Most of us can't imagine a world without images.  Granted, some can't imagine a world without instant messaging and emails, but I don't know anyone who adorns the walls of their office or home with text.  I've been working with pro photographers for the 10 years I've been at Kodak.  Nothing is more inspiring and rewarding.  With this new "Thousand Word" entry, I'll try and give you a brief glimpse into the passion and perspectives of some remarkable photographers.  Their work is all over my office and my home.  I can't imagine it any other way.

John Sexton is a revered photographer, master printmaker, author and workshop instructor.  He's best known for his luminous, quiet, black and white photographs of the natural environment.  He's the director of the John Sexton Photography Workshops program, and teaches numerous photography workshops each year for programs throughout the world including Anderson Ranch Arts Center, The Ansel Adams Gallery, Maine Photographic Workshops, emphasizing printing technique and mastery of the Zone System.

John's books include Recollections: Three Decades of Photographs, a retrospective volume, published in October 2006 by Ventana Editions; Quiet Light, a monograph representing fifteen years of his work; and, Listen to the Trees.

Q: What fascinates you about photography?

John: It's multi-faceted. It's a creative activity and at the same time, a technical one. I like to make the analogy between the craft of photography and the syntax of language. You have to have those basic skills in order to communicate. The term photography literally translates to 'writing with light'. Long ago, my friend and mentor Ansel Adams said that he still found it exciting, he still found it frustrating, and occasionally, difficult. That was a great lesson. I think the key is not necessarily photography; it is the creative process.

Q: How has being a photographer changed the way you look at the world?
John: I find myself paying more attention to the visual details of an experience. In my back pocket right now is a small piece of plastic, and cut into that is an opening the same proportion as my 4 x 5 view camera. So if I'm stuck in an airport, I can walk around without my camera and make mental photographs. It makes me see the world in the rectangular format of photography.

Q: Let's talk about your preference for black-and-white photography.
John: I suspect that goes back to a college photography class in 1973. We went on a trip to see an exhibition by three photographers: Ansel Adams, Edward Weston and Wynn Bullock. I thought I wanted to be either an industrial or advertising photographer, and then we went to this exhibit and saw these black-and-white prints. It was the first time in my life I had tears come to my eyes when viewing a photograph.

Q: Do you see the world in black and white?
John: No, I'm looking at my desk right now and see a lot of different colored file folders. But if I think I'm going to make a photograph of my desk, I visualize and translate how those colors are going to work as shades of gray. I just love black and white. It's so bizarre to me that I can show you a picture that's black-and-white and you somehow think it represents reality. When's the last time you opened a window and it was black and white outdoors?

Q: What kind of light do you like to photograph in?
John: The right kind...

Q: Which is?
John:  That sounds like a ridiculous answer, but it's a light that suits the subject and your desires. Light is everything in a photograph. I really love soft light. When I'm teaching, if somebody needs assistance and I make a photograph, they often see it as a dull light but to me, it's luminous and subtle. Then I show them the results.

Q: Why do you like T-Max film?
John: T-Max gives me the smoothness, the fine grain and a sort of milky quality that I find desirable. I've made thousands and thousands of negatives on T-Max 100 and 400. No other photographic manufacturer can match Kodak's film-making history or the history of quality and consistency that's associated with it.

Q: Are there frustrations you still encounter?
John: I still make a picture with the lens cap on the lens. I end up with my cable in the frame; I can have the lens shade in my image; I can set the film speed wrong. But one of the more frustrating things that still happens is when you feel something, but somehow that magic just doesn't get on to the piece of film. There was something you were reacting to that was not something you could photograph.

Q: What do you carry when you go wandering through the landscape?
John: I have a pretty efficiently organized backpack which has my 4x5 camera and four to six lenses, my 4x5 ready-load film and conventional film holders, a carbon fiber lightweight tripod, and emergency gear. If you're going to be a landscape photographer, be prepared for the fact that it's a big world out there. I always take water and a jacket. Famous last words: 'I'm just going out to take a few pictures. I'll be back to the car in an hour.'

You can also see John's podcast at Kodak Close Up.