Geri Johnstone

I was born in UK and migrated to Australia early 1980s. I have had a lifelong love of the visual arts and worked as an artist during the 1980s. I first became interested in photography in the mid 80s and set up a darkroom to develop my own work, but this was cut short when my eldest daughter Lauren was involved in a major car accident which left her a paraplegic at the age of four. I became interested in photography again whilst working for a magazine in Canberra. In 2003 I obtained a Diploma in professional photography after studying with the New York Institute of Photography and now us...

I was born in UK and migrated to Australia early 1980s. I have had a lifelong love of the visual arts and worked as an artist during the 1980s. I first became interested in photography in the mid 80s and set up a darkroom to develop my own work, but this was cut short when my eldest daughter Lauren was involved in a major car accident which left her a paraplegic at the age of four. I became interested in photography again whilst working for a magazine in Canberra. In 2003 I obtained a Diploma in professional photography after studying with the New York Institute of Photography and now use my skills to express my ideas as I once did with a brush. For the past year or so I have been taking photos of street performers, fairs, circuses etc. The neon lights, colourful costumes and people are amongst my favourite subjects to photograph as they suggest another way of living in a very material obsessed world. How many of us did not want to run away with the circus when we were young? To obtain the nostalgic painterly effect that appears in some of my work, I use textured backgrounds and/or layers of several photos to obtain the desired result. I take photos covering many different subjects and sometimes it is not until months or years later that I realise the potential of a particular photo - for me personally it is about making an image that is not only appealing aesthetically but says something more, whether it be revealing an emotion, mood, memory or story, I try to make it 'sing'', that is the best way I can describe it. Hopefully along the way it does that for others too.

My work has been exhibited in Galleries in and around Canberra. I recently moved to Adelaide in South Australia and are planning to hold an exhibition of my Éntertainment series in November 2009.

Although my work is mainly in the fine art photography area, I also am available for private commissions for portrait and/or special occasions.