Untitled— A series & conversation with Javi Johnson

The following is a series of photos, artists statement, and conversation with Javi Johnson, a high school photographer and filmmaker who shoots portraits, sports, documentary, and more. He is currently a junior at the Greenhill School in the advanced photo class.

My work in street photography began in New York, where I sought to capture more than simple documentation—I wanted my images to carry narrative and emotion. From countless frames, four stood out: a woman rushing through the streets, a man descending into the subway, a woman pausing to light a cigarette and stare directly into the lens, and a man standing before a speeding train. Through my photography portfolio, I am underscoring the power of distraction throughout human society. I then found the meaning and connection of my photos and the subjects, as I captured them as they were metaphorically consumed by the environment around them. I manipulated my prints using a mordançage technique, which is a chemical process where one bleaches the prints. The bleach then lifts the black areas of the emulsion off the paper, giving the appearance of veils. These vails distort the prints' overall surroundings, exhibiting how modern-day humans are often distracted and one minded.

The Journal: You’ve said you want your photos to go beyond just documenting moments. What makes a photo feel like it has emotion or a story?

Javi: I want the viewer to feel something, you know? If they can see a kind of modification in the image, a disruption, then it’s more than just a record. With mordançage, the surface changes, and I want the viewer to look and, like, feel something from that. That’s when it has meaning to me.

The Journal: You mentioned the power of distraction as the central theme of this series. When did that idea first click while you were in New York?

Javi: My initial goal was just to document New York while I was going around the city. I was a tourist, looking around, trying to find cool photos. Then I noticed the people who live there were very fast-paced, walking or running to their places, kind of minding their own business. Headphones on. Eyes open, but not really open if you get what I mean. I even got a couple glares when I took photos. It wasn’t negative, it just felt a little awkward. I wanted my work to show how people, not just in New York, are set on one thing and aren’t really grateful for the world around them.

The Journal: The people in your photos are caught mid-action. Were those instinctive shots, or did you watch for a while and then shoot?

Javi: I was walking in the street. If I saw something interesting, or someone who fit my statement about being in their own bubble, I snapped a photo. The guy with headphones going down the subway, not really paying attention. The woman lighting her cigarette who looks through the camera. The man getting off the subway, hauling his duffel over his shoulder with the train rushing past. The woman walking with her kid’s hand trailing behind, like she’s pulling the kid to get where she needs to go. Each of them had a little story.

The Journal: Why work with mordançage for these pictures?

Javi: The veils run and the bleach disrupts the image. That felt right to me. These people are still living their lives, unaware of what’s going on around them, and the environment is literally melting. The process helped highlight what I was trying to do.

The Journal: Can you walk through your process for these prints?

Javi: It’s mordançage. I make a digital negative, print it, place it over paper, expose it, and develop it so I have a physical image. Then I put it in bleach and bleach it completely. After that it goes through three rounds of water, about two minutes each. I’m just shaking the tray to get the water everywhere, so around six to nine minutes total. Then I soak it in developer at a one-to-five ratio. I did a liter of water and 200 milliliters of developer. When it redevelops, tiny bubbles form where the dark spots are, and the gelatin starts lifting. Ideally you repeat the whole thing again—another bleach, wash, and round of developer—so those bubbles start to form veils and lift and run. In some of them you can see the veils come down.

The Journal: You also made a few targeted changes after printing, right?

Javi: Yeah. On two prints I poured a little bleach in specific spots. For the guy with headphones walking down the stairs, I put it over the light so it feels illuminated. And on most of them—except one—I scanned the finished print, went back to the original file in Photoshop, and added part of the original face back in. The woman walking with her daughter has her face back; the woman smoking has her face back; same with the man on the steps.

The Journal: How did you balance the randomness of the chemistry with your original intent?

Javi: I was going with what looked good. I kept some parts of the border so it could fall into the image. I wanted as many veils as I could coming from the dark areas and to make the image as distorted as possible, but still readable. I didn’t want a complete nothing where you’re like, “What’s going on?” I wanted the manipulated environment and the subject, and because there were shadows on faces, I added parts of the faces back in. I wasn’t following a super strict guideline or anything like that.

The Journal: One image is different because the subject looks straight into your lens. How does that change things for you?

Javi: It stands out. The mordançage around it is different from the other three, kind of its own thing. She breaks the overall idea a little. It shows not everybody is experiencing that, and she seems to see what’s going on. The contrast with the others is cool.

The Journal: Street work sits between observing and intruding. How do you think about that when people don’t know you’re photographing them?

Javi: First I figure out the subject. I glance quickly. If someone catches my eye—something I don’t usually see—I’ll shoot. Sometimes I work really spontaneous and up close with flash, but these were farther back. I didn’t measure, but probably like 70 to 85 millimeters. Not super wide, not super close, but still getting in there after a brief second of observing.

The Journal: Out of everything you shot, why did these specific pictures make the final set?

Javi: It started as a standalone of the woman walking with her daughter. On Instagram that was first first image in my post. After I put her face back on, her eyes focused straight ahead. You can’t tell exactly what’s going on, just that she has to get somewhere and isn’t paying attention around her. Then I built around it: the guy walking down the stairs who had no idea I was there, the man with the duffel and the train, and the woman lighting her cigarette. Only she looks into the lens. The other three are unaware. That mix felt natural and realistic for New York.

The Journal: How do you think about the tension between documentary and changing the image with chemistry and edits?

Javi: For this, I had to switch things up. The background has meaning, but not like a huge story. The subject mattered most. I wanted the subject there and didn’t really care what happened to everything else if it helped relay that these people are moving through their day and not paying attention to anything else.

The Journal: Has working with film, chemistry, and printing shaped your vision compared to regular digital shooting?

Javi: It helped. For this process you need dark parts that can lift, and you also need highlights. I shot these before I used mordançage, but now, shooting street, I think more about shadows and contrast. For my upcoming portfolio I’m shooting sports—high contrast, black and white—and I don’t know if I’ll do mordançage, but I’m setting it up so I can if I want. It’s made me more conscious of lighting and how I want shots to be created.

The Journal: Outside of this series, are there themes or visuals you keep coming back to?

Javi: I really want to showcase emotion in the new portfolio. I want to highlight things a typical fan doesn’t see. I want the viewer in the huddle, in the locker room, up close with players to see what they feel in those down-to-the-wire moments. Stress, excitement, anger, nervousness—bringing those together.

The Journal: What has photography taught you about the work, or even about life?

Javi: Things can be unpredictable. In sports you can be set up perfectly and the play goes to the other side. In street you can have a great backdrop and lighting and nobody interesting walks by. It taught me to adapt and be okay when images aren’t exactly how I planned. Editing matters too. You can still paint your picture. And it helped me appreciate the world more. In class I’ll notice how the window light lands and think, “I wish I had my camera.” When I’m walking my dogs at golden hour and the shadows are really crisp, I think, “That would be a crazy shot.” It opened up how I see things, which is funny because the portfolio is about people not paying attention.

The Journal: Who has influenced you or helped you shape the work?

Javi: My teacher, Mr. Frank Lopez, taught me the chemical stuff and a lot about lighting. He doesn’t like heavy contrast, and I like darker images, so we see opposite things sometimes, which is good. My classmate, Oliver Morales, and I send each other hundreds of videos and photos. We trade inspiration and ideas, critique each other, even in AP Stat when we had extra time. He told me to crop a football image from vertical almost to square. I was hesitant, but it worked.

The Journal: Where do you want to take your photography next?

Javi: I did a little video, but I’ve only touched the surface. I want to try cool fashion stuff, play with lighting, heavy flashes, colors, designs. Some classmates are into fashion, so I think I can do something there. I also want to keep making connections in sports so I can get closer and build that portfolio. In college I want to work with an athletic department as part of a media team. I definitely still want to make photos, and if I can fit a period for photography or film that would be great. I make short films too, so something like that [a film class] would be cool.

The Journal: Do you notice distraction more in your own life after making this project?

Javi: Yeah, definitely. I’ve been taking in the world a lot more.

The Journal: Last one. What do you hope someone remembers right after they look at your photos?

Javi: I want them to feel something. Even if it’s just for a moment, I want them to pause and see what’s going on around them.