JC Johnson

Contextualizing France's Yellow Vests Protests

Contextualizing France's Yellow Vests Protests

COLLABORATION BY KAMI L. RICE, OLIVIER PEYROUS, AND JC JOHNSON

 Since part of our Culture Keeper team is based in France, it seems appropriate to bring you a Culture Keeper take on one of France’s biggest news stories in the waning weeks of 2018: the Gilets Jaunes (“Yellow Vests” or “Yellow Jackets”) movement that made it into foreign news outlets when the protests turned violent in Paris. We’re not a breaking news outlet by any stretch of the imagination, but we are in the business of offering a bit of cultural context where we can. Which is what we seek to do here as we experiment with a new-to-us storytelling format that we hope to perfect over time.

MicroStories: Cinq

MicroStories: Cinq

PHOTOGRAPH BY JC JOHNSON & STORY BY KAMI L. RICE

A real life scene has been turned miniature through the magic of photography. This miniaturized scene inspired a tiny fictional tale that invites you to discover the other stories hiding in this image. We invite you to explore the world with us, letting your imagination play along as you do. The world can always use more play.

Remain Wild and Magical

Remain Wild and Magical

STORY BY DEVON ANNE FARMER
PHOTOS BY JC JOHNSON

 This week our Culture Keeper passports take us to the famed but tiny Scottish island of Iona for a fleeting moment of reflection, as recounted by our newest Culture Keeper contributor.  

In A.D. 563 after being banished from his native Ireland, St. Columba landed on Iona in the Southern Hebrides with the intention of bringing Celtic monasticism and Christianity to Scotland as penance. The island happened to be the first spot he reached from which he could no longer see the outline of his beloved Ireland in the distance.

MicroStories: Quatre

MicroStories: Quatre

PHOTOGRAPH BY JC JOHNSON & STORY BY KAMI L. RICE

A real life scene has been turned miniature through the magic of photography. This miniaturized scene inspired a tiny fictional tale that invites you to discover the other stories hiding in this image. We invite you to explore the world with us, letting your imagination play along as you do. The world can always use more play.

MicroStories: Trois

MicroStories: Trois

PHOTOGRAPH BY JC JOHNSON & STORY BY KAMI L. RICE

A real life scene has been turned miniature through the magic of photography. This miniaturized scene inspired a tiny fictional tale that invites you to discover the other stories hiding in this image. We invite you to explore the world with us, letting your imagination play along as you do. The world can always use more play.

MicroStories: Deux

MicroStories: Deux

Photograph by JC Johnson & Story by Kami L. Rice

A real life scene has been turned miniature through the magic of photography. This miniaturized scene inspired a tiny fictional tale that invites you to discover the other stories hiding in this image. We invite you to explore the world with us, letting your imagination play along as you do.

Looking for Greys in Nashville and the Women's March

Looking for Greys in Nashville and the Women's March

Story and Photos by JC Johnson

My first photo class, my professor taught me that a good black and white photograph has a pure black, a pure white, and every grey in between—a mantra I now repeat to my students. Just like with a cause that rallies people to the streets, a photograph is exposed with different variations of light in order to become a successful image. A good photo needs contrast. Without contrast, the image is flat, boring, and unmemorable. But too much contrast sacrifices image quality with loss of details and information.

MicroStories: Premier

MicroStories: Premier

By JC Johnson & Kami L. Rice


A real life scene has been turned miniature through the magic of photography. This miniaturized scene inspired a tiny fictional tale that invites you to discover the other stories hiding in this image. We invite you to explore the world with us, letting your imagination play along as you do. The world can always use more play.