Scott Johnston, born in 1966 in Toronto Canada seems to be interested in pointing his camera at places most people wouldn't find immediately interesting, things that are easily overlooked. "There just seems to be a bigger reward in discovering the things that aren't immediately obvious."
The physical structures all around us contribute to our thought process; you cannot escape the fact that our thinking is directly influenced by the physical world. The photographer dissects the physical world in order to communicate an idea or thought
Therefore, bringing into question the very nature of the documentary photograph--while Johnston does document, he also creates--is objective photography possible? There is always choice in what to show and what not to show. What's the truth? What's a lie? Every story is told from a particular point of view. In the end, it could be that there is more being said about the person taking the image than about the image itself.
"The images don't seem to leave me alone". Johnston seems to be in a constant state of composing, cropping, and editing, seeing the potential of a great photograph, "Watch what happens when the light changes", before it is camera-ready. This is all happening whether or not he has a camera in his hands. It is important to attempt to establish what constitutes a good photograph.
"When there is an understanding, when I can convey a thought or a statement within the guidelines I have set for myself, if there is a connection, then I imagine I have created a successful photograph".
In conversation with Margaret Baxter
October 2007
