also see
CHOOSING A PHOTOGRAPHER  | PHOTO TIPS

INTEGRITY
He believes that integrity emanates from the very heart of a person, and touch all things one is involved in. For John, this is also based solidly in spiritual values which will be reflected in attitude, care shown, and a general 'can do' disposition.

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BACK TO THE BEGINNING
John was born in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England, and primarily raised in Warwickshire children's homes where his many photographic odysseys have their roots. A move to Wales and involvement as a Group Leader of a Welsh Young Ornithologists group led John into his initial passion of natural history photography. Early subjects were the many species of bird that were nursed back to health, plus a love of landscape and the macro subjects that abound everywhere one goes. 

The ornithological work led to the receiving of a Prince of Wales Award in 1978, which is when John took on school, wedding and commercial photography.  This included items such as product imagery and photographing professional musicians for the Welsh music label, Sain.

AWARDS
At the same time he also freelanced for Welsh and English publications, and for whoever would buy his photography work and his occasional writing. The awards flowed within the Welsh and English Photographic Federations, and also at the Welsh National Eisteddfod [a festival of the arts] on a regular basis.  John's work also found recognition in several nationally distributed British photo magazines.

AND SO TO THE PRESENT
John ran a full-time photo studio in the mountains of the McCall, Idaho, from 1985 to 1998 when he moved to Idaho's capital, Boise. Still full-time, John works from a home office shooting commercial projects, weddings and meeting image library needs, creating photo-designs, and leading photo trips for small groups etcetera. 

Since his arrival in the U.S.A. John has been widely published in many British and Canadian magazines including Natural History and Farm and Ranch Living here in the United States . . . plus many other magazines and projects in-between.

He has written 80 plus photography columns, teaches the 'photographic arts' at conventions and seminars, and plans to have a 'coffee table' book of images on release in the next 'decade' [he likes to be realistic!].

JOHN AS A PRODUCER AND PRESENTER  OF 'MULTI-IMAGE' PROGRAMS
John also specializes in what the British term as 'slide/sound' production. In the U.S.A. this might be termed as 'multi-media' or 'audio-visual'. Perhaps the more accurate term of 'multi-image' goes a little further in conveying the delicacy, deftness, sensitivity, emotion and creativity that John puts into his two-projector work. His programs are collectively titled 'Visual Journeys', and have been screened at many conventions and business meetings etcetera.

For more details go to the MULTI-IMAGE PRESENTATIONS page.

Because of the recognition brought about by his presentations, John has been asked to photograph and produce various customised pieces for a number of businesses and organizations over the years, and has now transferred this to the digital arena.

A LAST WORD
You will have noticed that John is certainly not a one-subject photo specialist. He is a photographer in every sense of the word, and his experience in many photographic fields gives him insights, perspectives and solutions in all the photographic situations he finds himself in. 

In other words, in John you'll get a wealth of experience, true artistry, and someone who is very easy to work with indeed.

OWN A CAMERA?  OK, HERE'S A HANDFUL OF JOHN'S PRACTICAL PHOTO TIPS

VISION  ~  Develop the art of 'seeing' images . . . awareness, anticipation and imagination are some of the 'tools' we need to manipulate our photographic equipment, however basic, and produce images that fall into the 'out of the ordinary' category
 
LIGHT  ~  Utilize the best light of the day.  Texture enhances any image, be it a close-up or landscape.  Sometimes, just by changing our camera angle we'll improve the lighting on a given subject.
 
SIMPLICITY  ~  Keep it simple, while also keeping it detailed and interesting
 
CREATIVITY  ~  Experiment with techniques . . . could this subject be recorded best with a slower shutter speed; by selective focus; or a ‘ton’ of depth of field and so on?
 
COMPOSITION:  TRY THE UNUSUAL  ~  Can the composition be improved via a different camera angle, or framing?
 
IMPACT  ~  Fill the frame as often as possible  Try a different camera angle, especially closer.  Experiment with panning techniques.  Try different flash/daylight exposure combinations.
 
QUALITY  ~  Use a tripod, and slow film [whenever practical]
 
DETAILS  ~  Search the viewfinder and remove those elements that will bother the life out of you later!  This will usually be something akin to a splash of sunlight on a rock, or misplaced blade of grass when doing a macro [close-up] shot
 
GUIDELINES  ~  Follow those photo guidelines such as the ‘rule of thirds’ and so on, BUT, also break those ‘rules’ whenever you see fit.  Rules 1 and 2 . . . 1, Follow the rules, and 2, break the rules!
 
BE PREPARED  ~  Especially when traveling.  Closer to home, have a camera on hand for that grandkid's precious expressions and so on.  Make sure your not at the end of a roll, and pre-set your camera [the manual varieties] to 125th @ f.8
 
KEEP AN OPEN MIND  ~  Quality images CAN be found with the sun at it’s highest point of the day.  Polarisation does work at other than right-angles to the sun
 
GO A STEP HIGHER  ~  Don’t settle for ‘second-best’ . . . consider all the elements that could improve your picture before you release the shutter
 
PLANNING AND PATIENCE  ~  get to know your subject's behaviour patterns be it Elk during the rut, or a bird approaching a nest etcetera
 
THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT  ~  To improve your pictures, will a filter help? Will a longer lens be useful for landscapes?  Auto-focus alleviate your focusing problems?  These are decisions you have to make for yourself!
 
BE ADAPTABLE  ~ Change camera positions to leave out those power poles or 'stray' people.  Perhaps the shade of a tree can serve as your lens shade?  Lost or broken your cable release? . . . use the self-timer
 
TELL A STORY  ~  Include the 'environment'.  What does it say about this time, place or person?
 
TAKE THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARISE  ~  Make use of zoos and events such as historic re-creations to capture those rare and otherwise unobtainable images
 
MAKE THE EFFORT  ~  An image you have in mind may require some elaborate setting up.  If the image is worth the effort, then go ahead and manipulate and coerce!  Also, don't leave that tripod in the car or think, "the right lens is in my bag, but . . . ".   Go on, make the effort!
 
ENJOY YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY  ~  Take pictures for your own benefit and that of your friends. Don’t do it to please a club judge!