Scott Johnson

Scott Johnson teaches photography and visual arts.

What are some photo effects you enjoy working with?
With photography, I definitely lean more towards the design and the composition, which is editing photos, taking a shot and manipulating it to create a more interesting composition. That’s where my interests lie, especially since I’ve done a lot more work outside of teaching in the realm of design. I enjoy working in the dark room in post-production, where we actually enlarge photos. I like to introduce burning and dodging effects to strengthen the edges and increase the closure and framing of photos. I also use contrasting filters and multiple exposures to actually intensify specific areas and really bring out the richness of the darks and the lights.

We heard you like to cook in your free time; when did you start to develop a passion for cooking?
I didn’t really start cooking until college; that’s where I developed a passion for it. When I had my first charcoal grill, I enjoyed throwing anything and everything on there. My specialty now is pumpkin spice barbecue wings, and wings are my favorite thing to cook. I’m currently working on a new recipe for pineapple garlic wings, but I haven’t perfected it yet. Cooking is what I enjoy doing on the weekends, but occasionally I’ll spend an entire evening after work just cooking.

What are some of your favorite experiences from volunteering at AmeriCorps for two years?
Note: AmeriCorps is an independent agency of the United States government that connects Americans in serving and helping their communities. Its mission is “to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering.”

I was substitute teaching at a school in the Punxsutawney Area School District, and as a part of the curriculum, our team of volunteers was in charge of integrating the school into the community. We volunteered for different types of functions, including Baskets of Love, a food pantry. One function was a food drive to create boxes of food of, for example, all of the trimmings of what a standard Thanksgiving dinner would be. It was completely anonymous, and the day before Thanksgiving, we delivered the food to the families in need. The families that we delivered to really didn’t have any idea that they were getting the deliveries, so there were a lot of tears and a lot of emotion, and it was very touching. It was one of the best and most personal experiences I’ve ever had.