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A cartoon illustration of a cheerful boy in a green and white striped shirt and yellow trousers, joyfully holding up an old Kodak Box Brownie camera to his eye, against a bright blue sky background. Beneath the illustration, the caption reads 'What's a Box Brownie?'

Hi, I'm John Corney — the artist and photographer behind KornKob Art.

My obsession with capturing the world didn't start with a high-end digital sensor. It started when I was nine years old, growing up in New Zealand. My dad lent me his "Box Brownie" — a Kodak Six-20 Brownie C, to be exact — for a school trip, and let's just say he never really got it back.

That simple box camera taught me the fundamentals of framing a moment. It taught me that you don't need complex gear to tell a story; you just need an eye for the light.

Old School Roots, New School Tools

What the Box Brownie did for photography in the 1950s, digital cameras have taken to the nth degree in the 21st century. Computing power, image software, and the internet have enabled all of us newly-minted hobbyists to publish our art cheaply and widely for anyone to see.

While my roots are in film, I'm not afraid of the future. I've embraced the digital revolution — from the first DSLRs to the latest in AI-assisted digital art. I believe art is about imagination, not just documentation. Sometimes that means taking a "purist" nature photograph, and other times it means using digital tools to add a painterly twist or an ironic turn to a concept. My work is a blend of both: the discipline of that old Box Brownie mixed with the limitless color and texture of modern digital art.

On AI-Generated Imagery

We're now entering a new world of imagery with the advent of AI image generators, and I have to admit I've been onboard from early on. The progress has been remarkable, and a wide array of AI tools are now available to anyone with imagination. I'm enthusiastically letting my imagination run wild — learning to work with AI to create new imagery, or to reinterpret pieces from my photography archive in styles I couldn't have achieved any other way.

My approach is straightforward: I treat AI the way a film director treats a cinematographer. I know what I want the finished piece to feel like, and AI helps me get there. Every piece is disclosed openly on my blog and in my shop listings as either photography, digital art, or AI-assisted, so buyers always know what they're looking at. I hope you enjoy the mix, whether the piece in front of you is "old-school" photography or something the eight-year-old with the Box Brownie could never have imagined.

The Shop

I'm honest that I'm not in this to make a living. Making images is how I get my dopamine hits. Most of my sales earn me less than fifty cents in commission. But when someone buys one of my pieces at Redbubble, I get the dopamine hit of knowing I managed to please someone with my art. I think of it as a "like," plus a coin in the busker's cup.

My portfolio of photography and digital art is available on Redbubble as high-quality print-on-demand prints, apparel, greeting cards, phone cases, home decor, and more.

Visit the KornKob Art Shop

You can also find my work by searching Redbubble for kornkobart (one word).

Get in Touch

Questions, commissions, collaborations, or just a note about a piece you liked — please use the form below. I read everything that comes through.

Thanks for joining me on this visual journey.

— John

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Most popular posts in the last 30 days

Samoan Youth

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This young man was preparing with his friends for his moment of fame on the stage at the Samoan Village at the Polynesian dance festival called Pasifika in Auckland in March this year. Samoan Youth Canon EOS 20D 1/30sec at f/20 ISO 200 Canon 70-300mm lens at 300mm More photographs from the same Pasifika Festival day can be found in my new post, Faces of Pasifika 2007 — A Day at Auckland's Pacific Festival .
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Sunset Over the Grand Canyon #1

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Grand Canyon Sunset South Rim I really love the national parks of the Southwestern United States. I'm lucky to live in Southern California as these wonders of the natural world are just a day's drive away. I have been to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon twice in the last 2 years and can't wait to go back. Of course one of the favorite times at the Grand Canyon is sunset and crowds gather at favorite points overlooking the canyon to watch the fiery display that nature turns on each evening. This happens to be one of my favorite photos. But what do you think? Please post a comment and let me know. Canon EOS 20D Canon 70-300mm lens at 165mm 1/800 secs at f/5 ISO 100
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Sister Lupita of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence

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In name, dress, and antics, the "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence" are the personification of theatrical camp. But it's serious business. The order began in San Francisco's Castro District over Easter weekend in 1979, when a small group of gay men started appearing in public dressed as nuns. What started as street theater grew into an international network of largely autonomous houses — Wikipedia notes there are now houses and missions across the U.S. and chapters as far afield as Australia, Canada, and Europe, with hundreds of members worldwide. From the start, the order has raised money for HIV/AIDS causes, promoted safer-sex education, and supported LGBTQ community organizations — work that continues today. According to the website for the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence , the Sisters' mission statement states: The Sisters devote [themselves] to community service, ministry and outreach to those on the edges, and to promoting human rights, respect for di...
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Anza-Borrego Desert Pink Wildflower

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Blue Dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum) California Wildflower Well, I spent a lot of time searching through the Calflora database in an effort to identify this pink flower from Anza-Borrego Desert State Park , and finally tracked it down. Blue Dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum) Dichelostemma capitatum , a monocot, is a  perennial herb  that is  native  to California and is also found outside of California, but is confined to western North America. It actually reminds me of a crocus flower. If you know what this flower is, please identify it with a comment below. Thanks!
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Bird of Paradise Flower

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Bird of Paradise flower on black background with Orton effect. Someone told me this is "very 1980s - very colorful". I guess that means I need to do a contemporary version that isn't so colorful...? By the way, just in case you thought I took this photo with the flower on a black background with fancy lighting, that was not the case.  It took me about 90 minutes to isolate the flower from its background. Yes, I'm nuts, obsessive, whatever you want to label me. Go ahead!
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