John Abernathy - Illustrating our World
Posted by Erin Luhmann on April 18th 2008 in Interviews, Journalist Profiles, NEED Magazine
Photo | John AbernathyJohn Abernathy, one of NEED magazine’s contributing photographers, consistently offers readers compelling visual narratives. He has voluntarily completed three assignments for NEED, featuring two Minnesota-based stories in Issue 2, along with a shoot in Guatemala for Issue 4. Abernathy’s success as a photographer has allowed him to make a living off something he enjoys, but he is certainly not the only one benefiting from his work. Recently, the man behind the lens allowed me to turn it back on him, offering some professional insights and personal experiences.
Q: Do you see the world differently as a photographer and how do you feel about approaching your subjects?
A: It interests me to think that all photographers are basically faced with two questions: where should they stand and when to take the photograph. Yet there is so much variety between photographers. This makes me think excellent photography is about getting outside yourself and shooting from an uncommon perspective, both physically and mentally. Photography is a selective process. By taking a photo you are choosing what is important and what isn’t. I try to think about whether the subject will think they are portrayed honestly in the final article.
Q: How did you become interested in photography? How has your career developed?
A: I took a photo class in high school that hooked me. Then I went to California to go to Brooks Institute but I could not afford it, so I got a job at the school’s public lab/store and lived with some Brooks students. I saw the assignments come through the lab, watched my roommates do their assignments and taught myself that way. I also purchased equipment through this job at an excellent discount and photographed my portfolio in my garage while still out there. Then I moved back to Minneapolis and started assisting other photographers. A few years later, I moved into freelance shooting for other photo studios. Then I started getting editorial jobs. I treated each job like a portfolio piece, even if it was-low paying, because published work will bring in more work. Now I shoot my on my own for magazines, architects, agencies and companies.
Q: What motivates you when you are taking photos for a pro-bono assignment?
A: I am very fortunate to be able to photograph such a variety of work. They seem to balance each other out. I am motivated by people. I like to observe them in their lives, to see how they function within their physical environment and within themselves. Being a photographer, I am given this gift to enter their lives. But I feel a responsibility to return this gift by contributing to my community as well. And being able to do stories on organizations for magazines such as NEED contributes far more than if I donated directly to them. To be invited into someone’s life for no other reason than that I have a camera is incredibly amazing.
Q: Can you please share an experience or two when you found an assignment particularly interesting?
A: Births are a particularly interesting thing for me to photograph because I am in the moment of one of the biggest changes life has to offer these people. It is fascinating to see how mothers handle pain so differently and how they change the very moment the baby is born. And fathers are either physically close with love or distanced with either concern or anxiousness. Observing fathers in action makes me wonder how ‘there’ I was at my own kid’s births and if there is a better ‘there’.
The story on Mary Jo Copeland was interesting as well. Here is this woman that is very dedicated to what she does. Most people couldn’t keep pace with her, including me. It became apparent quite early that I couldn’t just follow her around because I kept missing shots. I had to anticipate her actions and get into position before she got there. We talked about whether she would open other Caring and Sharing Hands and she said probably not because no one could do it like her and she can’t be in two places at once. It’s true, she is on a calling and that makes her work harder.
Mouse-over thumbnails to view enlarged images.
Abernathy works out of Minneapolis, Minnesota, photographing for a number of advertising, editorial, commercial and architectural assignments, but he always makes time for socially-conscious photography projects. He holds a keen perspective on life and his human photos bridge the impersonal gap that separates the fortunate from the less-fortunate. Next on his agenda is a trip to Kuala Lumpur, where he will be photographing children’s heart surgery for Children’s Heartlink. If things go as hoped, an assignment on acid survivors in Bangladesh will soon follow.
