John makes his home in Ashland, Oregon and remains a very active photographer with personal photography projects, numerous exhibits, a new book (Evidence of Magic) and an on-going series of "Sight and Insight" fine-art workshops. Let John's words, wisdom and stunning imagery renew your photographic passion.
Cathedral Gorge 1984 by John WimberleyAmong the visual arts, photography is unique in that each picture is usually conceived and executed within a few seconds. Unlike painting or drawing where an image is constructed over time, a photograph has all of its elements perceived and integrated virtually simultaneously. Even with all the image modification options of digital photography, the click of the shutter fixes for all time the essential characteristics of the photograph.
The integration of visual elements into a meaningful picture requires energy. Thus, the artist in photography needs to have clear access instantly - in the moment - to all the perceptual energy a painter might expend on a work over days or weeks. If sufficient energy is lacking, the resulting photograph is very unlikely to attain the level of visual organization that carries it beyond the sum of its parts. In other words, the picture won't achieve its full potential as a work of art.
Descending Angel by John WimberleyEnergy is the indisputable basis of life and awareness; and each person's degree of aliveness and awareness is intimately related to the amount of energy that he or she possesses. In addition, the person who has more energy, who is supremely alive and "turned on", perceives a world that possesses greater coherence and structure, offers an increased number of options and, most importantly, manifests deeper insight and meaning. The deeper and wider the photographer's awareness, the potentially richer the work of art. Awareness is energy.
When working, the photographer chooses a subject, conceives a picture, and then gives the conception form as a print, transparency or digital file.
Mesquite Flat #48 by John WimberleyThe primary external sense involved is, of course, seeing. Internally, making a picture is far more complex. In the ideal situation, intuition ascertains what to photograph, feeling selects a rendition of the subject and intellect chooses the technical procedures. In addition, conscious dreaming may be employed in the form of previsualization of the final image. Memories of previously seen photographs may come to the photographer's aid to help guide the process. Every aspect of this process, internally and externally, requires energy.
The lightning-like burst of perceptual and conceptual energy that lifts a photograph above mere recording has its source not only in the photographer himself, but in the universe at large. If the photographer alone had to supply this energy, within a few exposures he would be exhausted. Because of this, the true art of photography has much less to do with mechanical or aesthetic technique, luck or equipment than is commonly supposed. Instead, it lies in cultivating the ability to spontaneously channel enormous amounts of energy through oneself into each photograph as it is composed and exposed.
Racetrack Valley 1981 by John Wimberley
Wreck of the Ranga by John WimberleyFor the past 43 years I've examined the relationship between photographic creativity and energy while exposing more than 40,000 large format negatives. In addition, I've studied such fields as Jungian Psychology, been an Iyengar Yoga teacher, and had a professional practice as a psychic counselor. I believe that the ability to open oneself to the transpersonal energy necessary to create memorable and moving works of photographic art is available to anyone who is willing to invest the necessary time, effort and trust. My Sight & Insight workshops present a distillation of the most essential and reliable techniques that I’ve learned.
by John Wimberley, 2009
