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Photograph by George Sakkestad
John Howard goes for content rather than beauty, but somehow the beauty comes through.
Photo exhibit captures the moment
By Shari Kaplan
Moments is an appropriate title for John Howard's exhibit at Aegis Gallery, where he is the featured artist for July. A collection of some 20 color and black-and-white photographs he selected from his large body of work taken in the 1980s and '90s, the images represent times in his life that were of particular importance when he immortalized them on film.
"I titled it Moments to draw attention to the fact that there are times when things simply impress you at the very moment you're taking the picture," says Howard, who says he is more drawn to images for their photographic content than just their beauty.
"I'm fascinated by things that have staying power. I'm really taken by things that have been around a while, or things that remind me of other things I saw somewhere else years ago. I guess I'm getting to be an old romantic," he adds, grinning.
A Tennessee native, Howard first got interested in photography as a teenager, when he tagged along with a photographer friend of his father's. During World War II, Howard joined the U.S. Army as an administrative technician and made the military his career until he retired in 1972. Afterwards, he worked as a field representative for the American Junior Bowling Conference for eight years, a job for which he frequently traveled around the country. A heart attack in 1980 slowed him down temporarily; after his recovery he enrolled in DeAnza College and took some continuing education classes in photography, art history and the humanities.
When photographing for his own enjoyment, as he does now, Howard concentrates on the beauty found in the great outdoors, especially landscapes and seascapes. At Saratoga's Hakone Gardens, he once sat for an hour, fascinated by the changing patterns of pine needles and leaves on the water of a lake.
Other of his favorites include a rustic scene of a eucalyptus tree overhanging a small rowboat on a waterway near Bodega Bay, and a herd of horses congregated near a tree--beautifully backdropped by a lake and distant mountains--on a lonely stretch of Nevada highway.
Recently, Howard has begun experimenting with heat-sensitive infrared film and says he hasn't been this excited by a medium in years. Some of his photographs in Aegis Gallery reflect his growing proficiency in this area.
Aegis Gallery is at 14531 Big Basin Way, Unit 2. Gallery hours are Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. A reception for the artist takes place July 9 from 6 to 9 p.m.
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Saratoga, California Since 1975
