Photographer John Free leads a photography workshop at Santa Monica Pier and Beach on Saturday, July 6, 2019.

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John Free is a social documentary/street photographer who lives in Los Angeles. His photographic  essays range from railroad tramps in California to automobile abstracts to London and Paris street life.

John has been inspiring to photographers of all ages and skill levels for many years through teaching sold-out classes and workshops in street photography in Los Angeles, New York, Paris and London. Part stand-up and part evangelist, he speaks from the heart to inspire new generations of photographers. He is also involved with several non-profit organizations teaching inner-city kids the excitement and power they can get from being dedicated photographers.

His “End of the line” project took place in the Los Angeles freight yards, where he photographed railroad “Tramps” daily for ten years. “I photographed these severely damaged and tragic men and women, who, because of a personal tragedy in their lives, the war, the woman, the bottle, were forced to the dangerous lifestyle of riding freight trains. Eventually they come to Los Angeles which is the farthest west one can travel on a train. 

John’s work has been featured in numerous publications from U.S. News and World Report to Photographic Magazine to Smithsonian and Life Force Magazine. He was among the international photojournalists selected to take part in the project that resulted in the book 24 Hours in the Life of Los Angeles. John's work has been featured in a wide range of exhibitions, including the California Museum of Science and Industry, Los Angeles, Laguna Festival of Art, Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena and the Bagier Gallery in Ojai, California.