My name is John-Michelle O'Shea.
I have always had a passion for monochrome. I fell in love with old black and white movies as a child in the 1970s. Like many others, I identify black and white with a bygone era – an age we associate with glamour and romance as much as the tragedy of war. I feel the use of black and white triggers a sensory association, a cultural ‘sense memory’.
If I'm in the studio I draw heavily on this rich monochrome heritage.  Consciously choosing black and white, and using a certain light or a particular costume detail, I believe you can engage the viewer to suspend their sense of disbelief and claim a wisp of the elegance of that era for yourself. That choice is in many ways an escape from the modern world and its sensibilities, which daily threaten to overwhelm so many of us.
I have achieved Associate status in the Royal Photographic Society, I am a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and I volunteer my services to several non-profits and charities. 
I support my work by selling prints, offering portrait and tuition services, and providing technical services to other creatives and photographers. 
Exhibitions & Publications
2015 - Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, WMFS Volunteer Photographers Exhibition 
2022 - European Chinese Photographic Art Yearbook (featured)
2023 - Tokyo International Foto Awards (bronze award)
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