Meet John Grap, Photographer and Photojournalist

John Grap (in photo at left) is an experienced journalist and award-winning visual storyteller with an expansive Battle Creek network that is both multi-culturally and socio-economically diverse.  How did you become involved in photography? What attracted you to it?

As a boy, in the 1950-60s, I was attracted to magazines like Life, Look, Sports Illustrated, and of course, National Geographic. Weren’t we all? Growing up in north-central Wisconsin the wonder of the wide world greatly appealed to me. And I wanted to go out and see for myself what was out there.

Like many middle-class families, we took vacations and my dad always brought along a camera and an 8-mm movie camera. We mostly would spend a week at a resort on a lake, but we did take a couple big trips out east and west, to visit relatives and see historic sites.

During my sophomore year in college, I studied in Innsbruck, Austria and traveled in

Europe and parts of Asia. It was a magical and mystical time and really opened my eyes. After graduating from college I served three-and-a-half years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia. My love for photography was great nurtured in those years.All this time, however, I was struggling spiritually. I  experimented and did things, some of which were not very healthy.

Finally, I realized that I could not continue living without faith in Jesus Christ. I decided to follow Christ via the United Methodist Church before returning to my Catholic Christian heritage.

How has your photography evolved since you first started? How has photography changed in the past 15-20 years?

Ever since I can remember I’ve been a photography aficionado, but it’s only been in the past 20 some years that I’ve been doing it professionally.

A friend once told my wife that the Lord would use me to reflect His glory through photography. After years in human service (including the Peace Corps in Ethiopia, the American Red Cross in the U.S.) I was very fortunate to get a part-time position at the Battle Creek Enquirer as a photographer.

While I have had no formal photography training I had five years of piano lessons, fueled in part by my lifelong love of music: classical, rock, and jazz. Music and other art forms have greatly influenced my approach to photography.

Photography is for me either a spiritual practice or a form of therapy.

Photography is a gift. I’ve always loved wandering around in nature and taking pictures, but I think what I most enjoy is telling stories through photos of people.

Digital photography, including the use of cameras in cell phones, has enabled more and more people to become photographers. Of course, not all photographers are artists.

As a self-assessment I think I’m just okay.

Are there any photojournalists, photographers who have influenced you?

There are far too many. Certainly, I learned a lot from my peers at the Enquirer. But, there have been and are so many great ones out there - just Google photographers, photojournalists, past and present. There are several great photo artists in our southwest Michigan area.

What words of wisdom do you have for any aspiring photographers?

Don’t be shy, accept criticism, practice, never stop learning, and pray without ceasing.

All photos by John Grap. Photo Captions: 2nd - Angel in front of St. John the Evangelist, Paris, 2014. 3rd - A house mother with a young girl in a children's home in Ethopia, 2012. 4th - Man and Dog on Paris Metro, 2014. 5th - River scene in Chartes. 6th - the photographer's Mother, Charlotte Grap, Thanksgiving Day, 2016.