Chris Johns (photographer)

Chris Johns is a prize-winning photographer who spent many years in Africa for National Geographic Magazine and is the first photographer ever to be named Editor-in-Chief of the publication, the position he has held since 2005. Under Johns' leadership, National Geographic received the General Excellence prize in the National Magazine Awards in 2007 and 2008.^[1] He started his journalism career at daily newspapers, and at age 28 was named Newspaper Photographer of the Year by the National Press Photographers Association.

Biography

Born in Oregon in April 1951, Johns studied agriculture at Oregon State University and photojournalism at the University of Minnesota. Johns began his photography career as a staff member at The Topeka Capital-Journal (where he and Gerald Ford's daughter Susan Ford were the paper's two interns in 1975).^[2] He was named National Press Photographers Association’s Newspaper Photographer of the Year in 1979, and by 1980 was a staff photographer at the Seattle Times.^[3] After joining National Geographic, he contributed extensively, shooting two cover articles before becoming an editor.

Johns has photographed extensively in Africa. The foreword to Johns' photography book Valley of Life: Africa's Great Rift was written by Nelson Mandela.

He lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia with his wife, his daughters Noel and Louise, and his son Tim.

He went to the University of Indiana and in 2009 was awarded a Honorary Doctorate from them.

1. ^ "National Geographic Wins 3 Awards, Honored Beyond Photography" (New York Times, May 2, 2008).
2. ^ Ford's daughter Susan interned at C-J - Topeka Capital-Journal - December 28, 2006
3. ^ Garlock, David (2003). Pulitzer Prize Feature Stories: America's Best Writing, 1978-2003. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State Press. p. 180. ISBN 0813825458. 

External links

• Bio at National Geographic

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Name	Johns, Chris
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Date of birth	1951
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