John Blais takes the 1930 Grant Wood painting as a starting point for his portrait series featuring couples referencing the original pose.
John Blais is an internationally recognized advertising and fine art photographer and director. Based in New York and Charleston, John’s work in both still and motion have a docu-style edge. When he’s not shooting projects, he’s shooting pictures. And when he’s shooting pictures, he’s documenting life.
I have been taking pictures since I was a young boy and since then, I don’t go anywhere without my camera. In this era of near constant self-documentation, I use my camera to explore connection. I grew up in a tough neighborhood and from a young age, was surrounded by a darker slice of life. That’s why I thought I could be at home around a crime scene, and early in my career, decided to be a journalist. But I found I could not detach, because it is the poignancy of life, the intimacy of the human experience that inspires me. Those moments of connection, and often, quite literally — whether an embrace, a stolen kiss, a pat on the back. Scripted or not, I love moments where people are close to each other. And I feel privileged to get to capture them.
For the work I do with people, I want you to know that the basis for the pictures I make are not, although important, about some great location or given composition, but first, rather a need for connection, as those relationships build trust and give us a sense of belonging. It’s my interest in people that have helped cultivate my style of work, to hold it true.
Just living, being conscious of my surroundings and doing my best to be mindful are really the motivating factors to my personal creativity.