John Johns, Forest fires, Balmoral

John Johns, Burnt [20 year old] stand of Corsican Pine, Balmoral Forest, Canterbury, 1955

There was a time when the government not only ran its own tourist publicity studio, but many departments also had their own staff photographers. One such photographer was Englishman John Johns. He developed his interest in photography in India where he served during the Second World War. He went on to study forestry.

After moving to New Zealand in 1951 he was employed as official photographer by the New Zealand Forest Service until his retirement in 1984. He contributed to numerous books on our country’s plants and environment. Johns was a formalist and his best works, such as Burnt [20 year old] stand of Corsican Pine, Balmoral Forest, Canterbury, 1955, are not just beautifully composed images but reflect his environmental concerns.