10/02/2026
🌟🌟Congratulations to our first-ever Repeat Unsung Hero - Dan Johnson!
On any given day in Devils Lake, there’s a good chance our latest REPEAT Unsung Hero, Dan Johnson, is nearby. He may be downtown, following his familiar route. He may be at Lake Region State College. He may be sitting in a church pew, attending a Kiwanis meeting, eating at a local restaurant, or taking in one of the countless community events.
And more often than not, he has a camera—or, these days, a phone—in his hand.
Dan doesn't consider himself a professional photographer. In fact, he describes himself simply as a “snapshot photographer.” He isn't chasing the perfect photograph or trying to produce an award-winning image. He is chasing people. “I’m a people person more than a picture person,” Dan said. That distinction may explain why, at 84, Johnson has become something of a visual historian of Devils Lake.
He estimates he takes 20 to 30 pictures a day. Each evening, he looks through them and posts them to social media, where his photographs are available for anyone to enjoy. His phone contains roughly 90,000 photos, a collection that continues to grow one ordinary moment at a time.
His Facebook and Instagram account, , are another window into his world. The number 1598 isn't random—it was the four-digit extension associated with Lake Region State College, where he has been employed for the past fifty-some years.
The photographs capture celebrations, meetings, sporting events, church activities, community gatherings, and most importantly, people.
There are five people he photographs nearly every day. At first, they would put a hand up when they saw him coming. Now, he said, they simply smile. “They've just worn down,” he joked. Increasingly, people don't wait for Dan to find them. They ask him to take their picture.
In that way, his camera has become more than a hobby. It has become a way of connecting with people. A snapshot of a community.
Johnson has been taking pictures for roughly 50 years. When he started, photography was much different. Taking 20 pictures could mean spending three hours in a darkroom. Today, his phone makes it possible to take dozens of pictures in a day and share them with hundreds of people almost instantly.
But technology isn't what keeps him taking pictures. People do.
“I’m a snapshot photographer,” he said. “I’m not looking for the ultimate one.” His philosophy is simple: Show up.
Johnson attends events throughout the community because he believes being there is good for Devils Lake—not simply because it benefits him. “Most of life is showing up,” he said. It is a philosophy that extends well beyond photography.
For Johnson, being a member of a community means being willing to do whatever needs to be done. If there are dishes to wash, he will wash them. If someone needs to stay in the office, he is willing to stay. “I’m a team player,” he said. That attitude has made him a familiar presence in Devils Lake for decades. A life of showing up.
Johnson moved to Devils Lake in 1968 and began his career at Lake Region State College as a teacher. Before that, he taught three years in Enderlin and two years in Oakes.
He earned a master's degree in mathematics and continued his education throughout his life. His philosophy toward learning has remained straightforward: Go to school, take a few courses and keep learning. His career eventually included extensive work in student services, putting him in contact with generations of students.
When asked who has had the greatest influence on his life, his answer was immediate: kids. “I’ve never taken a course where you haven’t picked up something,” he said. “But with kids, they’ve always given me feedback—even critical feedback.”
That willingness to listen and learn seems to have followed him throughout his life. He has also been a longtime member of Kiwanis. His wife used to joke that his weekly Tuesday meeting is almost like a religion. He is active in his church as well, participating in Bible studies and spending time contemplating and researching different religions.
Johnson grew up in Woodworth, south of Carrington in Stutsman County. His parents are buried there, as is his only sibling. His mother helped write the history of Woodworth, while an aunt kept the community's obituaries. So, it isn't surprising that Johnson has developed such an appreciation for preserving the stories of people and places.
After his mother died, he found a collection of pencils she had kept. It had a note attached explaining that the pencils weren't good—but their erasers were. Johnson saw a larger lesson in that.
His mother treated those pencils much like she treated people, he said. She might recognize that someone wasn't perfect, but she always looked for the good in them. That is also how Johnson tries to view people.
He enjoys traveling, but he doesn't like being gone for too long. When family visits, he jokes that they may come to town for four days, but Devils Lake is really only a two-day town.
He enjoys eating out. He enjoys socializing. He enjoys watching people.
As a teenager and even through college, he wasn't especially social. Somewhere along the way, that changed. As an adult, socializing became easy—and eventually became central to his life. His camera simply gave him another way to do it.
He wishes, he says, that he could be in more places at once. He can’t be everywhere, but he can be in a lot of places. And when he shows up – he takes a picture.
An 8.6 kind of life. Johnson has a habit of giving things a rating. His own life? An 8.6. Not a perfect 10 but pretty good.
He isn't looking for the perfect photograph. He isn't trying to be everywhere. He isn't trying to make himself the center of the story. Instead, he keeps showing up, watching, listening, visiting, and participating. And he takes pictures. Thousands upon thousands of them.
In doing so, Johnson is creating something far more significant than a collection of photographs. He is creating a snapshot in time of Devils Lake—one face, one event, one gathering and one ordinary moment at a time.
He is quick to point out that his collection isn't a complete history of the community. It can't be. His photographs reflect his interests and the people he happens to encounter.
But there are countless others doing good things, he said, and he is fortunate enough to photograph many of them.
Johnson doesn't believe he is the story. He believes the people are.
For someone whose philosophy is that most of life is simply showing up, Dan Johnson has done a remarkable amount of showing up. And Devils Lake has the pictures to prove it.
Congratulations, Dan! Thank you for making a difference! ❤️
If you'd like to nominate someone for the Unsung Hero award, please contact First United Bank in Devils Lake at 662-4024.
