At October monthly meeting former club member and professional photographer John Levandoski will be presenting a topic titled “Snap shot or artistic image”. Learn more about John and his work with this article

John has been involved in photography for over 30 years. From 1983 to 1997 he owned and operated Camera Pro Inc., a retail camera store and photo studio. In 1997, he closed the retail store to concentrate on his photography, especially the fine art. In 2003, he created John Levandoski Fine Art Photography. John has shown and sold his work at local venues throughout northeast Pennsylvania and also at art festivals in PA, NY and NJ.

John’s artwork has centered on the medium of traditional b&w silver halide photography processed and printed by hand in a wet darkroom. Using medium and large format cameras and very specialized chemicals and distilled water that he collected, bottled, filtered and ph balanced himself, John was able to produce images that inspired viewers, judges and instructors alike. John currently does some digital capture artwork and is working on scanning his b&w negatives into digital files for easier printing and web work. Photographer’s from the 20th century, including Ansel Adams, Edward Weston and those working in a realist nature, influences John’s work. Contemporary influences include John Sexton, Clyde Butcher and Steve Simmons. I like to photograph Americana; the people, places and things that connect with the memories of the viewer.

His latest project is a far cry from his b&w’s. Scanning in old photos, slides and negatives of rock concerts, John hopes to create a pop art feeling of yesteryear. These concert photos were very early in my career. Some were taken in local clubs and the highest speed film available at the time was 400 and some were taken with a 126 Kodak Instamatic when John was in high school.

John’s commercial career has spanned over 30 years specializing in weddings, events and portraits and also including product, editorial, bands and models. His work has been published by the Wall Street Journal; he has been flown to Ireland to photograph a wedding and has photographed a sitting Vice President of The United States of America. He continues to operate his studio in Courtdale, PA.

John’s talk at our meeting will center on differences between good photos and better photos and tips on how to make your images better.