JOHN TODD Capturing Wins

From vast landscapes to intimate portraits, to runners mid-stride, John Todd is an expert at capturing the perfect moment on camera. A native of Palo Alto, Todd has been a professional photographer for over 25 years. He manages his own photography business, has been the team photographer for the San Jose Earthquakes since the team’s inception in 1996, and owns International Sports Images (ISI) along with his business partner and wife, Annette Shelby.

When did you first take an interest in photography? I took beginning photography in seventh grade and was hooked after taking my first image and learning how to print in a darkroom. I recently reunited with one of my classmates from that time, now 40 years ago, and he remembered me saying I wanted to be a professional photographer.

Were there any other art forms that interested you, or was photography always your focus? I never really gravitated toward any other forms of art—as I was a lousy painter—and had no drawing skills to speak of. The interaction between the camera and real life always drew me in, and the ability to capture my personal interpretation of a scene is what really excites me. It’s fascinating to me how you can be at an event with multiple photographers, and each one comes away with a different view and different take on what they saw. I think this is a really important piece that can show us how we all perceive reality differently.

You take photos in a wide variety of styles. What was the first style you learned, and what inspired you to branch out in so many directions? My first love was landscape photography. My grandmother took me to Stanford to see Ansel Adams speak when I was in high school, and I was hooked. The grand views and scale of his images inspired me, and the graphic nature of his work has really influenced me. I branched out in college shooting sports, and then into photojournalism, working for a newspaper and freelancing for the Associated Press. I enjoy all forms of photography, and it keeps it fresh for me. Being able to jump from sports to landscape to portraits and commercial work is such a great blessing.

Written by Michelle Rundowitz

Photography by Alex Knowbody johntodd.com Instagram johntoddimages