Welcome to All Things Bright and Beautiful. I have enjoyed taking and making pictures since I was a child. The thrill of watching black and white images materialize in a bath of developer under a dull red light sometimes long after I should have been in bed has stayed with me. Nowadays I am often late to bed as I work to fine-tune and process my pictures to best bring out the beauty I have tried to capture. Over the decades, I feel fortunate to have been able to travel with my wife and sons to many of the more scenic and spectacular areas of North America, Iceland, and the United Kingdom. While many of my pictures celebrate these places, I often find beauty even in unexpected places. As a long-time teacher of students in special education, I have learned the importance of looking for the good in the children I teach, and then allowing it to shine. I hope too that my pictures allow others to see more of the brightness and beauty which is waiting for those who look to find it.
John Barker
Charlottesville, VA