Isaac, a native of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, did not set out to be a photographer; in fact, it was only through a series of coincidences that he stumbled into a darkroom. He moved to New York in the late sixties; he had hoped for success as a singer, busking on the street for change. By chance, he met a woman who worked for the UN, and was soon working in the darkroom as an apprentice.
His first overseas assignment as a photographer followed thereafter, when he was sent to Palestine to photograph refugees in crisis. Since then, he has been to the far corners of the globe and shot photographs of world leaders and celebrated humanitarians like his late friends Audrey Hepburn and Mother Teresa. In fact, when once asked what her favorite photograph of herself was, Hepburn said it was the one Isaac took of her in Ethiopia, carrying a child.
It has been these women, as well as his mother, whom he credits with his outlook on life, and whom he credits with giving him the resilience to keep working despite the horrors he has witnessed. He credits Mother Teresa with giving him perspective when bearing witness to humanitarian catastrophes that leave thousands of lives shattered. She had once asked him for help buying a bit of bridal jewelry for three young women in her charge who had been child prostitutes. Isaac mentioned his opposition to any semblance of dowry. Isaac recalls Mother Teresa saying, 'John, I am asking for your help for my three girls. I am not talking about the whole of India. Can you help me or can't you?'
This idea, of the importance of the individual, shines through especially in his photographic portraits of children. The idea of doing what you can was echoed by Isaac's mother in the metaphor of photography itself: she told him that to get a good picture, one had to close one eye.
An image by John Isaac: A sadhu faces the camera with mischief in his eyes.
Also see: Out of Africa: How man came to India
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