Random Excellence: Lucy Johnston

Outgoing email:

Hi Lucy,

I found you by accident when I was Googling my great-grandmother, Lucy Jane Johnston née George, who died in 1902. But I noticed you were a photographer so I clicked on your Google result—I write about photography for a living so I'm forever poking around to look at photography hither and yon. On your site I happened across your wonderful photograph of Jane Bown. What a lovely portrait! Jane is one of my personal heroes—I was a portraitist myself at one time and have always loved her work. She's one of my very favorites. How lucky for you that you got to meet her.

Anyway I just thought I would take a moment to tell you how much I enjoyed your great portrait.

All best,

Mike

Result:

This is the mail system at host mailserver.cmp.[xxx].co.uk.

I'm sorry to have to inform you that your message could not be delivered to one or more recipients. It's attached below.

For further assistance, please send mail to postmaster.

The mail system

Oh well. I tried.

It's a nice portrait, isn't it? Warm and characterful. I love all the olde-Englishy details of the room, Jane's expression, the way she's turned her roving eyes toward the light—and did you notice her camera, not at the ready but nearby and handy?

I like it. A portrait worthy of the great portraitist. Of course I like her—one of my favorite photographers. Jane died in 2014.

Years ago, when I was a student, I was at Kathleen Ewing's gallery near Dupont Circle in D.C. and I mentioned to her how much I liked one particular picture, and she told me I should reach out and let the photographer know. She said many of her artists expected more reaction and response from a show than they actually got, and that some of them felt fairly mystified by the silence. She told me that artists really like to hear from people about their work but that few people ever take the time to let them know when they like something. For some reason, viewers imagine that creators will have no interest in their lowly opinion, when in fact it's the opposite.

I've remembered that ever since, and I often take a little time just to tell someone I like something.

The advent of the Internet makes it easy. I wonder if that's the reason people like sharing sites so much—they're just hungry for any sort of reaction, any kind of response, from others.

Anyway, if you happen to know Lucy the photographer who has the same name as my great-grandmother, I hope you'll pass along this little note to her. And tell her her mailbox is full.

Mike

UPDATE: I heard from Lucy last night—someone alerted her about this post (by the way, I just wanted to mention that I haven't heard from Owen Edwards, which probably underlines the point about how he stays under the radar) and she did get the original email after all, despite the kickback. Anyway, she wrote a very nice and enthusiastic note telling me how nice it was to get to visit with and photograph Jane Bown before her death.

Book o' This Week:

André Kertész, On Reading, the lovingly crafted reprint of the lyrical 1971 classic by an early master of the small camera. (Would make an excellent Valentine, for a person who reads.) The above link takes you to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Original contents copyright 2021 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Rob Campbell: "Trouble is, Mike, that there are so many websites and so many good photographers that the effort to notify them of one's pleasure is overwhelming before one starts. Where would one draw the line? Who would one praise and who not, even though one might like the work of both?"

Mike replies: Well, I've long been comforted by a particular thought: that it's enough to do what you can. There are millions of dogs put to death every year, and millions more homeless, starving, or abandoned in shelters. I can't help them all, so I did what I could: I rescued two and am giving them a good life. They're cared for, fed, and loved, and get medical attention when they need it. I can't tell every photographer about every photograph I like, for sure, but I can tell a few dozen or even a few hundred. It's not much but maybe it's nice for those few.

I actually apply that thought to a whole lot of things. For example, I can't stop the coronavirus, but I can isolate, wear a mask, and avoid groups and gatherings, doing my small part to help stop the spread. So I do. It's certainly not much, but the little I can do is what I can do, so I do it.

It's a nice way to think, anyway. Just think of the general increase in goodwill in the world if everyone picked just one artwork every year they earnestly and enthusiastically liked, and contacted the artist to tell them so.

Comments

[Richard Gonet]

I looked at Ms. Johnston's portrait portfolio and was struck by how few of her subjects made eye contact with the photographer. In fact, many seem to be making a concerted effort to look away. I wonder if the portfolio strikes any other readers this way.

[Dave Stewart]

On Twitter - https://twitter.com/lucytakesphotos

[Richard Parkin]

The links on her web site to Twitter, Instagram & Flickr all work (but I’m not familiar with how one corresponds on Twitter or Instagram) and seem to be current so maybe just an email glitch.

[Joe Palmiter]

Mike,
This looks like the same person. https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucyjohnston/
You may be able to message her through Linkedin.

[Sal Santamaura]

Mike,

Have you tried the "Contact" form at her Web site?

http://www.lucyjohnston.co.uk/contact

[Euan Forrester]

It looks like she's active on Twitter: https://twitter.com/lucytakesphotos so maybe you could reach her there?

[Eolake Stobblehouse]

"For further assistance, please send mail to postmaster."

LOL. I think that message is a remnant from the nineties. You try that now and get any help.

[Dan Khong]

Mike

You and your great-grandmère share some resemblances, especially the eyes.

Dan K.

[Howard]

Richard Gonet- that was the first thing I thought too!

[Malcolm Myers]

Lovely portrait of Jane Bown. She's probably my favourite photographer.

[Dillan]

Jane Brown . . . . I've seen her work, but I wasn't aware of who she was. What a richly rewarding internet exploration that was!

[Not Brown, Bown. No "R." Very common misspelling! --Mike]

[Rob Campbell]

Mike: agreed with the pooches; we had our last two from a holding centre when they were both tiny pups - the first one turned into a facsimile of a fox, and she lived about fourteen years. We were about two hundred yards from a beautiful park, and we'd take her there a lot for exercise, but she got much more than we gave her: she vanished every day, and did her rounds of the neighbouring houses where she found more soft touches. She was the only dox that I know of that could clamber up into rhododendron bushes and retrieve sticks I'd throw.

Our second, from the same refuge, was what I decided to call an Alsabrador, which tells you all you need to know about her: strong as blazes and with the biggest teeth I ever saw. She was about a year old when we decided to leave Britain for Spain, and couldn't come with us because they couldn't give her her rabies shot until she was two. My mother kept her for that extra period, and eventually she was able to join us again.

The RSPCA insisted on specific sizes of crates for shipping, so we had one made up to spec. I was back in the UK on a job at the time, and our daughter was going to fly to Spain on holiday, so we timed the two to coincide. The dog and crate were put into the forward hold of the aircraft (they told us it was pressurised and heated) and dog and daughter arrived safely in Spain.

My wife was waiting at the airport, and the crate arrived on the conveyor belt along with all the luggage. Naturally, my daughter coudn't get it off the conveyor by herself, so she was assisted and the dog let out of the crate.

She instantly spotted my waiting wife as girl and dog got to customs control, and went crazy with excitement and began to pee. The guys at the control took one look and sent both girl and dog out of the place without checking documents or anything, hoping she'd not do any more biological damage, I guess. God knows who inherited the crate: we had all this help because I was doing work for some tour operators... some wag, as I checked daughter and dog in at the airport, asked if it was the new way to go on holiday, taking your room with you.

[Rob Campbell]

Regarding the Alsabrador: once she got to Spain her favourite habitat was the beach.

http://www.roma57.com/uploads/4/2/8/7/4287956/9800595_orig.jpg

Portrait on Kodachrome 64 Pro via Nikon and 135mm Nikkor.

When she was already quite ill, we took her to the beach and kinda knew it was all over when, on putting her back into the car, she didn't look back at the sea. We never had another dog because we were unprepared to face the loss again. After my wife died I did think about gettng a pup, but realised that it would probably outlive me, and then what hope for it?