ARTS + CULTURE
Photographer John Chao chronicles 50 years of adventures in a new book story by RUTH BERKOWITZ | photos by JOHN CHAO
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Courtesy of John Chao
ast February as snow fell fiercely in the Gorge, forcing I-84 to shut down intermittently, John Chao braved the weather. After taking a Covid test, he packed his suitcase and drove from his home in Mosier to the Portland airport where he boarded a nearly empty flight to Seattle and then to Seoul,
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FALL 2021 II THE GORGE MAGAZINE
Darrell Jones
Life Through a Lens South Korea. Pursuant to pandemic protocol in that country, Korean authorities dressed in hazmat suits, face shields and masks greeted Chao when he disembarked and escorted him to a small hotel room, where he quarantined for two weeks. The quarantine was fortuitous, even a “blessing of sorts,” Chao says, because it gave him time to work on his book, 50-Year Vision Quest. Chao, who was born in Taiwan and spent the first decade of his childhood in Peru and Brazil before his family settled in Michigan, originally planned to print his photographic memoir in China. However, the Chinese government demanded he remove two of his photographs. Chao felt that he couldn’t change history, but he could change printers. So, he found a top-notch printer in Korea and got to work. In the 12-by-20-foot hotel room, Chao tuned all 500 of his photographs, making sure the color specs matched the Korean printer’s profile. Chao was used to this tedious type of work from his days as editor and publisher of the award-winning American Windsurfer magazine. The result is a stunning, museum-quality book documenting Chao’s life as a photojournalist and adventurer. The 264-page book is not only visually captivating but also a page-turner, full of enthralling stories detailing a life well lived — or as Chao puts it, “a life well received.” “The camera was a passport to adventure,” Chao tells me as we sit in the living room of his Mosier home. His 6-foot-2-inch frame serves him well as a photographer, allowing him to stand over crowds and empowering him with a physical presence that has sparked memorable expressions. With the west wind shaking the oak trees outside and rattling the windows, Chao reflects on his past.
John Chao, inset, has photographed subjects all over the world, including one-time presidential candidate John Kerry windsurfing in Massachusetts, top, and a pair of Tibetan mastiffs he encountered while en route to Mount Everest.
