About Jesse

I have been drawn to capturing the variations in light, shadow, and form since childhood. This fascination has lead me through a number of creative outlets over the years, from architecture to theatrical set design, and on to filmmaking and web site design. Some of these interests I've just dabbled in, others I have pursued with great passion. Photography, however, is the one creative outlet that I keep coming back to.

Over the years, there have been periods where photography has been the main focus of my life, a camera my constant companion as I sought out that next great shot. At other times, I've put photography on the back burner for extended periods, sometimes for a number of years. One of my most prolific "photography phases" produced some of my best work while using a beat up medium-format camera that was 60+ years old.

After a break of a few years in which I focused on web site design, I began exploring digital photography and giclee printing, discovering a renewed passion for photography that I had not had for many years. With excellent training at the Photographic Center Northwest I began to create images that I had only dreamed of in the past. In 2004 I was accepted at Parklane Gallery, Kirkland, Washington's only artist-owned gallery.

My first love in photography was, and still is, black and white. I've always been mesmerized by the works of Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, and others of their generation, all masters of black and white photography in the early-mid 1900's. In fact, for many of my previous periods of photography I rarely shot color film, other than for snapshots. With the new capabilities of digital, however, I've started to explore and include color in my work.

While I did struggle in the beginning over the issue of whether digital photography was "real" or "legitimate", my fears have been put to rest by the extraordinary flexibility that digital photography allows. In the past, when I would see a particular shot in my mind, I often found myself saying "This would be such a good shot, if only...(the power lines wasn't there, the trash can wasn't in the way, etc.). Now, with the power of digital, I'm able to create those "perfected" scenes. And the fact is, all photography, even from its earliest days in the 1800's, has employed some brand of enhancement to achieve the final result, whether it be dodging and burning (lightening and darkening specific areas), bleaching, or toning.

In the end, whether the tool is a camera, a paintbrush, or a pencil and paper, the main goal of any creative person, is to express their vision and to, hopefully, create an image that is visually appealing.