You get out of that box... somehow change your perspective out of that ugly, boring box, photos go instantly from snap shots to photographs.
鈥� Greg Johnson
Photography has taken Greg Johnson a long way, from an advertising boardroom to his own reality TV series.
Regina鈥檚 鈥淭ornado Hunter鈥� was in Yorkton last week imparting some of his knowledge and experience behind the lens to an eager group of amateurs hoping to turn their snap shots into art.
Johnson left behind the suits and desks for a raincoat and a pickup truck a decade ago when he decided it was time to devote all his time to his passion for chasing and documenting severe weather. In the off season, from about September to March, he travels around as a motivational speaker and photography instructor.
The main obstacle for a lot of people, he says, is getting comfortable with the equipment.
鈥淭he biggest thing for me, and for any photographer really, is simplifying the camera,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hese are really technical pieces of equipment with lots of bells and whistles and dohickeys and knobs and everything.
鈥淚t can be pretty overwhelming and most people give it a go and then end up throwing it on auto and they鈥檝e invested a good chunk of money into something they鈥檙e really not using to its full potential. If [I} can break it down, simplify it and make it easy and fun, I find that people can get more value out their camera and enjoy it more.鈥�
Yorkton is a regular stop for him. This year he did two sold out workshops at the Western Development Museum.
鈥淚 seem to get to Yorkton every fall because there鈥檚 a lot of demand for it and it鈥檚 a lot of fun,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think at the end of the day everybody is fascinated with photography. It鈥檚 what I call the scrap book of our lives. Whether it鈥檚 a community鈥檚 history, whether it鈥檚 historical images of your business, everybody sort of has that scrap book of their life. Being able to use photography as a creative outlet I think is a really cool thing for a lot of people.
While learning to take advantage of the equipment is critical, Johnson notes there is a simple lesson that can instantly improve any photographer鈥檚 work.
鈥淚f I only have 10 to 15 minutes with to sort of impart whatever knowledge I can and I can only teach them one thing, the thing that I am talking about is something we call perspective,鈥� he explained.
鈥淲e all walk around every day and in our car, whether we鈥檙e walking, whether we鈥檙e sitting at our desk, we spend the whole day with our eyeballs from about three-and-a-half feet to about six feet, that鈥檚 where everybody鈥檚 eyeballs are every day all day. And whenever we take a photo from within that box, it鈥檚 boring, that鈥檚 the golden rule.
鈥淵ou get out of that box, you get high, get the camera down against the ground shooting up, somehow change your perspective out of that ugly, boring box, photos go instantly from snap shots to photographs.鈥�
And, he says, there is hope for any one who takes the time to learn.
鈥淧hotography is one of those things that it鈥檚 hard to be creative and imaginative and get your camera to do what you want to do until you technically understand how it works,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 like to say photography is one of those skills that require both sides of the brain. We all get into it because of the creative side. We all want to create and make interesting things, but unless we have the required technical skills, we can鈥檛 do it.
鈥淪o, I think they鈥檙e both equally important and I think both can be taught. I think a lot of people believe there鈥檚 such a thing as having an eye for photography, that some people are just good at it. That鈥檚 just not true. I鈥檝e seen it a million times where people show up and they have a brand new camera, they don鈥檛 even know how to turn it on, and a few months later they鈥檙e sending me photos and they鈥檙e gorgeous.鈥�
