{"id":54757,"date":"2023-11-06T16:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-06T21:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=54757"},"modified":"2023-11-06T17:05:10","modified_gmt":"2023-11-06T22:05:10","slug":"emu-professor-among-worlds-top-wildlife-photographers-of-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2023\/emu-professor-among-worlds-top-wildlife-photographers-of-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"EMU professor among world\u2019s top wildlife photographers of 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Last month shaped up to be a memorable one for EMU Professor Steven Johnson<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In early October, the conservation photographer traveled to London for an awards ceremony honoring him among the top wildlife photographers of the year.<\/a> The annual competition, hosted by the Natural History Museum, selected his photo \u201cPool of Wonder\u201d and 99 others for inclusion in the exhibition. A jury of nature photography experts picked the 100 winning images out of 49,957 entries from photographers in 95 countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That means Johnson\u2019s photo was part of only 0.2 percent of submissions to receive the coveted award. It\u2019s not hard to see why the contest has been described as \u201cone of the most prestigious in world photography\u201d (BBC News<\/a><\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johnson networked with skilled photographers from around the world, including some up-and-coming talents in the youth category, at the ceremony. He and his wife, Anna Maria, explored the museum and admired the other winning photos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he returned home from the trip, he searched online to see which news outlets had covered the event. It was then he saw that National Geographic had chosen his photo <\/a>among their 13 favorites from the competition. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Female spotted salamanders deposit their eggs in luminous clusters just below the surface of the water. These masses often stand out in extraordinary relief from the background of moss or leaves. When illuminated directly, they appear as tiny worlds edged with delicate blue halos. Location: A vernal pool in Augusta County, Virginia.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u2018Something a little special\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPool of Wonder\u201d captures a cluster of spotted salamander eggs nestled on a bed of sphagnum moss just under the surface of a vernal pool in Augusta County, Virginia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vernal pools are temporary bodies of water that form from seasonal rains and snowmelt, Johnson writes on his website<\/a>. In late winter and early spring, the pools host breeding events for amphibians and macroinvertebrates. The pools are ideal nurseries for salamanders because they\u2019re safe from predators such as fish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs a conservation photographer, I\u2019m drawn to the intricate dance of underwater life in Appalachian Mountain forests and nearby lowlands,\u201d he states on his website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johnson, professor and program director for the visual and communication arts (VaCA) department<\/a>, created the photo in March 2020 during a sabbatical. Taking good pictures of vernal pools requires being there at the right time and a lot of searching, he said. The vernal pool featured in \u201cPool of Wonder\u201d is on land owned by a friend who serves with him on the Virginia Wilderness Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Professor Steven Johnson, pictured in 2019 at EMU, poses with an underwater camera housing that his conservation photo students can use in the field.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Johnson used a camera rig capable of being submerged underwater to capture the split between the sparse brush seen above the surface and the lush vegetation below. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe light was beautiful, and it\u2019s really just a few inches of water, so I\u2019m just kind of crouched by the side slowly lowering my camera in to try to not disturb the sediment around it,\u201d he said, recalling the moment he took the photo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPool of Wonder\u201d graced the cover <\/a>of the summer 2021 issue of Nature Conservancy magazine. Johnson has previously likened the sunlight filtering through the eggs in the picture, and the delicate shades of blue and green, to \u201can aquatic Vermeer painting\u201d (EMU News<\/a><\/em>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He entered the wildlife photography contest for his first time this year after some encouragement from friends in the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis one always felt like it had something a little special to it,\u201d he said. \u201cI think the sort of symmetry, the color, it all felt like something had come together in that image.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johnson, who authored an e-book<\/a> with featured essays by vernal pools expert Michael Hayslett, said part of his mission as a conservation photographer is to highlight the threat that development and climate change pose to the underwater worlds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Less predictable spring rains are causing pools to dry up before the young salamanders can fully develop and live on land. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[Hayslett] has told me that living here for decades, there used to be one big night where you could predict all the spotted salamanders would come out and migrate, and now that\u2019s become very fragmented to much smaller events,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Steven Johnson and his wife, Anna Maria, attend an awards ceremony at the Natural History Museum in London on Oct. 12. Johnson was honored as one of the top 100 wildlife photographers of the year at the ceremony.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Where art meets science <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When he\u2019s not crouching by the side of a vernal pool in his waders, Johnson is teaching the next generation of photographers and visual artists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to conservation photography, his courses include advanced Photoshop, web design and social media. Johnson said the VaCA program teaches students about different forms of storytelling, from web and video production to animation and photography, and even painted murals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStudents really get that full scope,\u201d he said. \u201cI think that is what makes them so marketable. They know how to do a whole bunch of things and do them well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Riley Swartzendruber<\/a> <\/strong>\u201919 is putting the skills he learned from those classes to good use as media producer at Gravity Group, a Harrisonburg-based brand and marketing consultancy. He said the class in conservation photography instilled in him a love for nature photography. It not only taught him technical skills, but also how to be more intentional with the stories he tells.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swartzendruber described \u201cPool of Wonder\u201d as visually stunning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt truly brings me to an entirely different world just looking at it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe\u2019s doing something that I\u2019ve genuinely never seen before with the knowledge he has.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johnson is now in his 19th year at EMU. He said one unique strength for the VaCA program is the wealth of places to photograph nature near campus, such as the 1.6 million acre George Washington National Forest<\/a>. The cameras they use in their courses, even at the introductory level, are the same ones he uses professionally, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
EMU Conservation Photo students document vernal pool life with a compact underwater camera.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

He welcomes students approaching his visual and communication arts classes from a background in environmental science and biology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf they love the world of nature, the environment and also want to communicate about that, we have two dedicated courses right now they can develop those skills and find faculty who are passionate about that intersection,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One new class he\u2019ll be co-teaching in the spring with Professor Steve Cessna<\/strong> is Communication and the Environment. The class will teach students how scientists and advocacy nonprofits communicate about science and the environment, what kinds of strategies they use and will give students a chance to try it themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor Tara Kishbaugh<\/strong>, dean of EMU\u2019s School of Sciences, Engineering, Arts and Nursing, said Johnson exemplifies the value of a liberal arts education in reflecting the importance of communication skills and multidisciplinary work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Steven’s focus on communication of conservation needs aligns well with our science programs, particularly those in environmental science, and is one of many reasons why I am happy to have the arts within my school,” Kishbaugh said. “EMU students, both within and outside the arts programs, can benefit from Steven’s expertise and his thoughtful way of living out his values in his teaching and his art.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last month shaped up to be a memorable one for EMU Professor Steven Johnson. In early October, the conservation photographer traveled to London for an awards ceremony honoring him among ... read more about EMU professor among world\u2019s top wildlife photographers of 2023<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":302,"featured_media":54758,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[266,17562,12507],"tags":[9895,17918,8558,17917,17602,11856,9598,14260,17919],"feature":[17427,17426,17241,17422],"class_list":["post-54757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-digest","category-vaca","tag-environment","tag-national-geographic","tag-photography","tag-riley-swartzendruber","tag-steven-david-johnson","tag-steven-johnson","tag-vaca","tag-visual-and-communication-arts","tag-wildlife-photographer-of-the-year","feature-emu-home-page-feature","feature-myemu-feature","feature-news-feature","feature-news-landing-page-main-feature"],"yoast_head":"\nEMU professor among world\u2019s top wildlife photographers of 2023 - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2023\/emu-professor-among-worlds-top-wildlife-photographers-of-2023\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"EMU professor among world\u2019s top wildlife photographers of 2023 - EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Last month shaped up to be a memorable one for EMU Professor Steven Johnson. In early October, the conservation photographer traveled to London for an awards ceremony honoring him among\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2023\/emu-professor-among-worlds-top-wildlife-photographers-of-2023\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/EasternMennonite\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-11-06T21:30:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-11-06T22:05:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/emu-wordpress-multisite-instance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2023\/10\/29153535\/May-be-an-image-of-3-people-and-text.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"748\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ryan Cornell\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@EMU_News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@EMU_News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ryan Cornell\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2023\/emu-professor-among-worlds-top-wildlife-photographers-of-2023\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2023\/emu-professor-among-worlds-top-wildlife-photographers-of-2023\/\",\"name\":\"EMU professor among world\u2019s top wildlife photographers of 2023 - 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