About John Slaytor
I find it difficult to narrow my photographic interest. This inattention to detail gives me plenty of subject matter. My range of work includes African Australian hip hop artists,Aboriginal Tennis players, Macedonian Weddings and Christenings, Nigerian 21st Birthday parties, Presbyterian and Catholic funerals, Indian and Greek family portraits, Chinese and Ghanaian football supporters, Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps and Sydney Opera House.
The National Library of Australia has purchased my work for its permanent collection.
I live and work in Sydney but can and do travel anywhere for my vocation.
I would like to think I have been positively influenced by Werner Bischof for his quiet humanistic vision, Jane Bown for her minimalist approach to technology, Eve Arnold for her compassion and Peter Dombrovskis for his pristine imagery. After visiting Auschwitz I came across Michael Kenna whose work has helped me understand how buildings can have mood.
I avoid formality and artifical lighting believing these things draw far too much attention to the process of photographing people. I have no qualms about making buildings endure long exposures with a tripod.
I use Nikon cameras and process my images (RAW only) using DXO. I print with an Epson 4800. My computer is a Mac and my screen is an Eizo.
