About John
I was born and raised in Carmichael California, a suburb of Sacramento. I was the youngest of seven children with a twenty five year spread between me and the first. My sister who lived next door gave birth to her first child (a daughter) five months after I was born. Growing up with nieces my own age resulted in always feeling more comfortable around members of the opposite sex and has somehow made them feel more comfortable around me.
I've always been very fascinated by nature and the world around me. My mom thought I would grow up to become a botanist because I was always studying the different plants and leaves found around the house. I grew up on a large piece of property that gave me plenty of room to explore without ever leaving home. I spent most of my time building treehouses and forts to catching frogs and fish in the creek.
I loved anything creative from arts and crafts to music but never sat still long enough to master anything. I loved learning but hated school. I was ready to drop out of highschool my junior year. Trying to find something to keep me in school the guidance counselor suggested photography. I had always loved looking at pictures but had never stopped to consider how they were made. Once in the photography class I found it to be the most exciting thing I'd ever been exposed to. I couldn't get enough of it at school and I soon had my own darkroom and studio set up at home.
After high school I moved with my parents to my father's hometown of Wellsville, Utah, a quiet little town seventy five miles north of Salt Lake City. It was here that friends talked me into photographing their wedding. I reluctantly accepted and soon the word was out, leading to a full time career as a wedding and portrait photographer for over 25 years. It had it's moments but I had never wanted to get stuck in that area of photography. I kept doing it for the money and because I have a hard time telling people no.
My business motto has always been "Cherish Something Different" but I was having a hard time finding enough clients that really wanted "something different". I eventually stopped marketing my portraits and started working in television and video production.
It was while I was out of town on a video job that I received the inspiration to try blacklight photography. I have a problem with insomnia, especially when I'm not in my own bed. At 4 AM in a hotel room bed I started thinking about everything I wanted to try when I returned home. One of these thoughts was to buy a blacklight and see what I could do with it. I never dreamed it would make me world famous!