Photographer Profile: Johnny Santiago By Writer and Contributor Emily McGinn
For decades, Johnny Santiago has been capturing snapshots of sunsets throughout the South Bay.
Santiago has been dabbling in photography since high school, and the era of digital cameras during the 1990s especially sparked his interest.
“My mother brought me a small digital camera, and I was trying to get used to it and play with it, and I just started taking some pictures,” Santiago says. “It just kind of took off from there, and I've been hooked on it ever since. And it's just a little side hobby that's kind of escalated over the years.”
Although Santiago has another full-time job, photography continues to be a dominant hobby in his life. He also continues to gain more advanced skills with equipment, ranging from professional cameras to software like Photoshop and Lightroom.
Though Santiago has shot a variety of subjects, sunsets are “his thing.” He recalls being called “the pier guy” while he was taking photography classes because his shots would always be of Manhattan Beach Pier or Redondo Beach Pier.
“I love being able to envision a sunset in my mind, and then go down to the coast and try to copy what I see in my head. And that has been my main passion ever since this started,” Santiago says. “I do like doing portraits and things like that, but it's not as much fun as capturing a sunset — having the sun a certain way, the lights, the colors. That's just my thing.”
Santiago also received the unique opportunity to take nighttime photos of Wayfarers Chapel, a series of photographs that has now become one of Santiago’s favorites. It began as a way for him to practice his nighttime shooting techniques. Always hunting for a new angle or approach to a common site or photography shot, Santiago realized he had only really seen photographs of Wayfarers Chapel during the daytime, so he did a nighttime photoshoot. Now, the photographs have taken on new meaning in light of the recent dismantling of Wayfarers Chapel.
“I had no idea that my pictures are kind of becoming part of a time capsule now, because we can never take those pictures again,” Santiago says. “I have never seen any other nighttime pictures like the ones I took, and I'm still just in awe of what's happened over there with the land movement and everything, and that they had to take it down. It's bittersweet knowing that my pictures can never be taken again — the point of view that I got, the different angles. It's sad that it's gone, but it's good to know that I have these pictures that will hopefully last a long time.”
As Santiago continues on in his photography, he recognizes that it remains a challenge — and that is one of his favorite parts. Though he has been doing photography for decades, he still feels that he is learning every time he goes out to shoot.
“If I take 1,000 pictures and only one of them looks good, I'm happy. I am,” he says. “I'm not just going to take a picture just for the sake of taking the picture. Sometimes I'll go down to the coast or wherever I'm heading, and I don't have any game plan at all. I'll just stand somewhere and try to find a good angle. And I love the challenge of it all. I still very much enjoy trying to figure out something different than what everybody else is doing.”
You can check out some of Santiago’s work, or reach out to him for prints, on his Facebook or Instagram @johnnysantiagophotography.
Bio:
Emily McGinn is a journalist based in the Los Angeles area. She enjoys reporting on and writing about a variety of topics from lifestyle to news, especially in her areas of specialty, environmental science and political science.
