{"id":33526,"date":"2025-12-23T01:16:04","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T01:16:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/?p=33526"},"modified":"2025-12-23T03:41:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T03:41:13","slug":"tor-n-johnson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/2025\/12\/23\/tor-n-johnson\/","title":{"rendered":"Tor N. Johnson"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"33526\" class=\"elementor elementor-33526\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d52055b e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"d52055b\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-929a37d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"929a37d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.21.0 - 22-05-2024 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p>Where do you live: Reston, Virginia<br \/>Your education: BA, Integrative Studies: Global Business &amp; Visual Technology from George Mason University, Fairfax VA<br \/>Describe your art in three words: Subjects I Like<br \/>Your discipline: Photography<br \/><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.50mmempire.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Website<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/kasigiomi1600\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Instagram<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2f027fc e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"2f027fc\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c306878 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"c306878\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"text-align: center\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-33511 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tor-N.-Johnson-Lantern-Festival.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1050\" height=\"700\" srcset=\"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tor-N.-Johnson-Lantern-Festival.jpg 1050w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tor-N.-Johnson-Lantern-Festival-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tor-N.-Johnson-Lantern-Festival-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tor-N.-Johnson-Lantern-Festival-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tor-N.-Johnson-Lantern-Festival-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1050px) 100vw, 1050px\" \/> Tor N. Johnson | Lantern Festival<\/p><h4 style=\"font-weight: 400\">Your artist statement emphasizes contrast and color. What first sparked your fascination with dramatic lighting and bold palettes?<\/h4><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">There are a couple influences from my childhood that I suspect sparked this\u2026 firstly, I was raised on a steady diet of old movies (especially film noir) where there was lots of high-contrast and moody lighting OR brilliantly bright technicolor. Separately, one of my favorite things as a child were trips to the Meads store where there was a vast wall of felt-tip pens in every color imaginable. There were so many possibilities with those pens.<\/p><h4 style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many of your images capture quiet, abandoned, or decaying spaces. What draws you to these environments, and what stories do you hope viewers will find in them?<\/h4><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">I can\u2019t entirely explain this one. Historic places have always been an attraction to me and I\u2019ve loved the stories of history for my whole life. The forgotten places just call to me. While I don\u2019t often get to indulge in shooting abandoned places, it\u2019s so much fun. From a visual perspective, they are oddly colorful in unexpected ways and have great shadows. Separately, it\u2019s odd to stand there and realize that what is now quiet was once busy and full of activity. I will admit to trying to hear the rhythm of the space when it was alive in my mind\u2019s eye.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">For the viewers of any of my images, my first and most important hope is that they say \u201cwow, that is a beautiful picture\u201d. The mission is aesthetic first and foremost. It\u2019s a bonus if they can picture themselves standing where the image was shot and feel what it was like.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: center\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-33512 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tor-N.-Johnson-A-Forsaken-Bed-At-Pennhurst.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1050\" height=\"700\" srcset=\"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tor-N.-Johnson-A-Forsaken-Bed-At-Pennhurst.jpg 1050w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tor-N.-Johnson-A-Forsaken-Bed-At-Pennhurst-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tor-N.-Johnson-A-Forsaken-Bed-At-Pennhurst-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tor-N.-Johnson-A-Forsaken-Bed-At-Pennhurst-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tor-N.-Johnson-A-Forsaken-Bed-At-Pennhurst-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1050px) 100vw, 1050px\" \/> Tor N. Johnson | A Forsaken Bed At Pennhurst<\/p><h4 style=\"font-weight: 400\">Your architectural photographs show a strong sense of symmetry and structure. How do you approach composition when photographing historic or ornate buildings?<\/h4><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">For many years I worked as a graphic designer creating print advertisements. When photographing a strongly geometric scene, my instinct is to try to organize the image into symmetry and structure to balance the image. I\u2019ll frame until it feels right (and then shoot 3-5 more shots just in case I was wrong the first time).<\/p><p style=\"text-align: center\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-33513 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tor-N.-Johnson-Architectural-Details-Imperial-Library.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1050\" height=\"684\" srcset=\"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tor-N.-Johnson-Architectural-Details-Imperial-Library.jpg 1050w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tor-N.-Johnson-Architectural-Details-Imperial-Library-300x195.jpg 300w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tor-N.-Johnson-Architectural-Details-Imperial-Library-1024x667.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tor-N.-Johnson-Architectural-Details-Imperial-Library-768x500.jpg 768w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tor-N.-Johnson-Architectural-Details-Imperial-Library-600x391.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1050px) 100vw, 1050px\" \/> Tor N. Johnson | Architectural Details Imperial Library<\/p><h4 style=\"font-weight: 400\">Several of your works highlight textures \u2014 peeling paint, aging wood, fabric, or patterned surfaces. What role does texture play in your visual storytelling?<\/h4><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is absolutely the designer in me\u2026 there\u2019s actually not a major story in these patterns beyond \u201cisn\u2019t this pattern and color gorgeous?\u201d. These are shots where I saw a little spot that I though looked beautiful and tried to capture it. The peeling of paint is a fertile ground for interesting shapes combined with colors and contrast. These are images that can be printed, hung up, and be enjoyed without the distraction of messages or deep meaning.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">I simply like the looks and hope others can relax and enjoy them as well.<\/p><h4 style=\"font-weight: 400\">You\u2019ve worked with 35mm, medium format, large format, and digital. How has each format influenced the way you see and photograph the world?<\/h4><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Starting with 35mm film taught me patience and acceptance\u2026 so many pictures simply didn\u2019t work, needed a different composition, or didn\u2019t come out for some technical reason. Medium and large format (along with the quest for more megapixels) are the direct result of my love of re-cropping images and a quest for better quality. Why be limited to just the frame shape of 35mm? Sometimes I might decide to crop square or to a different aspect ratio. The larger film formats and high-res cameras let me adjust the cropping after the fact without sacrificing quality.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-33514 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tor-N.-Johnson-Hot-Air-Geometry.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1050\" height=\"787\" srcset=\"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tor-N.-Johnson-Hot-Air-Geometry.jpg 1050w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tor-N.-Johnson-Hot-Air-Geometry-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tor-N.-Johnson-Hot-Air-Geometry-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tor-N.-Johnson-Hot-Air-Geometry-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tor-N.-Johnson-Hot-Air-Geometry-600x450.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1050px) 100vw, 1050px\" \/> Tor N. Johnson | Hot Air Geometry<\/p><h4 style=\"font-weight: 400\">When shooting, do you plan a narrative ahead of time or allow the environment and lighting to guide you spontaneously?<\/h4><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Out in the field, I absolutely let the lighting guide me spontaneously. My goal is to capture the beauty in the moment. I carry the camera while exploring and shoot as the opportunity provides while also reading the historical placards of what I\u2019m seeing.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-33515 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tor-N.-Johnson-Lantern-Festival-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1050\" height=\"701\" srcset=\"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tor-N.-Johnson-Lantern-Festival-1.jpg 1050w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tor-N.-Johnson-Lantern-Festival-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tor-N.-Johnson-Lantern-Festival-1-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tor-N.-Johnson-Lantern-Festival-1-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tor-N.-Johnson-Lantern-Festival-1-600x401.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1050px) 100vw, 1050px\" \/> Tor N. Johnson | Lantern Festival<\/p><h4 style=\"font-weight: 400\">How do you balance your work in the technology sector with your creative practice? Do they influence each other in unexpected ways?<\/h4><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">I don\u2019t see these as opposites or even all that different. There\u2019s an old World War 2 pilot\u2019s adage about aircraft: if it looks good, it probably flies good. There is an aesthetic to good engineering, and an order to good design. On a conceptual level, creative and technology are just two sides of the same coin.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">On a mundane level, it doesn\u2019t hurt to have the technical background to understand resolution and geometry to know how some of the more technical techniques work and how to output images to different display mediums.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Where do you live: Reston, VirginiaYour education: BA, Integrative Studies: Global Business &amp; Visual Technology from George Mason University, Fairfax VADescribe your art in three words: Subjects I LikeYour discipline: PhotographyWebsite | Instagram Tor N. Johnson | Lantern Festival Your artist statement emphasizes contrast and color. What first sparked your fascination with dramatic lighting and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33526"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33526\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33560,"href":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33526\/revisions\/33560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}