John Anderson was born on 7th Feb 1973 in Nottingham. John is a self-taught photographer based in Sheffield, whose only formal training in photography was an A-level in the dark room at Sheffield College. However, he has a strong natural talent for photography and for capturing the intimacy of the moment on his subject matter and creating a psychological tension through the use of light and composition. His images are very atmospheric and possess a strong stylistic sense and artistic quality.

John graduated on Youth and Community Work at Birmingham University and later trained on Counselling at Sheffield Hallam. He has also developed his professional career onto psychotherapy and other therapeutic practices. As well as working as a therapist, John has been practicing as a professional photographer since 2007.

John loves documentary photography and endeavours to do personal projects from time to time. The photos of Zippo’s circus were taken as part of a personal project. John aimed at capturing some of the characters and magic of the circus, from a lesser seen perspective backstage.

‘In the half light of backstage, Zippos circus feels like magic. There is the sounds of oohs and ahhs, applause, laughter, anticipation, drum rolls, cheers…. the smell of the horses, smoke machines… and the stream of hard working performers from around the world (Brazil, Kazakhstan, Africa, America) readying themselves… Everything combines to make it feel how as a child you imagine the circus to be. Thank you to Zippos for offering the opportunity to go backstage and capture the magic.’