John has been taking photographs for 40+ years, and now as a retired Software Analyst, he houses an artistic mind within a technical brain. His personal zeitgeist has always been about making sense out of chaos. Identifying a few patterns that have personal meaning within the surrounding maelstrom. The meaning is manifest mostly in feelings that are also intellectually satisfying.

What one piece of advice would you give street photographers just starting out?

Print your photographs, put them up on a wall and ruminate on them. It's surprising what you don't see on the screen. A photograph on the screen is always a work in progress; printed it becomes a final product, that makes a difference.

What are your top two places in Vancouver for shooting and why?

• Art galleries and museums. The surroundings are interesting and the people there are absorbed in the artifacts, which makes them interesting. I like doing multiple exposures in these places.

• The Lower Lonsdale area usually has a lot of people about, along with a number of interesting and varied backdrops.

Which three street photographers have influenced your work the most?

• Nick Carver, not strictly a street photographer as there's never people in his street photos. However he got me into large format. That has slowed down the process, I now take more time before pressing the shutter, and don't worry over missed shots.

• Currently, Steven Shore for showing how to keep one's attention within the borders of a seemingly mundane image.

• Matt Stuart for his colourful and often whimsical images. He also shoots in museums and art galleries.

Describe your work using up to four keywords

• Placid

• Surreal

• Documentary

Tell us about (up to 5) books, music or other art forms that influence your photography.

• Mother Earth: Through the Eyes of Women Photographers and Writers from the Sierra Club. An early influence that I often go back to.

• Touch the Earth: A Self-Portrait of Indian Existence. Mum gifted this book to me in 1971. It has shaped my view of what is possible and hardened my resolve to make it so.

• M.C. Escher for illustrating the myriad ways of representing three dimensions on a flat surface. Especially helpful for photography.

• RTFM. I'm a big proponent of reading manuals. It gives you a grounding in the device or process you're working with. And helps keep you from asking stupid questions.