John Cowan (photographer)

John Anthony Cowan (22 April 1929 – 26 September 1979) was a British fashion photographer known for his dynamic photographic style when picturing the fashion icons of 1960s London.

John Anthony Cowan was born on 22 April 1929 at Gillingham, Kent, the only child of Irving Cowan and his wife, Elizabeth Edith Cowan (née Cobley).

Cowan was known for his dynamic photographic style which reflected the energetic atmosphere of 1960s Swinging London. The Victoria and Albert Museum say, "John Cowan ... epitomised the playful, graphically dynamic style of commercial photography practised in London during the period. His partnership with model and photographer Jill Kennington sparked an exciting period of high-octane image-making for numerous magazines." Among the magazines and newspapers Cowan worked for were Vogue, Queen, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, The Observer, the Sunday Times, the Daily Express and the Sunday Express, the Daily Mail, and the Daily Mirror.

Cowan's London studio was one of the main sets for Michelangelo Antonioni's 1966 film Blow-Up and Cowan was one of the photographers, with David Bailey, Terence Donovan and others, who were used to create the composite character of Thomas in the film. Cowan's energy and unconventional approach inspired the memorable scene in Blow-Up where David Hemmings as Thomas kneels over Veruschka as he photographs her. In a 2011 interview for Vanity Fair, Kennington commented "The David Hemmings–and-Veruschka scene for Blow-Up was pure Cowan. Antonioni must have seen him working—I never saw anyone else take pictures quite that way. The shooting on the floor downwards, completely fluid, unhindered by tripods, etc., was typical Cowan." Kennington recalled the physical nature of her shoots with Cowan, saying "he clambered anywhere, including onto his Land Rover roof, to achieve a great angle. Luckily, I was born a mountain goat, and many photographic adventures involved jumping or hanging off buildings." According to the Daily Telegraph, the Hemmings–and-Veruschka scene "came to symbolise the film".

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