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DeVisser_Panel John De Visser The cost of film and processing eventually became burden enough that John looked to his hobby to supplement his income. Maclean's Magazine provided the perfect answer and soon John was earning enough to concentrate full-time on photography. John de Visser now has 65 books to his credit and numerous magazine articles. In 1994 he was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Canadian Association of Photographers and Illustrators in Communication. Further proof of a life behind the lens are the many thousands of unorganized negatives and slides in his Cobourg home. Sees the World through a Lens The titles of John's books make it clear that he loves his country of choice. And whether it's the Muskokas, the Yellowhead Route or Newfoundland, he prefers to work outside and in natural light. This Rock Within the Sea, produced in 1968 with Farley Mowat, remains one of John's favourites. It must be others' favourite, too, for over 30,000 copies have been sold. John is one of a multitude of immigrants who have brought their skills to a new life in "the new world". He grew up with his family, parents and ten children, in Holland during World War ll. It was then that he met our soldiers and began to learn about Canada. In 1952, after serving two years in the Dutch army, John immigrated to Canada. He settled in Toronto and got a job with the Bank of Montreal, earning $25 a week. Perhaps it was the influence of his father, an art aficionado, but John soon learned that he had a knack for photography. Visiting Niagara Falls with friends, he borrowed a camera and took a couple of shots. The owner of the photo shop where the film was developed recognized a talent behind those two pictures. John bought his own camera that day and his life was changed forever. In fact, he became so enamoured of his camera that he got fired from his next job. He was spending his lunch hours photographing, and his superiors at Benjamin-Moore surmised that "his heart wasn't in the paint industry". His next stop was with the Robert Simpson Company, designing flyers. There he was even given time off to follow his passion.