about

My photographic adventure began as an 18 year old seeking advice from my father on what career choice I should make. He simply said "follow your passion in what ever you do and you will be successful."
My passion was in science with a little art mixed in; thus a photographic career was born. I knew very little about the science of photography and the photographic process, so I enrolled in the Photofinishing program at Randolph Technical College in Asheboro, NC. Shortly after receiving a Photofinishing Specialist Diploma at RTC, I came to Charlotte, NC to help open a commercial photofinishing lab, Image Plus Inc. The lab owner and I set out to produce the finest photographic printmaking and finishing in the southeast, and in doing so received many accolades from commercial clients, photographers, and educators from around the world. Ernest Brooks, of the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California, visited Image Plus in the late 1980's and proclaimed our lab, "The best of the best." During this same period I continued my education through the Professional Photographers of North Carolina and the Professional Photographers of America. Through print competition, lectures, and service I earned the Master of Photography degree from the PPA. In 1995, I opened my own commercial photofinishing lab (Charles Johnson Custom Color Inc.) and continued delivering the finest quality in photographic printmaking and finishing.
For over 30 years, I have enjoyed a passion of the photographic process through serving the public and developing my own style of image making. In producing work for clients, I have continue to live by Ansel Adam's famous analogy, "The negative is the score and the print is the performance." As I have photographed the landscape over the years this quote has always resonated with me and now can be updated to, "The digital file is the score and the print is the performance."

about

about

contact

contact

let's chat.

View my current artwork at:

HOURS