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Before moving to the Northwest, John photographed widely in Asia, Europe and Mexico, as well as in his long-term home state of New Mexico. He works in all camera formats, but favors infrared and high-speed B&W films for interpretive images. His current photographic work is nearly all black and white, printed in his own darkroom.

New work since arriving on Whidbey Island has covered a wide range of interests, sparked by the new environment. The "Whidbey in Color" and "Whidbey Scenery " galleries below reflect his impressions. Newest additions are in "Nautical" and "Eastern Plains" galleries.

The motorcycle, car and truck sections of this web-site are on-going projects in a series he loosely defines as "Industrial Glamour." Those galleries reflect his admiration for people who build things that are both functional and graceful. John is hoping to provide some classy "guy art" for those seeking a sophistication beyond the Miss Snap-on Tool calendars. Two images from this project are featured in a new book by Steve Koerner on "The Strange Death of the British Motorcycle Industry."

Featured older work includes mystic places in Japan, China, Mexico, and England.

John displays at Artworks Gallery in Greenbank Farm ( http://www.artworkswhidbey.com) and Penn Cove Gallery ( http://www.penncovegallery.com) in Coupeville on Whidbey Island. Both are artists' co-ops that reflect the variety of creative talent here on Whidbey. Please visit their websites when planning trips in the Puget Sound area.

In addition, John provides high quality digital photography for artists who need to document their work for competitions or for electronic displays. For this he uses a full array of studio lights and can go on location as needed. Most of the cost is in the initial setup, so shooting multiple works can realize huge discounts on a per piece basis.

Please send him your comments and opinions at jno337@cablespeed.com. All photos are available for sale as custom prints in archival mounts, with or without framing. Prices depend upon size and quantity.

Galleries

More Vintage Motorcycles of Idaho : Thanks to the Idaho Vintage Motorcycle Club for letting me be part of the 2012 Idaho Vintage Motorcycle Show and Swap. Despite the rain and snow we all had a great time and I hope to be back next year for this event. About 175 bikes of all sizes, makes and syles were in the show - something for nearly everybody's tastes. Congratulations on another well-attended, smoothly organized show! I set up a lighting area and several participants in the show kindly wheeled over their cherished bikes for a brief photo-op. I caught a few others informally as well. I have sent digital copies of the color files to the owners. If you didn't receive yours, please contact me. My main purpose in shooting was to take B&W film shots of the bikes. I have just finished a first round of printing and each B&W print is paired with its color digital counterpart. I like the images both ways, but for my own effort, I prefer making prints in the darkroom for the purely hands-on challenge. It's OK if you prefer the color versions - this is just my opinion.

More Vintage Motorcycles of Idaho

Thanks to the Idaho Vintage Motorcycle Club for letting me be part of ...

Updated: Mar 25, 2012 4:53pm PST

Eastern Oregon and the Palouse : Living in the Puget Sound on an island makes it hard to connect with the rest of the state. Especially in the 2012 election year, it was clear that East and West of the Cascades see life in fundamentally different ways. I set off with my 4x5 camera to explore this "Eastern" environment, camping in mid-winter 2013 in my pickup truck. All images in this gallery are from TriX film, developed in HC110 "B." The Palouse area in Washington and the area South of Baker City in Oregon were my destinations based on many trips through each. The Oregon photos concentrate on post-agricultural remnants 10 miles South of Baker City ("Pleasant Valley" exit on I-82) and a post-industrial cement factory at Lime (30 miles further down the Interstate). "Pleasant Valley," seen after snowfall, might suggest that 100 years ago folks had a different perspective there during the time that my own grandparents were living more comfortably as city dwellers, business and professional people. "Lime" as an abandoned and partially dismantled cement factory is a jolting warning of how transient even the largest industrial efforts might be. Despite this, Lime was enlivened by the creativity of spray-paint artists who left their work behind for wandering visitors to discover. This sense of creativity for no commercial gain is definitely a bright spot in the terrain. On the Washington side I worked back and forth through the Palouse, finding bridges, barns and of course, the spectacular Palouse Falls. My route follows SR26, 260 and 261 until you come out at the Southeast on SR 12 heading towards Clarkston. If you go this way, eat at MJ's in Connell or Huwe's in Starbuck. Donna's in Pomerell has closed, unfortunately. Time your trip, if you can, to stay over night at Palouse Falls State Park on 261 or at Chief Timothy Park on SR12, which is close to Clarkston.

Eastern Oregon and the Palouse

Living in the Puget Sound on an island makes it hard to connect with t ...

Updated: Feb 27, 2013 9:19am PST

Nautical : Being the landlubber that I am, I have been slow to kindle my interest in nautical affairs in the Northwest. However, I have been drawn to boating images recently and thought to start showing a selection here. Initial images are from Japan, Port Townsend, Fidalgo Island, and up the coast into British Columbia. Locations and shooting notes are in the captions. I would especially recommend the Seaview North Boatyard in Bellingham and the Center for Wooden Boats in Port Townsend to other photographers. Serious reconstruction work is done in both places by skilled boatmen, larger and smaller vessels respectively. Careful visitors are welcome, but ask for permission first.

Nautical

Being the landlubber that I am, I have been slow to kindle my interest ...

Updated: Mar 20, 2013 3:15pm PST

Anhui and Jiangsu, China 2012 : A one-person, unguided bus tour of Anhui and Jiangsu Provinces was my photographic goal for 2012. I traveled with a small backpack (stuffed with medium format camera and bags of B&W film) and a small carry-on suitcase for clothes. This gave me the mobility to travel by local and long-distance buses from Shanghai inland to the mountains of Anhui Province and the large cities of Jiangsu Province. This gallery will grow to display prints from the trip as I work through the 29 rolls to find best images. The tour started in Anhui Province on Huang Shan (Yellow Mountain). The images there show dramatic cliffside views on fabulously built trails. This is definitely a world-class park, but rewarding in proportion to your hiking stamina. Afterwards I moved on to the Buddhist mountain of Jiu Hua Shan (Nine Treasures Mountain). The fog and rain were pretty overpowering, so my pictures are more atmospheric than I wanted. I would have stayed longer and out-waited the rain, but frankly, the locals were grumpy with the weather and spoke a totally incomprehensible dialect. Coming down from the mountains I bused onward to the cities of Nanjing and Suzhou in Jiangsu Province. The parks and historic sights in both cities offered lots of photographic opportunities and many happy exchanges with Chinese residents and tourists. I especially recommend Nanjing to people who might be interested in travel outside of the usual tour cities. Suzhou is a smaller city, friendly, and perhaps easier for the wandering tourist to find hotels and good meals. As with previous trips displayed on this web-site, photographs of people were unpredictable bonuses for working the scenic and historic sights. Some of the people have sent me images that they took of me and I have emailed in return with my results. Overall, I would say that Chinese tourists are a friendly bunch who are eager to interact with visitors. Restaurant owners were notably less enthusiastic about me as an individual customer. First, because they figured I couldn't read a menu and second because I might keep a larger group from sitting at a table. If they were willing to serve me, they eventually warmed up when I cheerfully ate whatever they talked me into ordering. One immediate impression from the trip was that being an older gent and using obsolete camera equipment was a defintite plus. As for older, I paid half price for park entrances and obviously represented no threat to public security. The Hasselblad film camera confirmed me as a harmless, eccentric foreigner and was a continual draw for the flowing crowds. When whole tour groups each looked through my viewfinder, I sometimes I wondered if I would ever get around to taking my shot.

Anhui and Jiangsu, China 2012

A one-person, unguided bus tour of Anhui and Jiangsu Provinces was my ...

Updated: Aug 12, 2012 11:21am PST

American Motorcycles : The Deeley Motorcycle Exhibition in Vancouver, B.C. has rotated its collection on the theme of the history of American motorcycling. Of course there's a predominance of the famous Harley-Davidson brand, but plenty of historic Indians too. Then there are the less well-known Excelsior, Henderson and Pierce. In addition, there are evolutionary deadends, like the attempts at steam-powered bikes. A wonderful collection and beautifully displayed. The Deeley folks welcomed me back for another photo expedition this April. I shot in color with a digital camera and B&W with a medium format film camera. They're posted here as color and B&W pairs. Incidently, just after this shoot I found that Kodak has stopped production of the B&W film that I used here. In fact, the rolls that I used were right at their expiration date. Little did I know how "expired" they were. At least my experience with the beloved TriX 320 ended on the most positive note. Fine art giclee prints of many images in this project are available in my printing site at http://gallery.fbistudios.com/galleries/johnolsen/index.php. The printer will send prints directly to you from those ordering pages. Mounted silver gelatin prints are available also at Artworks Gallery in Greenbank and at Penn Cove Gallery in Coupeville, both framed and unframed in a variety of sizes. For more information about the Exhibition check out www.deeleymotorcycleexhibition.ca or call (604) 293-2221. It's attached to the huge Deeley Harley-Davidson store - plan on picking up some riding gear too.

American Motorcycles

The Deeley Motorcycle Exhibition in Vancouver, B.C. has rotated its co ...

Updated: Feb 21, 2012 1:24pm PST

British Motorcycles : Those of us who admire brilliant accomplishments of the Industrial Age always enjoy a well-done display of motorcycles. The Deeley Motorcycle Exhibition in Vancouver, B.C. is a must-see sight. Not only have they built a real museum quality show, but the collection encompasses great moments in a wide variety of manufacturers’ history. They organize displays on a theme; at the time of my September 2010 visit the show dealt with the rise and fall of the great British motorcycle industry. I subsequently returned in April 2011 after the show switched to a history of the American industry. If you compare the photos of the two sets you may form your own opinions about their respective trade-offs between beautiful design and strict functionalism. There are examples and counter-examples both ways, which aficionados will debate into the 21st century with enthusiasm. I hope these photos will fuel many friendly arguments. The Deeley Exhibition is photo-friendly and I want to thank the management for graciously allowing me to spend several hours in their facility, cluttering up the place with lights and cameras. In this gallery are the color outputs from a digital camera and scans of B&W prints from a medium format film camera. Fine art giclee prints of many images in this project are available in my printing site at http://gallery.fbistudios.com/galleries/johnolsen/index.php. The printer will send prints directly to you from those ordering pages. Images from this project are featured in a new book by Steve Koerner on "The Strange Death of the British Motorcycle Industry," which is due out in February 2012. For more information on the book go to http://carnegiepublishing.co.uk/shop/the-strange-death-of-the-british-motorcycle-industry/. For more information about the current exhibition at the Deeley check out www.deeleymotorcycleexhibition.ca or call (604) 293-2221.

British Motorcycles

Those of us who admire brilliant accomplishments of the Industrial Age ...

Updated: Feb 04, 2012 4:29pm PST

Cars and Trucks (and bikes) : Maybe it's my reaction to our electronic age, but I'm fascinated by the creativity of people working in the mechanical arts. Restoration of classic vehicles is a highly visible trend, reflecting on the days when one’s car or truck was very much a statement of personality and aspirations. As wonderful as today’s cars are – power, reliability and craftsmanship – they don’t touch the spirit the way a chrome-heavy Buick does. Hence, the popularity. Years ago, an auto restorer was some kind of an eccentric. Now we feature our restored cars in every civic parade or picnic. The first image is most recent, a beautiful Indian Chief "Vintage" shot at my location with digital and 4x5 film. Then, last month's trip up the Puget Sound found me the next two images. After that, the next dozen images emphasize motorcycle parts in abstract arrangements. This is "under development" and still evolving as an interest area. For these, I'm shooting in color with a digital camera, then in B&W with 4x5" or medium format film camera. This produces essentially two different series on the same set-ups. The rest of this gallery shows a few of the cars, trucks and tractors that I’m finding near me, in addition to those elsewhere in my “Metro Madness” and "Rusted Automobile" galleries. Some are fully restored, while others are just waiting for the right sponsor. Where I mention a location, please visit and look at their offerings. Who knows, maybe you’ll catch the bug? Call me for a complimentary shoot when you get done. The big red color image is a 1947 Diamond T delivery truck. It's obviously a studio shot with multiple exposure lighting, and now scanned from the color negative. Mr. C. J. Rust of Albuquerque generously provided the truck and then had me shoot his BMW motorcycles. The yellow motorcycle is mine, after hitting the 53,000 mark. That one was shot with hot lights and a digital camera as a studio exercise. Some of the later shots show a couple of vintage motorcycles from the neighborhood, shot in digital color and large format B&W. I'm hoping that these finds will encourage other bikes to come out of the woodwork around here so that I may play with them too. Finally, I have included some beauties from the LeMay Museum in Tacoma. It's well worth a visit and is in a new building just off of I-5, so it's very convenient.

Cars and Trucks (and bikes)

Maybe it's my reaction to our electronic age, but I'm fascinated by th ...

Updated: May 07, 2013 6:11pm PST

Vintage Motorcycles of Idaho : 2012 UPDATE: PLEASE GO TO "MORE VINTAGE MOTORCYCLES OF IDAHO" GALLERY FOR THIS YEAR'S SHOW. THEN COME BACK HERE FOR THE 2011 PHOTOS. THANKS. On the occasion of the 35th Annual Meeting of the Idaho Vintage Motorcycle Club, members graciously permitted me to take some photos of their prize possessions. The IVMC group met in Caldwell, ID, just west of Boise and displayed over 150 classic bikes. There was a big crowd of visitors with lots of interesting discussions. There was a swap meet for parts also. I would recommend this annual event to anyone who appreciates the history of motor vehicles, and especially motorcycle enthusiasts. As a departure from my usual practice, I shot all of these with a Nikon D90 digital camera. Lighting was a single off-camera flash with reflectors arranged around the subjects. Some very patient by-standers held background cloths for me too. Each of these is available in the color original, as well as a B&W conversion, which I prefer. Giclee prints of the B&W versions are currently available at Artworks Gallery in small and medium sizes, mounted but without frames. Call (360) 678-6102 for prices and delivery.

Vintage Motorcycles of Idaho

2012 UPDATE: PLEASE GO TO "MORE VINTAGE MOTORCYCLES OF IDAHO" GALLERY ...

Updated: Sep 25, 2011 4:45pm PST

Whidbey Scenery : The photos in this gallery signify an effort to pay more systematic attention to the scenic delights of Whidbey Island. Since late in 2008 I have explored the use of an infrared film marketed by Rollei of Germany that seems to be particularly suited to the subdued lighting in the Puget Sound area. At the same time I continued to shoot my customary Kodak TriX in side-by-side comparisons, or at least on alternating outings. Because the resultant images come from two films and three camera formats (35 mm, 6x6 cm and 4”x5” cameras) I have included more process notes in the image captions. Silver gelatin prints of many of these are available at Artworks Gallery in Greenbank Farm or Penn Cove Gallery in Coupeville. This work continues as weather and inspiration come together. The location and shooting details are in the captions.

Whidbey Scenery

The photos in this gallery signify an effort to pay more systematic at ...

Updated: Feb 27, 2013 9:38am PST

Whidbey Flora and Fauna : Join me in celebration of the lush and vigorous flora of Whidbey Island, and especially that of Ft. Ebey State Park. Imagine yourself as a strange species who perceives shades and textures to select tasty snacks. Maybe then a fungus could be an alluring crimson, or a fern might have a shy, violet underside. I chose to hand-color many of these using oil tints and pencils. For the fungus, snail and moss photos my purpose was to emphasize the imagined possible colors of these deep forest natives. For the tulips, I merely wanted to express their rich colors while dropping out the busy backgrounds. The black and white images in this gallery used either high contrast filtering (Tri-X film with red filter), infrared film (Rollei film) or very high speed film (TMZ) to achieve more dramatic looks. I am particularly happy with those shot with Rollei infrared film because they show promise for recovering good images even from the most gloomy overcast. The infrared approach will triple the number of days that I can consider "shooting days" here on Whidbey Island.

Whidbey Flora and Fauna

Join me in celebration of the lush and vigorous flora of Whidbey Islan ...

Updated: Sep 20, 2012 7:37am PST

Revered Landscapes of Japan : This gallery comes from recent residence in Japan in 2004-2006. As a long-time desert Southwest dweller I was captivated by precious back-country waterfalls and streams around Nikko, where most tourist attention goes to a vast assemblage of 17th Century temples and memorials. These hidden natural beauties are preserved with reverence, yet may be visited in near-solitude. For the solitude alone they could be revered in busy Japan, but experiencing them you can imagine the hearts of the romantic poets like Basho bursting with love for their land. These images contrast with the public ceremony of pilgrimage to the top of Mt. Fuji to watch the sunrise. The photo trip to Fuji was planned long before arriving in Japan; the back-country experience in Nikko was an exciting surprise. My photos capture a miracle of public worship and love for a national tradition in an unexpected way, I hope. Nearly all of this work is shot with 35 mm B&W infrared film, and most of that with a very wide angle lens for intimate immersion into Japan.

Revered Landscapes of Japan

This gallery comes from recent residence in Japan in 2004-2006. As a l ...

Updated: Jun 11, 2008 11:03am PST

Chiapas and the Mexican Revolution : In 1919 a German socialist escaped his firing squad fate and eventually fled to Mexico, where he wrote a series of travel books and novelized versions of the Mexican revolution. His series of six novels covered the state of Chiapas and detailed the miserable plight of the Indians enslaved by the logging companies. I chose to rephotograph his travels and revisit the villages mentioned in his books. The photos in this gallery reflect the modern Indians and their Mayan heritage. I hand-colored the Mayan ruins based on the colors that might have been used 1000 years ago, matched to the traditional palette of Chiapas homes and clothing. The Indians shown here are descendants of his fictional characters in the villages of Chamula, Chiapa de Corso, and Ocosingo. How appropriate that six months later Chiapas erupted again with the New Years Day uprising of 1994. How oblivious I must have been to spend weeks with these Indians and never notice their martial preparations! If you find these to be interesting, the author's name is B. Traven, well known for the "Treasure of the Sierra Madre." Some of his novels are available only in Spanish or German. His travel guide can be found through Interlibrary loan in North Carolina and his original photo album is still in the National Archives in Mexico City. These photos, plus large collages and work from the rephotography series, constituted my solo show at the Catacombs Gallery in Denver in 1994.

Chiapas and the Mexican Revolution

In 1919 a German socialist escaped his firing squad fate and eventuall ...

Updated: Jul 24, 2008 6:19pm PST

The Rusted Automobile : Strewn about the countryside of New Mexico are slowly rusting remnants of the great automotive age. I set the goal of capturing as many of these as possible in their natural resting places - in fields and backyards. Junk yards were off-limits. I found that high-speed infrared film brought out texture in rust and old paint, while wide angle lenses conveyed the strength and power of these creations. The 1950 Mercury in two shots here was part of a vast collection of rusty gems owned by Bob Audett in Edgewood. The Ford station wagon was one of several collected by a specialist in Estancia. Donna's Plymouth is probably reconditioned by now and moved to Phoenix as a lucky survivor. The others may be reduced to smaller parts by vandals and inexorable rusting - too bad. I printed many of these as 16x20 prints, but other sizes could be made also. They have a lot of presence to viewers who appreciate the constructed world. I can't imagine anyone ever discovering my current car and wishing to preserve it on film. By that time in the future, photos of old gas pumps will be all the rage, I suppose.

The Rusted Automobile

Strewn about the countryside of New Mexico are slowly rusting remnants ...

Updated: Jan 29, 2012 5:57pm PST

Romantic Sculptures of Henry Clews, Jr. : The Chateau La Napoule sits on the water's edge just West of Cannes and is home to remarkable work by the expatriot American sculptor, Henry Clews. In the 1920's and 30's Mr. Clews decorated the existing stone work of La Napoule with his mystic interpretations of the male-female dynamics of lust and love. Staying there for a week in 1995 I had an opportunity to photograph capitals of columns and a beautiful carved door in the dining room. I printed these all in B&W and then hand-colored them in my own reaction to his unique style. The colored prints were followed (by great luck) by stumbling upon an altar-like wood piece in a yard sale in Corrales, New Mexico. This led to constructing three shrines to love. I rephotographed the shrines and had a lab in Denver make archival quality 16x20 prints for framing. I showed some of these at a now-defunct gallery in Albuquerque and later as a Valentine's Day feature at Artworks Gallery in Greenbank, Washington.

Romantic Sculptures of Henry Clews, Jr.

The Chateau La Napoule sits on the water's edge just West of Cannes an ...

Updated: Jul 25, 2008 8:49am PST

Whidbey in Color : Some characteristic scenes of Whidbey Island have consistently defied my attempts to photograph them in Black and White. Basically, the harsh environment has stripped off too much of the colorful spirit of structures leaving a false impression of lifelessness. Or, as in the case of the statues by Roger Sherman, the surrounding trees create a rather drab background. Therefore, I set out with several battery-powered flashes, flashlights and color gels to try a different approach. I even broke down and used a digital camera so that I could adjust the lighting during those few minutes while the sunset light might be correct. The resulting images are essentially "as shot," with digital processing only to reproduce the raw appearance in the camera. Fine Balance Imaging in Bayview produced the giclee prints on a glossy digital paper. I did the retouching and archival mounting myself - I hate losing control over the final product. The final 3 images are from experiments in heavy digital processing to force interesting images during a rainy, overcast day. Given that the November rains are upon us, I think that I'll be using these approaches for the next few months. The color is rather outrageous, but that's my compensation for the dreary atmosphere right now. Fine art giclee prints of the images in this project are available in my printing site at http://gallery.fbistudios.com/galleries/johnolsen/index.php. The printer will send prints directly to you from those ordering pages.

Whidbey in Color

Some characteristic scenes of Whidbey Island have consistently defied ...

Updated: Nov 08, 2011 3:21pm PST

Portraits : Have you ever admired the portraits of the famous stars of the 40’s and 50’s? Gable, Brando, Monroe, Hepburn or Davis? Would you like to create a portrait of yourself in that tradition? Retired commercial photographer seeks creative souls who would like to participate in dress-up photos with staged lighting and background. Let your inner star have a chance to shine! Sessions are free and subjects receive a custom-printed 8x10 B&W print. Contact John Olsen at (360) 678-6102 or jno337@cablespeed.com for details. You can look at famous examples and we can plan a set-up just for you. You can be a character other than your everyday persona, as outrageous as you like. Make-up, costume, props all up for your selection! Bring a friend if you wish to help with hair, make-up and posing.

Portraits

Have you ever admired the portraits of the famous stars of the 40’s an ...

Updated: Sep 27, 2012 7:22pm PST

Figure Studies : The first three thumbnails are studio shots from 1994, illuminated with large flash lighting units. Angel was a hard-working mother of two who was available for short term employment near my studio in Denver. I printed these as 16x20s or larger, using a little soft focus diffusion in the process. The second and third trios are from a workshop under the auspices of the Coupeville Art Center in 2008 and taught by Margaretta Mitchell. The site was the historic Crockett Barn. These are with window light only, so shutter speeds were slow, depth of field very shallow. In the first set I printed the images as the full frames as shot originally. Because this was a group shoot, I had to shoot from a greater distance than I would have preferred. Recently, I reprinted these with tighter cropping to capture the essence of the images a little better. I think they work better this way; what's your opinion? On the last three (Crockett Tree I and II and Morning Stretch) I could direct the shots so these are printed close to or at full frame.

Figure Studies

The first three thumbnails are studio shots from 1994, illuminated wit ...

Updated: Aug 30, 2012 8:06pm PST

Fidalgo Island and Inland : Fidalgo Island is just north of Whidbey Island and forms an island bridge to the mainland. Deception Pass State Park spans the adjoining parts of both islands and on the Fidalgo side offers several coves and minor islands in bays. In addition, the City of Anacortes has large community forest lands around Mt. Erie, including Heart Lake. The first couple photos are from Lottie Point, shot on 4x5 TriX in weak Spring sunlight. For summertime visits to Heart Lake (trail #210) and Lottie Bay I shot medium format Rollei IR400 film with a complete infrared filter. I have shot the same film and filter in those locations previously with uninteresting results. My guess is that the infrared response of the forest is more pronounced during the dryer Summer months (August to October in particular) than during the cool, moist early Spring. Other shots are in Bowman Bay and on Pass Island on a sunny August day with normal Tri-X film and an extreme wide angle, medium format lens (40mm Distagon). The shots from the Nooksack River are on the Horseshoe Bend Trail on a cloudy day in October and later, on a sunny day in August. These also are with Rollei IR400 film, with a 35 mm camera and medium format camera, respectively. Exposures were 8-16s in prevailing gloom in October, 1/2 second in August. The Mount Baker shots are from the Chain lakes Trail about a mile in from Artists' Point. Again, these are on medium format Rollei IR 400 film. The final four are from an extreme low tide trip to Rosario Beach with my digital camera under heavy overcast. The three B&Ws are HDR treatments, while the color shot of a sea anemome used a handheld, off-camera flash to bring out the color.

Fidalgo Island and Inland

Fidalgo Island is just north of Whidbey Island and forms an island bri ...

Updated: Apr 29, 2013 4:54pm PST

John Olsen, himself : A recent transplant to the Northwest, John has photographed widely in Asia, Europe and Mexico, as well as in his long-term home state of New Mexico. His work typically has social or historical interests as a primary motivation. He works in all camera formats, but favors infrared and very high-speed films for interpretive images. His current photographic work is all black and white, printed in his own darkroom. Featured work will include mystic places in Japan, China, Mexico, and England. New work since arriving on Whidbey Island focuses on Fort Ebey State Park, in both scenic and political interpretations. John displays at Artworks Gallery in Greenbank Farm on Whidbey Island. Artworks Gallery is a juried co-operative of 12 painters, photographers, and 3D artists. The gallery can be reached at (360) 678-1871. Please take a moment to view the gallery website at www.artworkswhidbey.com. John has six years experience as a commercial photographer in New Mexico and Colorado, doing mostly architectural and product work. Since 1984 he has installed ten darkrooms for himself, resisting the lure of digital systems for a more hands-on relation with his images. Please send him your comments and opinions at jno337@cablespeed.com. All photos are available for sale as custom prints in archival mounts, with or without framing. Prices depend upon size and quantity.

John Olsen, himself

A recent transplant to the Northwest, John has photographed widely in ...

Updated: Apr 07, 2013 7:26pm PST

Metro Madness : Metro Madness! Remember when cars got 35 mpg and the gasoline price was 24¢? Metropolitans, imported from England with fun four cylinder engines, offered an alternative to the chrome and bulk trends of the Eisenhower years. Many have been lovingly restored and, now and then, venture out for a pleasure ride. Most of the restorations go back to the authentic color schemes, but some are just for fun: “Nan’s Purple Haze” or Bob’s mini-SUV creation, for example. Bob and Jan Black hosted a rally of Metropolitans at their Whidbey home on September 13, with cars coming from surrounding states and Canada. The group graciously invited me to join them for some pictures on a fine, sunny day. The images in this gallery are from that occasion. Met owners who want a higher resolution digital file of their car should email me at jno337.cablespeed.com. I can also make archival prints, if they wish, price subject to size and mounting requirements. There are two pages of "thumbnails" below. To see an image larger, select a small image on the left, then click again on the larger version to the right. Then you can make the next display larger by choosing "L" on the top toolbar in the next display page. Thanks to all for your cooperation!

Metro Madness

Metro Madness! Remember when cars got 35 mpg and the gasoline price ...

Updated: Oct 03, 2008 10:38am PST

China : Ten years or so ago my job took me to Asia quite a few times. Hoping to become a lead person in China affairs, I studied the language, culture and modern history. On two of my trips I stayed several weeks and completed a self-assigned photo project to look beyond the tourist images to connect with people. My reason for this stemmed from concern that our China policy was based on demonizing their country, finding spies among Chinese Americans, and generally rebuilding a Cold War atmosphere. Strong interest in Chinese people as fellow humans obviously interfered with becoming an accepted "China expert," but the photographs are reward enough for me. All photographs of people here are by their permission. Usually they took pictures of me in their family group also. I must be in many family albums, as the "We met a real American today" photo. For these trips I sold my beloved RB67 cameras and converted to a Hasselblad system. Weight was the primary factor in consideration of having to carry the camera bag all the time. I was staying in a college dormitory and could not impose responsibility for an expensive camera on people there. That was the hard part; the good part was that I lost about ten pounds carrying that bag all the time. Some of the captions will tell more of the story. I have moved the dragon photos to the top of the stack in commemoration of 2012 being the Year of the Dragon. Prints are available to 16x20, mounted and framed sizes about 22x28".

China

Ten years or so ago my job took me to Asia quite a few times. Hoping t ...

Updated: Jan 28, 2012 5:15pm PST

Confinement : The work in the CONFINEMENT portfolio is my impression on moving to Whidbey Island in 2007 and exploring Ft. Ebey and Ft. Casey. I saw these concrete bunkers as reminders of the poor wretches held in indefinite detention in places like Abu Ghraib in Iraq and Guantanamo Base in Cuba. They are held without due process and tortured for the idle pleasure of their guards and the vicarious thrill of politicians who have perpetrated this war hoax. Being designated as an “enemy combatant” is all it takes, whether you’re carrying a weapon, just standing at the wrong street corner, or turned in by a spiteful neighbor. And frankly, who wouldn’t be resistant to a foreign invader who comes for blatant imperial gain and who destroys what tenuous safety your family had previously known? Within this whole criminal war structure, detention and torture in contravention of the Geneva Convention is bad policy because it does not advance stated goals and because it requires our armed forces to perform actions that they know are immoral. It’s both wrong and futile. It is an insult to our men and women in uniform to misuse their patriotism in this way. It exposes our soldiers to additional danger by creating a “take no prisoners” mentality among our enemies. When and how do we get out of the miserable hell-hole of Iraq? What about the continuing mess in Afghanistan? We, as artists, must make sure that these issues are especially present in this coming year’s civic dialogue. Further reflection reminds me of the nearly one percent of the U.S. population that is currently behind bars for various crimes. Both with ourselves and with foreigners we seem to have a propensity for jails way beyond the world norms. Isn’t it time that we thought about how we got to such a position? Wouldn’t the trillion dollars spent in Iraq have been better used bringing the benefits of education and democracy to our own country? I shot the CONFINEMENT series at night with long exposure, ultra-high-speed film in 35mm format. Given that the sites are closed at night and without electricity, I lit the rooms with dozens of small tea candles. I chose printing with a condenser-enlarger and selenium toning of the final prints to achieve stark and merciless images. The model in several images is myself, it being difficult to recruit models for all-night shoots in cold weather. I process, mount and frame all images to archival standards.

Confinement

The work in the CONFINEMENT portfolio is my impression on moving to Wh ...

Updated: Jun 11, 2008 10:05am PST

Artists' Documentation : I provide quality photographic services for artists who need to make submissions to competitions, galleries and websites. I shoot with a full array of studio lights and post-process with Photoshop CS5 (64 bit). I'll do individual items, but huge cost savings arise when we can do many works at the same session. The first image is a panoramic of a very long outdoor installation. It represented a nice challenge in timing the sun angle and the low tide, and a good bit of luck in having the rain let up. The second image is a highly glossy glass teapot shot in a standard lighting box. The next two images here are experiments in extending the focal depth for a 3D object, in this case a sake set or a horse figure. No longer will the artist have to put up with blurry foreground and background details. This uses some specialized software that combines images. For those who would like to document their creations for themselves, Denis Hill and I conducted a half-day workshop on photographing 3D and fabric art, followed by a second session for 2D artwork. These were both at the Pacific Northwest Art School in Coupeville. I emphasized inexpensive lighting solutions and the use of consumer-level cameras. Denis demonstrated post-processing in relatively simple programs as a complement to the shooting work. As a departure from using studio lighting and professional cameras, this was an interesting challenge for both of us. We pooled our equipment and knowledge and each learned from the experience, I'm sure. The next seven images in this gallery are photos from the workshop after minor post-processing in Photoshop Elements 8. Despite rocketing through several set-ups, the results showed at least a good start on each task. We had examples of different fabric textures, different painting surfaces, and some very shiny surfaces. I hope that our participants feel that we met our goals. The remaining images here include a number of lighting exercises that I conducted in preparation for the workshop. Most are in the spirit of inexpensive solutions using a point-n-shoot camera, but a few are full studio set-ups. I want to thank all of my artist friends who let me borrow various items for these experiments. All of the photos in this gallery are very much compressed for web display. It may be difficult to judge focus and detail at this level, but those were key elements in the workshops.

Artists' Documentation

I provide quality photographic services for artists who need to make s ...

Updated: Mar 28, 2013 3:36pm PST

Mystic England : In 1988 I spent six weeks in Berkshire, England. Inspired by the proximity with primeval historic sights in the surrounding area I made frequent expeditions. Recently, I've scanned a few of these in on the Imacon scanner as 60MB TIFFs. These four are on my very first roll of 35 mm TMZ film. I had to have it developed locally, as it would not survive an x-ray machine on the way back to the U.S. Both the local film lab and I were hoping for the best on this new (at the time) film. We got lucky, or maybe I was just lucky to chance upon an experienced technician. I shot Stonehenge several times, from dawn to after dark, in color and B&W. This pair is from a late November dawn when I rented the site for exclusive use so that I could photograph within the circle. There was a light frost on the ground, a full moon peeking between the uprights and grazing sheep on the distant hillside. As the sun came over the horizon I switched to color negative film in my 4x5 camera. Those shots would be great to scan too! The West Kennett Barrow is a hill-top burial site constructed of huge stones and covered with soil. Having seen it during the day on the way to Cornwall, I purchased a box of votive candles and a flashlight for my return. Since I was uncertain about night-time access, I walked up the hill in total dark, arriving at midnight. There was flickering light inside the barrow so I paced around the hill for an hour waiting for whoever was there to finish their own ceremony. Upon entering the barrow I faced a dilemma: One candle was still burning. Should I add my dozen to get maximum light, or should I stop short of an unlucky 13? These shots are about 15 s in duration (luckily I had my tripod with me).

Mystic England

In 1988 I spent six weeks in Berkshire, England. Inspired by the proxi ...

Updated: Jul 25, 2011 2:54pm PST

Cookin' in the Kettles Bikerace 2008 : The Kettles trails in Ft. Ebey State Park make for challenging biking. These hardy souls entered the 2008 "Cookin' in the Kettles" races on March 22. I set up 2 cameras near the top of a particularly grueling hill on Cedar Grove trail. One camera had very high speed film (3200 ISO) to seize the action; the other had more normal (400 ISO) film to let the riders' intensity show by means of blurring. I want to thank every rider for doing their very best every time they came struggling up the hill past me, waving, smiling and/or groaning. My thanks also to the race organizers for encouraging me to participate in their event in this way.

Cookin' in the Kettles Bikerace 2008

The Kettles trails in Ft. Ebey State Park make for challenging biking. ...

Updated: Jul 27, 2008 10:04am PST

2010 Cookin in the Kettles Bikerace : Those intrepid bikers were back in the Kettles Park and Ft. Ebey State Park for races on March 28, 2010. I stationed myself on the Cedar Grove Trail, just below the junction with the Cedar Hollow Trail. This is about 5 miles into the 7 mile loop and half-way up the second-to-the-last long hill. Many riders were still in high spirits, but all were giving this hill their best efforts. Thanks to all of the riders for their cooperation. The blurred pictures were my main goal. I wanted to capture the spirit of the race more than individual portraits. For these I used a wide angle lens just off the trail with a medium speed film (Ilford HP5). A few other photos are more recognizable, mostly taken with a very high speed film (Kodak TMZ) and telephoto lens. Where possible I have added possible identifiers in the captions. Maybe next year I'll think to take someone with me to record rider numbers as I fire away with the film.

2010 Cookin in the Kettles Bikerace

Those intrepid bikers were back in the Kettles Park and Ft. Ebey State ...

Updated: Apr 14, 2010 9:09am PST

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Please send your comments or questions to John Olsen at jno337@cablespeed.com.