Like many people, I’m concerned that our country may not be doing all we can to support refugees and other vulnerable, displaced people and families. One thing my wife and I do to make a difference is partner with First Aid Arts. They offer well-researched, arts-based activities and programs to refugees and other trauma survivors to promote mental health and healing.

I had the opportunity to travel to Manila with First Aid Arts in 2012 and meet some of the people they work to serve. It was a life-altering trip, and in many ways, the beginning of some major life changes for me personally. That being said, as impactful as the trip was for me individually, the work First Aid Arts is doing for people all over the world has an unimaginable impact, and it is humbling to be a witness.

Thanks for watching this video collaboration, and I hope you will consider supporting First Aid Arts’ beautiful, important work.

One of the fun projects I did this winter took place in San Francisco, an amazing 2-day shoot for Print Mag with Debbie Milman, Chase Jarvis, and Print Editor-in-Chief Zac Petit. Over those 2 days, I photographed more than 60 of the top creators in San Francisco (Tim Ferriss, Jessica Hische, Scott Dadich, Wendy MacNaughton, Roman Mars, Elle Luna, Josh Higgins…) for the current April issue. It was one of the most challenging and exciting shoots I have done to date, and I feel really proud of these portraits. Below are a few of my favs, and you can see more from the series on my site under Portraits.

A huge thanks to my friend Chase Jarvis for this opportunity, as well as the incredible Debbie Millman, and Zac Petit.  Thanks to GILD Studio for the incredible retouching on this portfolio also. I would encourage you to pick up a copy of this issue. The Print team put a ton of love and care into this issue, and the paper stock is pretty awesome. Also check out the interviews Chase did with everyone for a shot of inspiration.

2017 started about as good as I could have ever hoped. I had my first solo exhibition, ‘Uniform’ at Treason Gallery in Seattle for the month of January.  All 17 limited edition prints from the series were on display.  3 at 43.5”x58” (edition of 3 + 2AP), and 14 prints at 24”x32” (edition of 5 + 2AP). And I have to say, seeing them in print, larger than life is pretty incredible.

The opening reception was an experience I will never forget. So many friends, family, and new faces. It was like a dream. I also added a surprise at the opening by creating a live sculpture.

If you are interested in purchasing a print, you can contact alex@treasongallery.com, or find our more on the Treason website.

All of the images can also be seen here on my site on the Uniform page.

Also check out this incredible review of ‘Uniform’ by Michael Upchurch in the Seattle Times.

One million thank you’s to Treason Gallery, and also to my friends at Top Pot, and Seattle PBR for sponsoring the opening.

This week has been pretty exciting.  After wrestling with self doubt, fear, and vulnerability for the last year and a half while working on ‘Uniform,’ the series is finally complete.  Well, complete in a practical sense I suppose, but in other ways, I feel the work is just now beginning.

Last Thursday was the opening of ‘Uniform’, my first solo exhibition at Treason Gallery.  It was a night I will never forget, and I still feel like I am up in the clouds to be quite honest.  Not only seeing the images printed and displayed in such a beautiful space, but seeing people interacting with the prints and talking about them.  That made me happy.

As if that wasn’t enough excitement, I was invited to New Day Northwest on King 5 Seattle to talk about my ‘Uniform’ exhibition.  Below is the full video interview about ‘Uniform’ with Margaret Larson.

Art critic, Michael Upchurch wrote an amazing review of ‘Uniform’ in The Seattle Times, stating  “‘Uniform’, his first fine-art photography solo show, is a breakthrough and a revelation.” Wow. I am speechless.

‘Uniform’ is on display at Treason Gallery in Seattle through January 28, 2017. Make sure to check it out, and thank you for your support!

Big news!  My debut solo exhibition ‘Uniform’ will be opening on Thursday January 5th, 2017 at Treason Gallery in Seattle. What!? Excitement doesn’t begin to describe how I am feeling right now. On display will be 17 large format prints from my ‘Uniform’ series.

Doors open at 6:00pm, and the gallery will be open until 9:00pm.  Mark your calendar, and invite your friends.  It’s gonna be a fun party.

Click (here) to go to the event page and add this to your calendar, RSVP, and get directions. See you in a few weeks!

Thought I would pass along my recent interview with Stitch about Uniform and some other thoughts about photography.  Enjoy.

It goes without saying, but this was a fun shoot.  Set build at Milk Studios in LA, and working with NBA superstar Kevin Durant.  Big thank you to KD, Roc Nation, Sparkling ICE, Javelin, and Production on 5th.  Total team effort.  Last year I also shot a print campaign for Sparkling ICE with Robinson Cano.  This was the follow up shoot, plus I directed a few web interviews with KD which you can see above as well.

In August, I took part in my fist group show, Out Of Sight 2016, at the historic King Street Station in Seattle.  Two of my Falling Bodies prints were on display, and what a thrill to be included with such talented artists from the Pacific Northwest, including two of my favorites, Rodrigo Valenzuela, and Susan Dory.

The only thing more exciting than showing at Out Of Sight this year, was selling my first print and seeing that little red dot next to the title card.  Hopefully this is just the beginning.

Special thanks to Greg Lundgren, Sierra Stinson, and Mackenzie Canlis, as well as the entire Out Of Sight team, for making this happen.

For the first part of 2016, my iPhone camera lens had a crack in it.  This was a huge bummer, because it prevented me from creating iPhone Portraits.  It was the first time in about 3 years I wasn’t creating spontaneous portraits with my iPhone.  As someone who usually doesn’t create an image without some sort of production, creating a spontaneous portrait on a whim is an incredibly satisfying and exciting experience.

Not having a fully functioning iPhone camera for several months was a pivotal time for this project.  A little part of me was feeling burnt out and tired.  In the first three years, I had photographed over 300 iPhone portraits of family, friends, and strangers.  I wondered if I would ever regain my excitement for this project if I stopped pushing myself to create.

Eventually in the Spring, I did get a new iPhone.  The 6s.  As soon as I picked up the phone, I couldn’t wait to make an iPhone Portrait.  What I began to realize is the time away from this project gave me new energy and excitement to explore and push myself further.  My pace has slowed a bit for several reasons, but my excitement and focus has only grown.  The above images are a handful of the recent portraits I have made this Summer and Fall.  I will continue to share more about this project as I move forward.

You can see a larger gallery of my iPhone Portraits here, and you can also follow @johnkeatley on Instagram to see the full project unfold.

20% OFF if you sign up with this link – SIGN UP NOW

Are you going to be in New York for PhotoPlus Expo?  It’s happening October 19-22, and I will be speaking on Thursday the 20th.  If you are going to be in town, I would love to see you there.  I am giving a talk sponsored by Tether Tools about how to get the most out of your photo shoot opportunities.

Life on set at a commercial photo shoot can be daunting, particularly if the client chooses to be present.  John will talk to you about how he manages to make his set feel comfortable for the subject, client and photography team, all the while having a great time and getting awesome pictures.  Learn about production, managing workflow, handling clients requests and expectations, building lasting relationships, and the tools that will make everything easier to navigate.  First 100 registrants will receive 20% OFF if you sign up with this link – SIGN UP NOW!