About - Photographer John Palmer
Artist Statement
I am a documentary photographer working with both traditional film and digital technologies. I believe documentary photography and fine art are compatible, allowing truth and beauty, observation and expression to coexist in a single frame.
My process is intentional and selective. I photograph only when I feel a strong emotional connection to the subject and its environment. My goal is to merge the essence of my subjects with my own perspective, creating images that are emotionally compelling and visually distinctive.
This philosophy has shaped my long-term projects in China, where I documented disappearing traditions, rural life, urban development, and portraits of Women/Gender Studies during significant social and political change. Instead of a purely journalistic approach, I sought to capture both visible realities and underlying emotions. As Senior Photographer for California State Parks, I focused on the relationship between nature, culture, and public space, creating images that honor ecological beauty and human experience.
Through this approach, I aim to create photographs that capture and elevate reality, informing, provoking reflection, and enduring over time.
John Palmer
1986 – Present
China Photography Project
In 1986, I initiated my social and artistic pursuit: to facilitate the understanding of China through the universal medium of photography. A substantial segment of the world’s most populous nation remains rural, and its historically insular society remains enigmatic to many Western observers. Nevertheless, China’s expansion, urban development, and pursuit of modern industrialization are fostering the emergence of a new China that adopts the cultural and economic advantages of capitalism, notwithstanding the political differences.
California State Parks
Senior Photographer, Interpretation and Education Division
Produced over 6,000+ photographs of California State Parks.
The park system had not been photographed by professional staff for over 20 years. I was allocated a generous budget and given the responsibility to photograph, update, archive, and catalog the photographic collection.
My responsibilities involved executing photographic assignments for park units with diverse objectives, including park brochures, interpretive panels and programs, exhibits, calendars, posters, newsletters, magazines, presentations, and reports. I coordinated photography sessions with District and Sector Superintendents, Rangers, Interpreters, park staff, and the Publications Unit—the shoot list comprised landscapes, historic structures and sites, visitors, staff, and wildlife.
Cameras included: a large-format Arca-Swiss 4x5 with a BetterLight 216MP digital panoramic scanning back, producing 2.5GB single-shot files for interpretive panels and museum copy work; a medium-format digital Hasselblad system for high-resolution landscapes and museum artifacts; and Nikon cameras for portraits, historic building exteriors and interiors, and wildlife. The production area encompasses Macintosh computers, Eizo color management displays, HP Z3100 44-inch 12-ink printer with trimming, mounting, and framing equipment, and a comprehensive studio equipped with ProPhoto strobes.
2002 - 2004
University of Michigan School of Art and Design
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Within the Photography Department, I taught advanced digital courses concentrating on color management, Adobe Photoshop, film scanning, and digital printmaking. The studio courses emphasized portraiture and still life. The intermediate course encompassed Ansel Adams’ Zone System for exposure, film development, and darkroom printing. Each session incorporated bi-weekly portfolio reviews.
Courses taught included:
- ARTDES 262 Intermediate Photography
- ARTDES 364 Advanced Digital Photography
- ARTDES 368 Advanced Studio Photography
1978 - 1982
Staff Photographer at the Sacramento Bee.
Working at the Bee was a remarkable experience, photographing daily assignments for a prominent newspaper. One day, I might be working on an assignment with the Governor, and the next, I could be covering Pet of the Week.
1974 - 2000
The owner of Palmer Photographic and Digital initially operated a traditional black-and-white laboratory. In 1990, the company expanded its offerings by integrating digital services and pioneering digital photography, with locations in Sacramento and Mountain View, California. The services provided included photographic processing, scanning, digital printmaking, and desktop imaging solutions.
Kodak T-MAX Field Test — Behind the Film
In the mid-1980s, prior to the public release of Kodak T-MAX film, the Kodak Product Engineer contacted me regarding participation in a confidential testing program. She planned to send batches of T-MAX films for processing under controlled conditions—nothing more, nothing less. Over the course of two months, she shipped film that had been pre-exposed at Kodak’s T-MAX laboratory, and my only responsibility was to process each batch accurately and return it for analysis.
Approximately one month after the final shipment, she contacted us again. This time, she informed us that she was sending a substantial box containing T-MAX, Panatomic-X, Plus-X, and Tri-X films—each available in 35 mm, 120, and 4×5 formats. In addition to Kodak films, she included Agfa, Fujifilm, and Ilford black-and-white stocks, ensuring a range of film types and sizes for direct comparison. We were given one month to complete the work. All processing was finalized within one week, and the entire set was returned to Kodak. The processing was conducted using a custom dip-and-dunk hanger film processor with nitrogen-burst agitation, which I designed and built in collaboration with Keronite.
Nearly three months later, she contacted me again—this time with unexpected news. Kodak had discreetly dispatched the same film package to 250 professional black-and-white laboratories worldwide—150 in the United States and 100 in Europe. She informed me that our processing ranked in the top 5% of all participating laboratories and further stated that our work was at the top of the entire study.
It was a distinguished privilege—and a moment to be cherished. I still recall her composed, accurate voice and the sense of intent conveyed with each test shipment. That collaboration represented my modest contribution to the inception of Kodak T-MAX, a pioneering generation of black-and-white film that aimed to redefine tonal range, grain structure, and contemporary photographic practices.