chinese johnny's photostream  

BLOCKHEADS READ THIS: If you have nothing to share (your stream is private or nonexistent), or your stream is all porn with no artisitic intent, I WILL BLOCK YOU. Sorry, no exceptions! I'm here to share, not just to be collected.

“We don't see things as they are; we see them as we are.” – Anaïs Nin

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Leonardo da Vinci

I tend to measure the beauty of a photograph, not by the skill it takes to photograph something beautiful, but the skill it takes to make a beautiful photograph from something that is ordinary.

“Wisdom begins in wonder.” – Socrates

Don't get me wrong, now. I do love beauty for it's own sake.

"Photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on earth which can make them come back again." – Henri Cartier-Bresson

Faves and contacts are welcome. Unfortunately, I cannot reciprocate and add everyone as my own contact. Nothing personal. I just want to leave my contacts to a select few, for personal reasons.

"You can't rely on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." - Mark Twain

My first book is available for purchase, and if anyone is interested, please let me know. I appreciate the support.
CHINA: Paradox... Photographs by John... By John Hames Book Preview

CHINA: Paradox & Progress by John Hames | BOOK INFO

“When you explain poetry, it becomes banal. Better than any explanation is the experience of feelings that poetry can reveal to a nature open enough to understand it.” – Pablo Neruda

This goes for photographs too. They have their own language, and the beauty is in the interpretation. I don't explain my work, i'd rather they evoke feeling and thought, and your involvement in that process is important to me. Otherwise, I will let the image speak for itself.

“People make photographs because words often fail to adequately describe and express their relationship to the world.” – Robert Hirsch

I'm into information, and I often include a place name, or more, with my images, so that you have some basis in the real world to place the work - because the work IS about the real world, after all.

“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction.” – E. F. Schumacher

For the most part, the work exists as moments that I have witnessed. The moments are real, often revealing, and give witness to life as only photography can.

“Every creative act requires elimination and simplification. Simplification results from a realization of what is essential.” – Hans Hoffmann

And I would be remiss if I did not give credit to all my subjects, for their trust, their inner beauty, and their generosity. They are what gives my work its soul.

“Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it.” – Salvador Dali


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“If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” – Robert Capa

Something I've noticed in my short time on flickr:
>if you post a few good photographs, you will get a few good responses.
>if you post photographs of beautiful women, you will get a few more responses.
>if you post photos of nude women, you will get even more.
>and if you are a woman that posts nude pics of yourself, get ready to win the lottery!

“The artist's job? To be a miracle worker: to make the blind see, the dull feel, the dead to live.” – Edward Abbey

What you see here are images from different bodies of work. I hope that you appreciate that there is much more where these came from!

“We do not take pictures with our cameras, but with our hearts and minds.” – Arnold Newman

So much to say ... so little time to say it all.

“Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity.” – Charles Mingus

I teach photography to adults and high school age students.

“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.” – Seneca

If this isn't enough info, please contact me.