There are stories hidden in ordinary lives, beauty in overlooked places, and hope in unexpected moments.
John Patrick Weiss writes stories and essays about ordinary lives, shoots documentary-style photographs, and draws editorial-style cartoons. Before devoting himself to writing and art, he spent twenty-six years in law enforcement, eventually serving as a police chief.
He is the author of The Morning Fox: Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope. His work has appeared in The Guardian, NBC News, Simplify Magazine, The Good Men Project, and elsewhere.
He is the creator of Weiss Journal, a free weekend letter for more than 7,000 readers. Come join them.
The rangefinder-style camera slows you down, allowing the dignity of small things to surface. You begin to notice more, uncovering stories hidden within the rhythms of everyday life.
The images can be little inspirations. Launchpads for storytelling, poignant fictions, and elegant essays that pull readers out of themselves and into other lives, places, and points of view.
The art of photography is the art of noticing.
The death of editorial cartooning began with the demise of print journalism. As newspapers folded so too did their staff cartoonist positions. Some cartoonists jumped to digital publications, but we’ve lost something along the way. Many of today’s online cartoons are crafted with digital tools that lack the line variation and authenticity of true pen and ink. John Patrick Weiss was once a staff editorial cartoonist, and his cartoons still retain the detailed linework and crosshatching from that bygone era of print journalism.