Photo Portfolio: Jon Vaughan

Local business owner, author, and award-winning photographer Jon Vaughan, has been capturing the Cape and Islands for over 40 years. 

“It all began when I took a course in black and white photography in the 10th grade,” says Vaughan. From that course he learned how to take pictures, develop, and print them. “I’m a dinosaur who is still shooting film,” he laughs.

In his mid 20s, after his time in the military, the Ohio native made his move to the Cape with his wife and opened their Chatham shop, Yankee Ingenuity, in 1971. “I worked everyday for ten years until I came to the realization that I wasn’t really witnessing the beauty of the Cape,” he shares. “That’s when my wife and I decided to start exploring and photographing the Cape. Essentially, we went down every dirt road to the beach on Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha’s Vineyard,” says Vaughan. “That was about 40 years ago.”

“In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration.” 

Ansel Adams

He quickly found inspiration to hone his craft and showcase the Cape & Islands through his lens. Vaughan figured his best approach to improvement was to learn from the best, so he signed up for a workshop with Ansel Adams. “Two weeks later I received a letter from him saying that I was accepted into his workshop,” says Vaughan. “I walked inside, turned on the TV and he had died that day—so that’s when I decided I would teach myself.” 

Vaughan created a chart that he carried with him at all times, recording everything about each photograph he took so that when he got the film back, he would know what he did right and what he did wrong. “It’s something the youth of today wouldn’t understand—delayed gratification,” he remarks. “Today, when you take a photo you can see it instantly, but…