John Henry Childs

Much of what has been written about John Henry Childs' early years is based on hearsay and rumor, although it has been confirmed that he did photograph the Beatles when he was 10 years old.  He’s been committing photography ever since, both as a vocation and avocation. Childs’ passion for the art was doubtless inflamed by his uncle, a noted photographer/writer/curator who demonstrated to John that, apparently, photographers mostly spend their time staying up all hours, drinking, talking and smoking cigarettes. At 15, John set up a darkroom in his bedroom closet where he perfected the art of staining clothing. After earning an Art degree from the University of Texas, John worked as a photo lab technician and camera salesman before securing a job as the sole photographer on a small-town newspaper, artfully documenting wurstfests, sausagefests, kielbasafests and ribbon cuttings. Then, at the urging of his advertising-writer girlfriend, he moved on to commercial advertising work, where the real money is said to be. Occasionally, when he can no longer find anyone who will listen to his obsolete opinions about the medium, Childs even resorts to teaching photography, assuring him captive, often conscious audiences five days a week.

John Henry Childs is married to a lovely woman with extraordinary patience and has one daughter for whom he would gladly give up his life and/or his numerous cameras. As of this writing, he is still alive, living in Houston, and photographing whatever interests  him at the moment.