Johnette Meekins

I am a self taught photographer who grew up in South Carolina and have been taking pictures and filming for as long as I have had the cameras to do so. Growing up, I was one of the family photographers using both still and moving photography. While in high school, I shot and developed photos for yearbook and journalism. In 1999, I received a BA in Art History from the College of Charleston where I studied the history of both film and photography along with other art history, cultural studies, and studio arts. Also in Charleston, I made a film titled “Zhongcan” (Chinese Food) that received posi...

I am a self taught photographer who grew up in South Carolina and have been taking pictures and filming for as long as I have had the cameras to do so. Growing up, I was one of the family photographers using both still and moving photography. While in high school, I shot and developed photos for yearbook and journalism. In 1999, I received a BA in Art History from the College of Charleston where I studied the history of both film and photography along with other art history, cultural studies, and studio arts. Also in Charleston, I made a film titled “Zhongcan” (Chinese Food) that received positive reviews from professors and fellow film, theater, studio art, and art history students. During my time in Charleston, I used old Canon and Pentax cameras and a lot of black and white film. I also used a camcorder to make short art films and documentaries. Today I am using Canon digital cameras. It is my hope to become a much better photographer over time and to find time throughout the rest of my life to take pictures because it is one of the things I enjoy doing the most.

My cameras go with me wherever I go, and I tend to do a lot of landscape photography of both natural and cultural landscapes as well as architectural, wildlife, botanical, and travel photography. I am most inspired by nature and its beauty, and I can’t help but try to capture its being in a photograph. I love nature, the wilderness, and am interested in conservation. When I go out into nature and commune with it, it is easy for me to feel connected to everything around me as if we are all one living organism. It makes me feel content and whole again. I try to capture this spirit of the interconnectedness of life and to bring out the essence or spirit of everything I photograph in order to relay that feeling to the viewer of the image.

Having lived my life in South Carolina, New Mexico, Arkansas, Texas and Florida, you will find that a lot of my work is from those locales. I am currently residing in Big Bend, Florida. You will also find photographs taken on my travels to other amazing locales.

These are photos that I want to share with others and that I think make beautiful and inspiring canvas or printed and framed wall hangings or cards. It is my hope that through my photographs I can help others not only to see, but also to feel what I do when I’m in those stimulating natural and cultural landscapes. In today’s world many of us are lacking a healthy relationship with our natural and cultural surroundings. We forget that we are part of the environment. It is my hope that my photographs will encourage people to take care of their natural and cultural environments. I also hope my photographs will be healing and bring a renewed feeling of interconnectedness and peace, and inspire meaningful thought, meditation, and clarity of mind