On Sept. 3, John Brown University’s Windgate Visual Arts West Gallery was packed with students, faculty and community members for the opening reception of Professor Neal Holland’s photography gallery titled “Observing Life, Thinking Faith.” His photographs capture this title perfectly. The subjects range from a magnificent cathedral in Berlin to a chicken coop window in Arkadelphia. Some photos were captured with careful thought given to angle and lighting while others were taken in the spur of the moment. However different the subjects and circumstances might be, a common thread connects them all: the theological truths they reveal.
Holland uses his photography to highlight the beauty of the natural world, and in doing so, to point people beyond the beauty itself to the truth within it.
“I’ll have some sort of thought that I know probably came outside of myself,” Holland said. “Being a photographer is literally what I am. It’s what I teach, it’s what I do, it’s who I am, it’s how I think. I think in terms of images, so it’s really comforting to know that if that’s what’s original for me, then God can meet me there.”
Next to each print is a card that includes the location of the photograph, along with a Bible verse or Holland’s own reflection on it. A print of a giant tree with an intricate network of exposed roots is a picture of the blessed man in Jeremiah 17:7-8, who is “like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream.” In another print, a solitary man sits on a bench in an empty tube station, while the bustle of London continues just outside the walls. Holland’s reflection: “Lord, help me to find your rest.
Not only are the photographs themselves impressive, but also the method with which the prints are created. Holland uses photogravure to produce ink prints of his photographs.
“Photogravure is photography that is transferred by an emulsion onto a plate and then run through a press with ink. It’s very much a handmade thing,” Holland said.
The process of photogravure, first developed in the 19th century, traditionally involved creating a transparent film of the image, which was then placed over a UV-sensitive gelatin sheet that hardened with exposure to UV light. The gelatin under the film would harden in proportion to the amount of light it received, with lighter areas solidifying the most while darker areas remained soft. The exposed gelatin tissue was adhered face-down onto a textured copper plate and the soft gelatin was rinsed away, leaving a three-dimensional map of the photo made of hardened gelatin. After being immersed in a chemical bath, physical depressions in the copper corresponding to the light and dark areas of the original film were created. The surface of the plate was covered with ink and the excess wiped off, at which point an etching press was used to print the final image onto paper. Holland uses a more modern approach to the process that is inspired by Jon Cone, a master printer in Vermont whom he studied under.
“This is a proprietary system – you print to the plate itself from a digital printer. So, most of these were film. You scan the film, make a digital image, and put the digital image on the plate backwards. Then develop the plate and wash the image out, which processes the indentations in the plate. Cure that with UV light and then ink it and print it on the etching press,” Holland said.
The result is an ink print of the original photograph that possesses the richness and depth characteristic of the photogravure process.
When asked which print in the gallery is his favorite, Holland answered without hesitation. During a visit to Wiltshire, England, Holland had the opportunity to replicate the earliest photograph of Henry Fox-Talbot, a major pioneer of photography in the 1800s. The print, titled “The Master’s Window,” allowed Holland to stand in the same spot and photograph the very window Fox-Talbot had nearly two hundred years before.
“That was a pretty incredible day,” Holland said.
At the end of the reception, Holland announced a new photogravure class coming in the spring of 2027.
“If you want to learn how to do this, I can teach you. It’s a lot of fun and it’s well worth it,” Holland said.
He also thanked the Windgate Foundation for the influence it has had on JBU’s visual arts department.
“Our facilities are because of the Windgate Foundation. The money that we have to spend is because of the Windgate Foundation. This endowed chair is made possible by the Windgate Foundation. Had I not had it, I would not have been able to grow in this direction,” Holland said.
Holland is a faithful supporter of study-abroad partnerships, promoting off-campus study through Fields and Frames, which, according to his bio on JBU’s website, helps photography students gain international experience while encouraging Christians to engage with social justice issues. He emphasized the importance of travel during the reception.
“It would be an enormous oversight for me not to encourage you guys as students to take advantage of all the traveling you can possibly do. You can see things you never thought you would and have experiences you never thought you’d have. And what you really don’t understand is just how enriching that is not only for your lives, but for your art forms,” Holland said.
The prints displayed around the room were a testament to this advice. From the bazaars of Istanbul to the wild, windswept Scottish Highlands, each image told a story of artistry and faith.
Photo by Adeline Gruen