Photography

Tiffany “Tiff” Johnston is a film photographer whose work explores themes of memory, belonging, and resilience through the lens of everyday encounters. Working primarily in black-and-white 35mm film, she is drawn to the slow, deliberate process of analog photography, which requires patience and presence. For Tiff, the medium itself is part of the message: a practice of slowing down, of witnessing, and of honoring the fleeting moments that shape human connection.

Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, Tiff first discovered film photography in an undergraduate film course, where she learned to shoot, develop, and print her own images in the darkroom. However, it all began when her oldest sister bought her first camera, a Nikon point & shoot, at 12 years old. That early experience revealed the power of photography not only as a visual record but also as an emotional archive. Since then, she has continued to refine her practice, collaborating with independent darkroom labs such as The Hawai‘i Darkroom co-op in Hilo and Process 614 in Columbus, while building her portfolio through ExternalSpace LLC.

Her body of work often emerges from travel and lived encounters: portraits of family, moments of intimacy among friends, landscapes imbued with cultural history, and spontaneous connections formed across borders. Through this range, she seeks to preserve not just images but sensations—what it means to be held, to pause, to see and be seen. Each photograph becomes both personal narrative and collective offering, inviting viewers into a shared space of recognition.

Tiff’s current projects weave together her interest in cultural storytelling, Indigenous studies, and the role of art in preservation. By situating her work in dialogue with ancestral memory and contemporary life, she aims to create photographs that resonate across time, holding space for both healing and transformation.

In addition to building her studio practice, Tiff is expanding her presence in community exhibitions and online platforms, offering limited edition prints and framed works through her portfolio at externalspace.art. Looking forward, she envisions her photography not only as a personal journey but also as part of a broader conversation on belonging, care, and resilience—using the medium of film to both document and honor the pulse of lived experience.