Rodman is a gifted photographer who almost exclusively shoots in black and white and uses both film and digital media. He argues that the absence of color allows other visual aspects in the environment, such as tone, texture, form, pattern, and light quality, to emerge. His purpose as an inspiring fine-art photographer is simple: to precisely transmit to the audience what he felt at the time of capture. Bernice Abbott, Gary Winograd, Robert Frank, Eugene Atget, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Ansel Adams, Ed Weston, Eliot Porter, Craig Blacklock, and Jack Dykinga have all influenced his work.
He enjoys traveling and took his camera with him to places such as Mexico, Guatemala, Norway, Canada, and many parts of the United States (Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, South Dakota, Wyoming, Chicago, NYC, Napa Valley, and San Francisco). His passion is landscapes, whether rural or urban.
John Rodman lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota (USA), and is a self-taught artist-photographer. He has won numerous accolades, including first place in the 2013 Fall Fine Arts Show of the Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association (NEMAA). He was chosen as one of 40 participants in a major art montage that was put as part of a new large renovation at the Minneapolis public library in northeast Minneapolis. His art can be found in a variety of private collections.