Since joining NVPS in August 2012, Kirk Johnson has been taking digital photographs of a variety of subjects, such as architecture, street and urban, portrait, black-and-white, floral, and abstract.

Armed with his trusty Nikon D5300 and LG G6 smartphone and a variety of post-processing tools (Photoshop CS6, NIK Collections, Topaz, Portrait Professional 15, and Photomatix), Kirk has been recognized internationally, nationally, and locally with a variety of photographic awards including 2017 International Fine Arts Photography Award (FAPA) – Nominee Award for Abstract photography; the Great American Country (GAC) – Hunt for Americana Photo Contest – United States Southern Region Finalist – in 2014; numerous NVPS monthly competition awards. Additionally, his photographs have appeared in Bliss Magazine and twice in Shutterbug.com “Photo of the Day.”

Kirk, who retired from the U.S. Navy in 1999 as a Lieutenant Commander, currently lives in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife, Leslie, and their dog, Orville. Presently, Kirk is a Policy Analyst working for the federal government in Washington, D.C.

For September 2017, Member’s Forum Kirk will discuss the idea behind his creations of photo-mandalas. From the initial photograph to the final abstract-like product, Kirk will explain how he came upon this post-processing technique, the subject of mandalas, and their importance in various cultures around the world, a presentation of some of these creations, and how they were processed. These mandalas have appeared globally not only in competitions, but on a variety of social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Gurushots.com, 500px, ShopVida.com, and in NVPS competitions and portfolio reviews.

View Kirk’s Presentation Slide-Show on: How To Create A Photo Mandala  (Password Protected)