John has been taking photos as long as he can remember. At the age of 4 (ca. 1971), his father gave him a Kodak 126 Instamatic. By the time he was in middle school he had long since moved to Miranda SLRs and had an already impressive range of lenses.
Some of John's fondest memories were hikes through state parks with his father, four camera bodies (two each person), and just a couple of lenses each. Finding that perfect hidden spot -- a little creek flowing down a rock, an unexplored view -- was the goal of their hikes.
By the early 1990s, John's attention had shifted to his growing families and photography became more point and shoot.
In the early 2010's, John's father passed away from Alzheimer's, and John inherited his father's collection of now vintage Nikon equipment. That rekindled his love of photography and help him remember the good times with his father, not his last years of slowing fading away.
John usually shoots using a Nikon D7000 and a handpicked collection of vintage Nikkor lenses. Part of the fun, he explains, is using a fully automatic camera in totally manual mode with a vintage lens. He is also not afraid to resort to his phone's camera when there is no other choice, proving that a good photograph is as much the photographer as the equipment.
John often enjoys dragging out unusual pieces of his collection, like reversing rings and barrel extensions, just to play with them.
John's photos tend to be grouped into three subject areas: Landscapes (mostly involving water), Candids, and Motorsports (particularly rally). He often try to find different views to the common, and loves it when he can create a single photo that tells a story.