Archer Mayo
ARTIST/AUCTIONEER
A future blog about Archer Mayowill be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 2016.
50-Years of Vision Quest
I have photographed thousands of people, most becoming life-long friends, all of them stand the separation of time, distance, choice, or in death because of the photograph. They are enshrined by the blink of a camera's eye, providing a reference, a road-map and a testament to Living Art.
It is a formidable task to edit over half-a-million pictures, scan the negatives or slides and then find words. This collection is just the beginning, a "friends in progress," to be continued and updated. Drop me a note if I've photographed you; click the "like" button or comment as a vote to expedite the completion of a specific friend.
ARTIST/AUCTIONEER
A future blog about Archer Mayowill be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 2016.
PHOTOGRAPHER
A future blog about Steve Mccurrywill be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 1985.
REAL ESTATE BROKER
A future blog about Maui Meyerwill be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 1988.
FILM EDITOR
A future blog about Dominique Milbankwill be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 1975.
BANKER
A future blog about Tony Milbankwill be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 1975.
WINDSURFER
A future blog about Sam Moseswill be added here. Enter now to see photos. Circa 2001.
WRITER
A future blog about Sam Moseswill be added here. Enter now to see photos. Circa 2001.
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
A future blog about Bernedette Murraywill be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 2012.
WRITER
A future blog about Laurie Nadelwill be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 2001.
WINDSURFER
A future blog about World Champion Robby Naishwill be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 1989.
CHIROPRACTOR
A future blog about Dennis Obrianwill be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 2002.
PHOTOGRAPHER
A future blog about George Olson will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 2010.
Welcome to my future blog page about Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Enter to see photos. Circa 1973
ORGANIC FARMER
A future blog about Walter Ordwaywill be added here. Enter now to see photos. Circa 2010.
EDITOR/MANAGER
Future blog page about Eddie Patricelli will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 1999.
WRITER/WATER PROTECTOR
Future blog page about Jess Lee Perry will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 2016.
PHOTO AGENT
Future blog page about Robert Pledge the founder of Contact Photo Agency will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 1984.
FILMMAKER
A future blog about Oscar-winning filmmaker Louie Psihoyos will be completed here. Enter now to see photos. Since 1984.
NURSE/ACCOUNTANT
Future blog page about world traveler Dawna Price will be added here soon. Enter now to see photos. Since 2018.
SAILMAKER
Future blog page about Neil Pryde (yes it’s a real person) will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 1993.
STUDENT
Future blog page about Charlie Qin will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 2014.
WINDSURFER
Future blog page about the founder of StarboardSvein Rasmussen will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 1983.
PHOTO EDITOR
Future blog about Sylvie Rebbot will be completed. Enter now to see photos. Since 2001.
FRENCH PHOTOGRAPHER
Future blog page about Marc Riboud will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 1974.
PHOTOGRAPHER
Future blog page about Perry Riddle will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 2010.
SENATOR
A future blog about photo editor Bernie Sanders will be completed. Enter now to see photos. Since 2015.
PHOTOGRAPHER
Future blog page about Gary Settle will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 2010.
SUP BUSINESS OWNER
Future blog page about Anthony Scaturro will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 1988.
WINDSURFING SCHOOL OWNER
Future blog page about Brian Schurton will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 1993.
PILOT
Future blog page about Richard Sperling will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Circa 1998.
PHOTOGRAPHER
Future blog page about Bill Snead will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 2010.
PHOTOGRAPHER
Future blog page about Harley Soltes will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 1979.
SAILMAKER
Future blog page about Monty Spindler will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 1993.
PRINTER
Future blog page about Stephen Stinehour will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 1987.
HOTEL MANAGER
Future blog page about Tom Stevenson will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 2001.
PHOTOGRAPHER
Future blog page about Damian Strohmeyer will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 1979.
PHOTOGRAPHER
Future blog page about Barry Sweet will be added here. Enter now to see photos. Since 2010.
ENTREPRENEUR, MISSIONARY
A future blog about missionary, entrepreneur, pilot and writer Steve Saint will be completed. Enter now to see photos. Since 1972.
Welcome to the future Blog page about William Cameron Townsend . The founder of The Wycliffe Bible Translators and the Summer Institute of Linguistics. Enter to see photos. Circa 1975
DECADE OF ADVENTURE: Fresh and exciting, a decade of innocent encounters, whether temporal or spiritual, all powerful awakenings. A dance of light, faith, and form, converging in time, out of chaos into moments of delight and awe.
INDULGING DEFIANCE: Photography gave me wings but also a sense of boundless creativity. This was a decade of independence, anti-establishment. It was a decade that avoided entrapment, both stylistic and accomplishment,. an era of exploration and renaissance.
SINK OR SWIM: The ’90s were filled with risk and perils. A decade of demanding faith and vision. Jumping before knowing where to land. A decade filled with challenges, difficulties and yet breathtaking miracles.
HEAT’S ON: A decade of transformation. The dawning of the age of Aquarius. Water turning to steam. Fruition from the quest was liberating. It was a decade that exchanged ambition for the magic of the unknown.
GRATITUDE: A decade beyond expectation. I learned to live in the moment instead of capturing the moment. . . simply, being present to welcome the moment.
This work-in-progress is the unveiling of a fifty-year visual-journey by photographer John Chao. You’re signing up for future updates, events, and offerings. We guard your privacy and maintain your exclusive ad-free subscription. Unsubscribe at any time with a click of a button. Thank you!
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-Continued from Published
Bob Gilka, the Director of Photography at National Geographic Magazine seem to resent me for sleeping with the enemy. He was not about to further my career. He saw me as a rule-breaker. Someone unbefitting to his proven talents even though I graduated from the very top of his associated institutions. He never gave me a single assignment, voluntarily, that is. Thirty years later, his assistant sought me out at a gathering and told me he was near death.
I embraced her, asked her to wish him my best and to tell him how much I’ve admired and looked up to him. Her eyes glassed; in a tender, almost apologetic voice, she said. “Thank you, John, I know it will mean a lot to Mr. Gilka to hear this coming from you.”
Gilka was an ego-driven drill sergeant whose magazine was his oligarchy. The reputation and mystique behind the magazine suited him well. My first encounter with the man was in his office. Like all aspiring photographers, we made our way to be ordained. On his door, the sign said, Wipe Your Knees Before Entering.
“You need to work for a newspaper!” was his response after viewing my portfolio. Sheepishly told him I was offered a job in a Kansas newspaper but turned-it-down because I didn’t want to leave NYC. Before I could finish, he yelled: “Who Clarkson!?”
Surprised by the outburst, I timidly said, “Yes!” He stared at me for an eternity. I swear I saw smoke sputter out of his head. He hissed, “NOW, IF THAT IS TRUE! You have to be the dumbest jack-ass ever walked into my office!”
With his doubting eyes, he glared at me as if he’d caught me in a lie. “Do you know how many photographers would give their right arm to be at the Capital-Journal?!” My sheepishness must have confirmed his suspicions. Not being a student of journalism, I was unaware of the extensive network this drill-sergeant uses to gather his Geographic talents. Colleges, newspapers across the country, the bastion of the Missouri Workshop, were all part of his well-established web. That morning, I was utterly unaware; Topeka Capital-Journal was the pinnacle of his recruitment network. Anyone hired there would not have gone unnoticed, and anyone declining a job there is a liar. “Well, get the hell out there and come back after you have some newspaper experience.” (I swear I’ve got a bruise on my rear to prove it ;-).
So I called Rich Clarkson and asked if the job offer was still good.
A FEW YEARS LATER, I sat in the same office facing the same doubting face. Chief Editor, Bill Garrett insisted that he assign me to photograph an article I’d proposed on Taiwan. After weeks of delay, he reluctantly offered me a fraction of the day-rate compared to GEO and later made a stink about the Chinese receipts I submitted. I did not get more assignments from him even though the Taiwan article was credited to be “transformative.” I don’t know what that meant, but it was, the first time Geographic published blurred pictures. So when his assistant made the non-verbal apology, I was surprised and wished that I had the opportunity to sit and laugh with the old geezer some 30-years later.
I understand Bob Gilka; we had mutual friends. I will always be grateful to him. Firstly, in helping me realize what newspaper work means. Secondly, in affirming my conviction NOT to wear corporate success as a form of personal achievement. Throughout the years, I knew he was surprised to hear my name intertwined in conversations. I was the jack-ass that kept beating the drum but didn’t follow his path. I think, in the end, he would have applauded me for doing this. RIP
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