John Hendrick || Staff Photojournalist Pepper magazine || UTSA Photography Instructor 12/31/23 John Hendrick || Staff Photojournalist Pepper magazine || UTSA Photography Instructor 12/31/23

Twenty23

Year in Review!

First, I need to thank everyone who came along for the ride. From the OG followers to the newest of the new, thank you for all the comments, likes, encouragement, and engagement; all of it is necessary to keep the machine moving.

It’s easy to get discouraged and lose sight of what exactly we are doing, especially at the very beginning when the audience is not very big and the return on investment seems nonexistent. But when you hear someone say they like your work or tag you as a means of motivation, it truly makes an impact.

I have been at my computer for a few weeks looking at what I have and what would make the cut. Of all the exciting things I learned along the way, I found it interesting that it came down to about one image a month, much more than I ever thought possible.

In that same breath, I realize the journey still has a long road ahead.

This is my first year in review, and I am taking this as year one for what I hope to be the starting point of my legacy in this world of photography.

I don't plan on going back into the archives and digging out any other images; I will leave those decades of images as practice and the stepping stones to where we are today and plan only to look forward.

Lots of fun stuff is planned for 2024; I hope you stick around.

Happy New Year!

John

John Hendrick || Staff Photojournalist Pepper magazine || UTSA Photography Instructor 11/20/23 John Hendrick || Staff Photojournalist Pepper magazine || UTSA Photography Instructor 11/20/23

The catch up

So many months have passed. Four months, to be exact.

I was lucky enough to be a part of 3 shows from September to October, so I haven't posted much since then. Being invited to participate in shows is a very cool moment, but then you realize all the work you need to put into it.

Since then, I have found my artistic direction and, more importantly, my creative voice.

It will surely be color, as that was a creative choice early in the year (make sure to read about it here: Case Study with Phil Penman) and leaning into the works of Saul Leiter and Alex Webb.

The trick was how to be influenced but not replicate. I took down all the aspects of what I like about their work. I tore down and deeply dived into each of their images. Once I had all my notes, I took the primary aspects of each piece and slowly started to implement items into my work. It is still an ongoing practice, but I am 80% there.

The funny thing is I am sure it will evolve again.

John Hendrick || Staff Photojournalist Pepper magazine || UTSA Photography Instructor 4/28/23 John Hendrick || Staff Photojournalist Pepper magazine || UTSA Photography Instructor 4/28/23

Interview + two photos published.

I was published in Doc Magazine book Vol. 22

So i always go by the principle of, if an opportunity presents itself, jump on it!

Please make sure to Jump On This One; Below is a Code For 50% Off An Entire Collection Of Magazines So That You Can Get Inspired, Study Others Works, Composition, Use Of Color, Emotions, And The List Goes On.

you will also have Several career and business loaded PDF to help you with your passion.

Frankly, there is so much information being offered. Don’t miss out.

AND! you will get to see my work ( added Bonus)

50% off Code

John Hendrick || Staff Photojournalist Pepper magazine || UTSA Photography Instructor 3/9/23 John Hendrick || Staff Photojournalist Pepper magazine || UTSA Photography Instructor 3/9/23

Key takeaways from Phil Penman’s book “STREET”

Key Takeaways From Phil Penman’s Book “STREET”

Phil’s book is a great size; I say this because it Allows you to get a clear feel for all the images depicted on each page.

So what is in this book?

Well, its starts with a section titled “citizen,” Where you can see a collection of images of street portraits with the occasional candid capture of a man in a space suit or gollum in the subway. A nice reminder that the streets are flooded with people waited to be captured.

Next, we have “Celebrity,” which is a look into his past, where Phil takes us on a quick journey to take a Glimpse of life, chasing down Celebrities and what exactly is required. The pages are filled with paparazzi images from both sides of the camera. In this section, we also get some great stories of what it takes to be in that business. The common thread for me was you have to be willing to work harder.

The Third and final section, titled “City,” is the one that resonated the most for me. In a collection of images in black and white and color, Phil Can Capture the grit and feel of the city i so love.

If you don’t have this book on your shelf, you need to pick it up, and please read the stories. don’t just flip through the images.

key take aways:

it’s ok to ask for portraits. it doesn’t all have to be candid shots; Street Photography has this stigma that everything has to be sneaky shots, “not Disrupting the scene.”
you have to be willing to put in the work; in each of his stories, i came to realize that he got the shot because he was the last man standing; he hustle harder, and in the end, your efforts will be recognized.
lastly, Try to compose and capture images that show us, the Viewers, the true essence of the scene. I believe there are three people to consider when taking images, the photographer (your vision), the subject (how you want them to be presented), and the Observer (what You want the person viewing the image to take away).

3 reasons you should slow your shutter speed.

So first, what I'm talking about;

I'll explain; if you set your shutter to a slow speed, let us say, for example, on my image, it was set to 1/12 seconds; you can blur your image.

You may have noticed that the people walking down the stairs blurred to the point where some may even appear to be ghosts.

So here is three reasons why we would want to slow your shutter:

#1. Create movement instead of freezing an object; we can help emphasize the natural movement that occurs in life.

#2. Create tension; something that seems out of focus forces the observer to work harder to translate the image.

#3. Lastly, it’s just fun to change things up.

There are many other ways to get creative with slow shutter speeds; this is to get your mind working.

Thanks for all the support,

Now you can just get out there and get creative.

John

John Hendrick || Staff Photojournalist Pepper magazine || UTSA Photography Instructor 12/28/22 John Hendrick || Staff Photojournalist Pepper magazine || UTSA Photography Instructor 12/28/22

Do you need to travel for good photos?

Do you need to travel to get good photos? | Color street photographer | Stepping outside your comfort zone.

Where to begin? Can a city like San Antonio provide opportunities to create good work?

Being raised in New york city and having lived and traveled all around the world, a place like a san Antonio can be an easy excuse for why you can’t produce good work. Making you wonder if you need to travel more.

But in reality, it has proven that you must work harder and be more creative. That has forced me to step outside my comfort zone (a good thing), pushing my photographic eye to explore other possibilities. After posting this shot on my Instagram, I knew instantly that this would be the shoot to prove that the photographs are out there.

The fear is stepping outside your niche or what you are known for and coming up short. But too often have I heard that you must be willing to fail.

This image was taken yesterday here in San Antonio, and it is my best work so far, and I did not travel to another part of the world; I needed to look a little harder. So if you have ever heard the saying, “Don't be afraid to fail,” this might be what they were talking about.

Peace,