PROVO — Patients who worry can put those feelings on hold when they visit the Central Utah Clinic office of Dr. Jeffrey Johnson.

The internal medicine physician has a passion for photography as an art form, which he displays on the walls and hallways of the clinic. The large photographs bring indoors serene and pastoral images of mountains, wildflowers, streams and wildlife.

"I gain the most enjoyment by talking with my patients," Johnson said. "Every appointment is like seeing an old friend and catching up on their lives."

Often he takes the opportunity to share his hobby of landscape and nature photography, which his father introduced to him as a child. When he was about 10 years old he was given a camera and learned to shoot and enjoy black and white film.

During a lecture on photography at Brigham Young University with guest lecturer Milton Goldstein, Johnson learned about photography as an art form.

"It struck me how photos can express and convey feelings," he said.

When Johnson's son enrolled in a photography class in high school, both father and son went on the class' field trips.

On display is a Canada goose dotted in droplets of ice, "Christmas Goose." Johnson saw the goose and captured the shot while in Jackson, Wyo.

He capitalizes on Utah scenery, turning Mount Timpanogos, the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon into works of art. He also likes Sedona, Ariz.; Teton, Yellowstone and Yosemite national parks.

Typically he visits an area before he shoots to determine the best time to capture the ultimate photos with his digital Canon.

"Showing the need to preserve the splendor of the outdoors is an important purpose of photo artwork," he said.

Among his photographs at the clinic are the intricate veins of an autumn leaf floating in a stream and a mountain goat nibbling on a tuft of grass. Not only does he share his photography on the clinic walls, he also has posted it on his Web site: www.jjsviewbox.com.

"I tend to look at nature with a new outlook and appreciation since I've been interested in photography," he said.

He returned to Yosemite in February after a 30-year hiatus. This time he came with a photographer's perspective.

One of the his most dramatic images of that visit is of El Capitan at dusk. As he peered through the lens, clouds broke for an instant, and he captured a spectacular shot of the sun reflecting off the majestic tower.

"Getting the right photo is a matter of timing," he said. "One doesn't have control of the elements in nature."

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E-mail: rodger@desnews.com