John Hogg is a freelance photographer based in Gauteng in South Africa. He has gained 20 years experience on some of the country’s leading newspapers from photographer to Photographic Editor.

In 1984 shortly before he began gainful employment in the press John joined Henri Noppe’s dance studio in Benoni and although Henri could not train him to do more than one pirouette at a time he did instill in him an appreciation for dance and the commitment and effort that goes into the art. The photographing of dance was thus a natural progression and John started photographing dancers at the studio and the shows that Henri choreographed.

During his years on the newspapers he was to photographically cover a wide range of subjects from news to sport but it was the arts that he specialized in with the dance and music being the main focus. Along with the annual FNB Dance Umbrella that he has captured for the past 20 years John is also an Oppikoppi (SA’s premier music festival) veteran. With these two festivals alone he has by default helped document two of the art forms in the country that have over the last 20 years shown a remarkable and rapid growth, not only in the number of practitioners but also in quality.