The photography community is filled with a great deal of artists with stunning work. I thinks it’s important for all of us to ensure our audiences enjoy the same quality and quantity of art we do. Each blog post will include artists who have inspired me or relate to what I discuss in that specific post.
Go ahead and give the artists below your support, remember them and check out their content. Pop in to their Instagram pages and throw a few likes their way or follow them on their varying platforms and continue to consume what they create. They all have fantastic work commit their artistry to utilizing substantial skill and techniques. Your support allows them to continue expanding their creative minds in brilliant and unique ways. They are some of my biggest inspirations and continue to help me develop my photographer’s eye.
Nadia Huggins
Nadia is also a Vincentian, she is a true master of aquatic landscapes. In my opinion she has created a unique means of using light through water to make shapes and otherwise recognizable subjects almost surreal. Her art is thought provoking, captivating and is practiced in the element of any great invention - simplicity.
Website: nadiahuggins.com
Instagram: @nadiahuggins
Thomas Heaton
Watching Tom’s videos and reviewing his art has truly been the key to me getting out at times when I have been particularly demotivated. He is a landscape photographer, bitten at time with the minimalist bug. His approach to compositions has a touch of the purist, is calculated, and takes careful consideration.
Website: thomasheaton.co.uk/
Instagram: @heatonthomas
YouTube: @Thomas Heaton
EXPOSE:
Last but certainly not least, is the expose section of this blog. This will be a quick preview of what to expect in the upcoming volume(s). I am currently working on minimalist compositions and street photography. I have reintroduced, or dare I say I have stopped extracting the color saturation in my photos. The goal is to marry my adoration for the two. It is an interesting exercise and vis a vi the canvas of everyday subjects I think will make for an evolution in my photography.
Follow along on my Instagram to see how this is going, or pop over to the Street category on my gallery to see a few of the shots I am particularly proud of.
Thanks for stopping in!
Warmest,
Stanley…
