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Photographer and artist Jennifer Johnson had what it takes after all
By JORDAN TOMBERLIN  Jennifer Johnson’s photojournalism professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill encouraged her not to pursue photography. “I guess they think they’re doing you a favor by being that brutally honest when they don’t think you have what it takes  , she says.”That was 1991. Sixteen years later, Jennifer’s photography is the main attraction at the Blue Pelican Gallery in Hatteras village, a gallery Jennifer owns and operates with her father, Bill Foster, who works as the manager. A native of the island, Jennifer moved back to Hatteras after she graduated from UNC and took a job with Midgett Realty, where she worked for 13 years. Though not what she was hired to do, Jennifer soon found herself working on the company’s rental catalog alongside another local photographer, Scott Geib. Seeing what Jennifer’s professor apparently couldn’t, Scott pushed Jennifer to really pursue photography and encouraged her to work beyond the catalog. After Scott showed her the technical ropes, Jennifer took off, photographing the landscapes, landmarks, flora, and wildlife—especially birds—of Hatteras Island. Jennifer continued to work for Midgett Realty, honing her craft on the side, until 2005, when another opportunity presented itself. An original island home, nestled between the Burrus Red & White Supermarket and Oden’s Dock, came up for sale. Realizing the property would be a great location for a gallery, Jennifer and her husband, Dan Johnson, a real estate broker, purchased it and transformed the 1950s home into the Blue Pelican. Opened in November of 2005, the Blue Pelican houses the works of many local artists. You can find pressed ceramic tiles and functional pottery by Antoinette Gaskins Mattingly, Stephanie Kiker’s bright and colorful graphic designs on everything from pillows and cutting boards to Giclee prints, John “Fuzz” McCormack’s hand-thrown functional pottery, Berle Wilson’s carved and painted wooden birds, and the photography of Jennifer’s friend and mentor, Scott Geib. Of course, the gallery also contains a huge selection of Jennifer’s work, and with selections in both black-and-white and color and prints available in a wide range of sizes, formats, and subject matter, Jennifer truly has something for everyone. And if you’re reading this from afar, you can view and purchase Jennifer’s prints, as well as some of the other artists’ work, online at www.bluepelicangallery.com. Looking at complex and beautiful prints like “Looking Glass,” where a great white egret, perched on a collapsed and partially submerged structure, gazes down at what appears to be a boundless glassy pool, it’s hard to imagine anyone telling Jennifer that she didn’t have what it took to be a photographer. Luckily, she didn’t listen. 
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