Johnny Crawford and photography as art

Charlie C Code Sr. He is a Korean War POW that lives in Macon, Ga. Profile view wearing cap stating he was a POWCharlie C Code Sr., Korean War POW who lives in Macon, Ga. (photo by Johnny, Crawford used with permission)

In 1839 photography was introduced to the world. After decades of raging debate it is widely recognized as a new form of art.

Like a painter, the photographer is in the moment of creating with imagination and a skill vision of a beautiful image that expresses an ideal feeling, emotion or a conversation.

An artistic eye along with training will allow you to see a wide range of visual effects where art can be set as a still movement.

Photography brings out the artistic vision through us. You don’t have to be a professional or a skilled artist to appreciate art.


Expressing  ourselves through the lens of a camera can be a captivating movement of a family member at a reunion or a mother having a moment with her newborn.

With one click you can change the way art is done with a wink of an eye.
In general the photographer understands the abstraction of the information they are rendering through the texture, lines, color, and geometric shapes and other related elements.

Johnny Crawford, a prominent photographer based in Atlanta, Georgia, and also a member of the South Cobb Art Alliance (SCAA) has graced the photography world in 45 states and 4 continents for 36 years.


His photojournalism has inspired many people from sports, education,  and corporate America.

As a staff photographer for The Atlanta Journal- Constitution (AJC) for over 28 years his photographs have moved our world through the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, 2004 G8 Summit of World Leaders, 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Ga; just to name a few.


Mr. Crawford tells us why photography has become the new art

“Photography is the new art and the most popular compared to traditional art forms such as painting, pottery sculpturing, and drawing. According to Google, approximately 3.5 trillion photos have been taken since Daguerre captured Boulevard du Temple 174 years ago. Unlike traditional art, today’s photography reflects actual moments in time. As a photojournalist, I use photography as a means to freeze historical moments in time.

“At the beginning of my career, I used photography to give the readers views on people, places, and events featured in newspaper articles. Now, I specialize in black white portraits that feature historical and social causes. In my Vietnam Black Soldiers Portrait Project and The African American Organ and Transplant Project, I use composition and strong eyes to give the viewer a look into the subject’s soul and highlight causes that are important to me. I also focus on large prints for exhibitions instead of photographs for newspaper articles.

“While my type of portraits represents less than one percent of the photographs taken today, the fact that over 1.8 billion photos are posted on social media daily ensures that photography will remain the most used art form for centuries to come,” Crawford said.

An artistic eye can be developed by anyone over time.

A native of South Carolina. Now resides in Austell, Georgia.  An award winning visual  artist and Author of Food for the Soul a inspiration book of  poetry. My hobbies are reading, writing, painting and meeting people — Wendy Jackson