Stephen Johnson is a landscape/natural world photographer, and author who photographs and teaches with great passion, and an educator leading photographic workshop experiences of high craft for four decades.
FEATURED PRINT June 2025
Horsetail Ferns, Mussel Rock. Pacifica, CA 2025.
Horsetail Ferns, Mussel Rock. Pacifica, CA 2025.
This garden of Horsetail Ferns has been growing ever larger over the last few months, getting ever more complex and delicate. The low afternoon light dappled them nicely.
I’m offering a 14-inch-wide print of this photograph for $195. Larger prints can be ordered. This print at this price is offered through June 30. I'll be taking orders until then, and shipping them out by July 15, 2024. The image reverts to its normal price after that, $800 for an 11x14, $1500 for a 16x20 print.
NEW PHOTOGRAPH June 2025
Parasail, Pilot and Setting Sun. 2025.
Parasail, Pilot and Setting Sun. Pacifica, CA. 2025
A fortuitous alignment that I couldn’t resist on my late afternoon sunset on the cliffs walk.
Announcing the June 2025 Newsletter
This month's View From Here column explores current exhibitions, including the creation of the new Resist exhibit, our Art Center under threat, a night owl photograph and the loss of a photographer friend. The Resist Opening is Saturday June 7, 2-5pm.
My new preview of my Urban Eden Golden Gate Park work will be up at least through August Come see this first showing of my most recent project.
Urban Eden Golden Gate Park in the Gallery
The Gallery is open most Saturdays in June 2-5pm (except June 14), when I am here working, and by appointment. Call or email to set up a time to visit 650 355-7507.
This summer I am really looking forward to teaching my Reimagining Black and White class for the Los Angles Center for Photography July 19-20. Please spread the word.
My Highway One Coastal Workshop is July 26-27. Join us for the great coastal explore. Upcoming Studio classes are Image Editing Two Day Intensive Sept. 6-7, 2025 and the Masterful Fine Art Digital Photography Printing Class Sept. 27-30, 2025
— Steve
Upcoming Speaking Events and Workshops
In the Galleries
Location: Stephen Johnson Photography. Pacifica Center for the Arts
Current Featured Exhibition
Urban Eden: San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. A preview
April 11 through June 1, 2025
Urban Eden: San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park
As I build the exhibition from my Golden Gate Park Project, I am mounting a temporary preview to move the selection process forward. Join us for this peek into the project.
Urban Eden explores San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park combining Stephen Johnson’s new original photographs with his work made over the past 30 years.
San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park is 1017 acres of human transformed sand dunes and rocky hills made into an expansive urban park, offering refuge to one of the great cities of the world. The park is owned by the City of San Francisco and maintained by the San Francisco Department of Recreation and Parks.
Considered un-plantable by early consultants, the engineering, dedication and vision brought to bear to create this park is impressive. It is an amazing history in and of itself.
Now celebrating 150 years of existence, the park is home to forests and lakes, a major science and art museum, a world-class arboretum and historic flower conservatory, sports fields, a Bison Sanctuary, complex water system and many miles of footpaths. It draws 24 million visitors a year, contains a great variety of trees and plants while supporting many animal populations.
The park was born in the 1870s of pride and recreational needs of a growing young city. Its creation was steeped in political aspirations and controversy and the park has endured those same dichotomies throughout its history. From issues of funding, intended audiences, commercial development and water needs. The park is a thoroughly human idea benefiting from nature’s fecundity, while battling back it’s natural state which was at odds with the goals of its engineers.
Golden Gate Park is a unique constructed landscape, designed to be a garden and refuge, making it a visually dynamic place. In many ways it mimics ideas of Eden in its sanctuary-like experience. Urban Eden is a photographic exploration of the beauty, diversity, and sheer power of will in planning and creating spaces.
Life Form and With a New Eye selections are currently on view.
Life Form and With a New Eye selections are currently on view. Stephen Johnson Photography.
There are always new prints available to see in the gallery, from the Hale Telescope, to the Golden Gate Park Project, to the evolving Animal Series and new selections in the discounted print bins. Selections from With a New Eye remain up.
Current Exhibitions
The current exhibitions in the gallery include my Golden Gate Park project preview. Continuing in the gallery are my Life Form exhibition and With a New Eye selections.
Visiting the Gallery
My galleries and studio are generally open by appointment, but I am often there 10am–5pm on weekdays. Write to inquire or call 650 355-7507 to schedule an appointment.
I hope you can come by the gallery and see the original prints in the Life Form Gallery and its Life Form Portfolio. I invite you to join me on a workshop, rent lab space, or just say hello and let me know what you are up to photographically and what you might like to see me offer. I value your input.
Supporting Partners
Adobe, BetterLight, Canon, Colorbyte, Eizo, Epson, Heliconsoft, Imagenomics, X-rite
From rocky shorelines to eroded cliffs, long beaches, redwood forests, and small towns, the coastline south of San Francisco in San Mateo County is complex and dramatic. We'll roam the coastal and mountain roads, stopping at state and county parks, and checking out the lunch options along the way. The workshop will be a dynamic combination of a traditional landscape photography workshop while diving deep into the digital age.