John Wimberley

John first became involved with photography while serving in the Navy during the 1960’s. The year 1973 brought his first one-man show. Reviewing it, Artweek Magazine noted: “His prints are not merely technically correct, but wonderfully alive.” In 1981, he made a series of photographs of a woman underwater, which resulted in Descending Angel. In 1983 John had the first of two, two-man exhibitions with Ansel Adams. Now, with more than 38 years in photography, John’s critically acclaimed work has been honored with more than 50 exhibitions and has been published around the world. His work is represented in more than 400 public and private collections, including many major museums.

John writes that “the integration of visual elements into a meaningful picture requires energy. Thus, the artist in photography needs to have clear access instantly – in the moment – to all the perceptual energy a painter might expend on a work over days or weeks. If sufficient energy is lacking, the resulting photograph is very unlikely to attain the level of visual organization that carries it beyond the sum of its parts. In other words, the picture won’t achieve its full potential as a work of art.”

John’s new book, Evidence of Magic, focuses on beautiful rock engravings known as petroglyphs. John’s stunning black and white photographs, made during ten years of searching out  these fragile, irreplaceable cultural treasures, reveal the beauty and profound sacredness of shamanic images in stone. Visit his site at JohnWimberleyPhotography.com.

Descending Angel