H​unter Johnson​ LRPS 
Photographer - Lens Based Artist

An interest in strong images that build a moving narrative began with stacks of National Geographics in my grandparents’ attic. Along the way,I’ve been influenced by most every photograph, painting, or othergraphic image I’ve seen -- most especially by Jacob Riis, Cartier-BressonAtget, Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange, Group f/64, Bill Allard, andDavid Muench.

 

As an artist, I approach the world as a flâneur, looking for images thatare intuitive and of the moment, rarely planned or staged…if my photographs were words, I would like them to be Haikus.

 

My photography comes out of my training and work as an architect and as a sociologist; both create a combined vision of how individuals and society interact with our built and natural environments, an ecology of our culture. Through my camera I work to capture specific details that isolate a strong graphic element, reveal what otherwise might not be seen, create an insight into our common humanity, and, in the best case, combine to tell a story that stirs unexpected feelings and enriches our lives.

 

My focus is on capturing images easily overlooked, showing the present and preserving the past through photography. In the words of Diane Arbus: “I really believe there are things nobody would see if I didn't photograph them.”

 

I am currently working on several ongoing series, Deserta in Desertum, (Abandoned in the Desert) is inspired by Thomas Church’s Course of Empire and Byron’s Childe Harold. This series records artifacts of man’s attempts to exploit the natural world and how these survive, (or don’t) over time. In addition, Ajijic at Night explores my Mexican home after dark and Architectural Minimalism portrays geometric elements of contemporary buildings in the US and Mexico.

 

To contribute to our artistic community, I have served on the Palm Springs Public Art Commission, the Board of the Riverside Art Foundation, and the Board of the Artists Council of the Palm Springs Art Museum. I regularly collaborate and shoot around California as a founding member of Fugawi Photographers.

 

More recently, I have been a leader for the Programa Fotografia Juvenil, sharing my love of photography with teenagers in our Mexican village.

 

CV

Education:

Bachelor of Arts, University of Tulsa, Urban Sociology, 1966

Bachelor of Architecture, University of California, Berkeley, 1970

 

Employment:

Hunter Johnson, Photography, 2013 - Present

LINC Housing Corporation, CEO, 1996 - 2014

Housing Consultant, 1987 - 1996, 2014 - Present•

San Francisco and Emeryville Redevelopment Agencies, 1970 - 1986

 

Civic Participation:

Palm Springs Airport Commission, Commissioner, 2016 - 2019

Palm Springs Air Museum, Docent, 2014 - 2017

International Housing Partnership, US Delegate 2003 - 2014, Chair, 2014

California Housing Consortium, Founding Director, 1997 - 2014

 

Honors:

Lifetime Achievement Award, California Housing Consortium, May 2016 

Houser's Hero, Southern California Association of Nonprofit Housing, Sept 2015

Housing Champion, LINC Housing Corporation, July 2015 

Regional Champion, Southern California Association of Governments, May 2007