While walking along the Mississippi River in Minneapolis last summer, photographer Doug Johnson noticed an interesting image being formed by the light underneath the Hennepin Avenue Bridge. He returned to this spot to take its picture with a long exposure.

“Just as I was shooting, some people appeared in the image on the other side of the bridge,” Johnson said. “One figure looks like it was climbing a wall. But it was all kind of an accident. I hadn’t planned that part.”

He ended up calling this photo “Purgatorial,” which now hangs in the Southwest Minnesota State University Whipple Gallery as part of Johnson’s Minneapolis Cityscape Photos exhibit. The show runs Oct. 26 through Nov. 26.

Johnson graduated from SMSU as part of the first graduating class in 1971 with a degree in studio art. In school, Johnson focused primarily on painting. He later came back to SMSU to study literature and creative writing.

“For a lot of years, that was my emphasis,” Johnson said. “When I was about 50 or so I returned back to visual work. It’s only been about 10 years since I’ve been concentrating on photography.”

As a self-taught photographer, Johnson learned his skills by starting discussions with professionals, reading books, and online research.

“As far as the aesthetics, that goes back to my painting days,” Johnson said. “My approach to photography is almost more of a painter’s approach.”

Johnson started out doing nature and macro shots, but soon found his niche with urban photography.

He is fascinated with the way natural and artificial light play off each other in the cityscapes. Johnson relies on his camera’s own exposure settings, and does not go for a lot of manipulation or Photoshop work.

“My challenge is to find the beauty in my immediate environment,” Johnson said. “My images are always there.”

Johnson previously had a solo show in 2014 at a gallery called 2001: A Space, located  in Minneapolis. He has also shown in group shows at the Flow Art Space in St. Paul and the Rosalux Gallery in Minneapolis.

“I don’t like to plant notions in a viewer’s head as far as how they respond to the work,” Johnson said. “I like to say as little as possible about the work and let people respond in their own way.”

The show in the Whipple Gallery displays 22 pictures from Minneapolis, one from St. Paul, and two from Chicago.

“It’s great to be back here at Southwest and showing a solo show here after all these years,” Johnson said. “This is where it all started for me.”