John Joseph Bria of Palm Coast, Florida, has spent years honing his photography skills. His early fascination with fashion, modeling, and glamour photography has led to his work gracing the covers of numerous magazines, such as “Teen Model, USA” and “Malvie.”

Then came the pandemic, and life changed for many, including John Joseph Bria. While locked down, Bria, already an avid collector of vintage Hollywood photographs, spent much of his time studying the classic works of silver screen photographers of the early 20th century. Through a friend in Los Angeles who worked in the film industry for decades and had a vast private collection of Hollywood photography, Bria discovered the possibilities of tasteful nudity combined with Hollywood’s historical look and feel.

The way they crafted scenes, working with light and shadows to showcase a model, creating a perfect shot telling an entire story, challenged him to change his own style completely. Bria’s portrait photography transitioned from color to black and white. He studied how they achieved those looks, the props, the lighting, and the moods. He practiced shooting with Styrofoam heads for many months, adjusting photo after photo to get the look he was after.

As the time came to venture back into the world with his camera, Bria felt he had perfected his signature style. His current inspiration for vintage works comes from the Ziegfield photographer Alfred Cheney Johnston, who shot Broadway actresses in the 1920s and 1930s. Unlike the lurid images other photographers of the day produced, Johnston's unique style tastefully glorified the beauty of his models. Bria appreciated this and said, “Johnston’s estate discovering thousands of lost photos and plates is the basis of my current works that I call “Enchanting Jazz Age Beauties of the 1920s, The Lost Photos Series.”

“Through the Lens of John Bria” will showcase the Jazz Age Beauties series and other works of Bria’s at the Art Spotlight gallery at 67 W. Granada Blvd, Ormond Beach, Florida, in conjunction with the Ormond Beach Art Walk on January 6th from 3 to 7 pm. The show will run through January. Aside from the usual reception festivities, John Bria will have a small photo shoot stage set up for the public to come and take their own photos, complete with a backdrop and props.