Born and raised in Chicago, John Simmons came of age at the height of the politically charged 1960s. In 1969 his talent as a photographer was recognized and he was given a scholarship to Fisk University. It was a life-changing experience where he studied with Carlton Moss, Aaron Douglass, Earl J. Hooks, Martin Puryear, Stephine Pogue and Greg Ridley.

Since attending graduate school at the University of Southern California in cinematography, John has worked behind the camera shooting documentaries with film director Carlton Moss, and made movies made for television including: The Killing Yard, The Ruby Bridges Story, Selma Lord Selma as well as numerous documentaries. His first multi-camera prime time show The Hughleys began an illustrious career in multi-camera sitcoms. Simmons has earned three Emmy nominations and in 2016 won the Best Cinematography Emmy for the Nickelodeon primetime multi camera series Nicky, Ricky, Dicky and Dawn. He is presently shooting and directing for various networks.

Through it all John Simmons has continued to carry a still camera. His haunting street photography reveals the heart and soul of America, from his fly-on-the-wall shots of ’60s and ’70s civil rights activists to his uncanny ability to reveal the simple sweetness of real folks caught in a black and white frozen moment in time. His work is held in the collections of the Los Angeles Getty Museum, Harvard Art Museum, Atlanta’s High Museum of Art, Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts, the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona, American Society of Cinematographers, the University of Maryland, Wes and Missy Cochran Foundation, and the Museum of Contemporary Photography of Chicago.

A member of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) since 2004, he served as Vice President in 2017- 2018 and has just been voted in for the second time. He currently is the co-chair of the ASC Vision Committee. After acting as Adjunct Professor in the Television/Film and Theater Department at UCLA for twenty-five years he continues to mentor many lucky up and coming cinematographers. Also on the Board of Governors of the Television Academy, he consistently champions diversity on-set. Known as “Johnny”, his warm spirit and engaging smile brightens any room he enters.

Michael Goi is a three-time past president of the American Society of Cinematographers, serves on the Board of Governors of the ASC, and is the editor of the 10th Edition of the ASC Manual. He is the co-chair of the Directors Guild of America’s Television Diversity Task Force and serves as
an alternate to both the DGA National Board and Western Directors Council. He is a member
of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and is the chair of the ASC Motion Imaging Technology Council’s AI Exploratory Committee.

Michael was accorded an Honorary Doctorate Of Arts degree by Columbia College Chicago, was Cinematographer-In-Residence at UCLA, and has appeared as a guest speaker at the American Film Institute, the University of Southern California, Walt Disney Animation Studios (for whom he demonstrated ice and snow lighting concepts for animators working on the fi lm “Frozen,”), Cine Gear Expo, IBC, NAB and many other international industry events. He regularly mentors students for various industry programs.

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