Read my bio to learn more about me. My artist statement tells why I create my art. See my artist resume for my exhibits, education, awards, and more. And my technique FAQ tells how I create my art.
Members of the press, please visit the press room.
John Vias wanders around in the dark taking pictures. His award-winning night photography has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in galleries and other art venues throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Such venues include the Pro Arts and Slate galleries in Oakland, Canvas Gallery and Fort Mason Center in San Francisco, the Berkeley Art Center, and Stanford University.
Vias’s work has won awards in juried shows and has been reprinted in the press. It hangs in public, private, and corporate collections in the US and abroad.
John Vias (rhymes with “bias”) earned a Certificate in Photography from University of California Berkeley Extension and a BA from the University of Florida. He lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. You can preview his work at his website, johnvias.com.
I photograph in the dark. Night brings on a curfew, emptying streets and sidewalks. The even sunlight of the day gives way to dramatic pools of light, creating impromptu stages where the actors never arrive.
Photographing at night is also like shooting a movie all on one frame. Time is compressed, movement is frozen. What’s left is stillness and quiet. With our hurried lifestyles, my work is an invitation to slow down. And look.
I hope my work inspires you to visit my studio. You can also purchase prints right here.
His last name rhymes with bias.
Turning Point: A 20th Anniversary Gallery Retrospective, Joyce Gordon Gallery, Oakland, CA
Nightwatch: The Night Photography of John Vias, NBIP, Berkeley, CA
Winter Open Studio, 2008-2014, Berkeley, CA
As It Happened, Gary Francis Fine Art Gallery, Alameda, CA
Noctilucent: Night Photos by John Vias, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA. Curated by DeWitt Cheng.
East Bay Open Studios, 2004-2014, Berkeley/Oakand, CA
Collector Art Shop, Berkeley
Autumn Collection, SLATE Contemporary Gallery, Oakland
Dis/Order: Juried Annual, Pro Arts, Oakland, CA. Curated by Naomi Beckwith.
Collector Art Shop, Berkeley
Spring Forward into Art, Studio 1509, Berkeley
Winter Open Studio, 2008-2012, Berkeley
Courage, Pro Arts Gallery, Oakland
John Vias (solo), Bay Area Visual Arts Network, Oakland
Glimpses in Time, Joyce Gordon Gallery, Oakland, CA. Juried by Linda Connor.
Rotunda Gallery Exhibition, USF School of Law, San Francisco, CA. Curated by Saiko Matsumaru.
Studio Nocturne, 2005-2009, San Francisco
Glimpses in Time, Joyce Gordon Gallery, Oakland. Juried by René de Guzman.
Ten Winners, Joyce Gordon Gallery, Oakland
Glimpses in Time, Joyce Gordon Gallery, Oakland. Juried by Stephen Wirtz.
Nocturnes…in Berkeley?, The LightRoom, Berkeley
Insights: Focus on Emerging Photographers, Joyce Gordon Gallery, Oakland
Juried Annual, Pro Arts Gallery, Oakland. Juried by Laura Hoptman.
Berkeley Artisans Holiday Open Studios, 2004-2007, Berkeley
Nest Gallery Opening Reception, 2007, Oakland
Glimpses in Time, Joyce Gordon Gallery, Oakland. Juried by Stephen Wirtz.
EBOS at OAK, Oakland International Airport, Oakland
Juried Annual, Pro Arts Gallery, Oakland. Juried by Berin Golonu.
Quarterly Exhibition, MobiTV, Emeryville, CA
Transmissions Gallery Holiday Show, Berkeley
New Visions: Introductions, Pro Arts, Oakland. Juried by Gary Sangster and Dennis O’Leary.
Preview Exhibitions for SF Open Studios, Canvas Gallery, San Francisco;
San Mateo City Hall, San Mateo; Embarcadero, San Francisco
After Dark: Night Photos by John Vias (solo), Fort Mason Center, San Francisco
The Nocturnes, A Biennial, online
Berkeley Civic Center Art Exhibition, Berkeley. Curated by Robbin Henderson and Archana Horsting.
Berkeley Art Center’s Annual Members’ Showcase, Berkeley
EP Designworks’s June Exhibition, online
This Is Not Your Father’s Nocturne, online
A Night on the Hill, San Francisco
Embarcadero Nocturne, San Francisco
Members Only, Richmond, CA
The Nocturnes, A Biennial, online
Creative Capacity Fund, Quick Grant, 2010
Juror Award, Glimpses in Time, Oakland, 2008. Awarded by Stephen Wirtz.
Juror Award, Glimpses in Time, Oakland, 2007. Awarded by Stephen Wirtz.
Finalist, Berkeley Civic Center Art Exhibition, Berkeley, 2006
Honorable Mention, Berkeley Art Center’s Annual Members’ Showcase, 2006
Finalist, 7×7 magazine’s Bring on the Night photo contest, 2005
Lecture, “Enchanting Night Photography,” Pro Arts, Berkeley, 2007
Guest Lecture, Pro Arts, Oakland, 2007
Guest Lecture, Night Photography class, UC Berkeley Extension, 2006
Certificate in Photography, awarded with distinction, UC Berkeley Extension, 2004
Bachelor of Arts, University of Florida, 1990
Until 2013, I used film. Because the type of film became unavailable, I started shooting digitally.
Exhibiting photographers get this question a lot. I’m never sure why people ask it, so I’m never sure how to answer. Are people asking if I use film or digital? (See “Do you use film or digital?”) Are they asking because they’re inspired to try night photography themselves? (Great! Any camera that can handle long exposures can work.) Or maybe my studio visitors are simply making conversation. Well, I’m happy to talk about my work.
Anyway, I use a Nikon digital SLR. I used to use a Bronica GS-1 medium format camera. Medium format is in between 35mm and large format (the old-timey camera with bellows like an accordion and the photographer under a black drape). Medium format let me capture more detail than 35mm, so I can make larger prints. With modern high-resolution digital cameras and skillful techniques, large prints can be made from digital negatives too.
Film’s failure to reproduce colors accurately over long exposures worked to my advantage. I have never used filters. The otherworldly colors you see in some of my images are caused mostly by the reaction of the film to long exposures it wasn’t designed for. Now that I’m shooting digitally, and street lights are being converted from orangey sodium vapor to white LED, colors are often more realistic, but that’s okay too.
The light you see in my photos is almost always existing light—mostly street light and moonlight. Rarely, I use a spotlight to lighten shadows.
That’s a reasonable assumption, but in fact I used very slow film, often ISO 64. Slower film has smaller grain, so the resultant prints are smoother and not as grainy. For similar reasons, I use a low sensitivity setting on my digital camera.
Shooting digitally, my exposure times are from under 1 minute to 6 minutes. When I shot film, my exposure times ranged from 1 to 12 minutes—yes, minutes, not seconds. (There’s a lot of thumb-twiddling in night photography.) I also bracketed my exposures, which means I made multiple exposures of the same scene, each at a different exposure time, hoping one of them would be the right one. Usually, one was, but it’s certainly possible to over- or underexpose at night. At least, that’s what I’ve heard.
