As a news photographer, Johnny Graphic can only be called a prodigy. He does something on a professional level at a young age. In the real world, of course, this sort of thing doesn’t happen very often. But since the world of Johnny Graphic and the Etheric Bomb is my world, I can do just about anything there that I want–so long as I’m consistent. And I say that Johnny is a crack news lensman. So there.

Also, there’s a bit of envy involved. I was very impressed by the photographers at the newspaper where my grandfather was a sports writer. I vividly remember when I hung out in the photo department as a teenager. It was the first time I really remember smelling those unmistakable darkroom chemicals. And it was one of the things that gave me the photo bug. I knew I wanted to be a photographer. But they weren’t hiring kids, unlike the Zenith Clarion. So I undertook my own assignments as a street photographer. That means I simply photographed life on the street–people coming and going and living their lives.

Here’s one of the early shots that I took, of a mother and her sons at a downtown parade. Nobody looks too excited, but they do look real.

My particular inspiration for pursuing this kind of photography was the Frenchman Henri Cartier-Bresson. I tried really hard to imitate his style of street photography. I was never as good as him, but I’d like to think I did a decent job for someone so young. Here’s where you can see some of his famous pictures.

From time to time, I’ll post more of these shots from my youth.