Featured Artist Jesse Speer

This week’s featured artist is an extraordinary landscape photographer named Jesse Speer. Jesse’s images provide a window into the truly exquisite beauty of nature by capturing it in unique ways. His style and artistic expression makes his nature photography distinct and a wonderful representation of photographic art in its best form. So, without further adieu here is my interview with the talented Jesse Speer.

What specifically inspired you to become a landscape photographer?

Jesse: “I spent my entire childhood roaming the suburbs of Kansas City, Kansas. True, wild nature was hard to come by … or so I thought at the time. I had no appreciation for what I considered to be a very “boring” Kansas landscape. As early as I can remember, I was completely captivated by the Colorado mountains. In fact, the Rocky Mountains stirred my soul like no other place that I had encountered in the travels of my youth. The westward pull was strong, and eventually I gave in. After graduating from the University of Kansas with a fine arts degree, I decided to take some time off from life’s routine and enjoy some mountain living. I had a degree, but I had no idea what I was going to “do” in life. So, I opted for a period of adventure and life experience.

I landed in the small town of Estes Park, Colorado – the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. What was supposed to be a summer of fun turned into an amazing 10-year stretch of life. I spent many years roaming the wild mountains – hiking and backpacking in some of the country’s most spectacular scenery. These experiences resonated with me far more than any other life experience to date. In fact, there were times that I felt more at home in nature than I did back in the real world. I started carrying a camera to capture and to share these experiences. Nature photography fed a creative hunger that I hadn’t come close to satisfying in all my young years. And the rest is history.

The Rocky Mountains continue stir my soul like no other place. And I still look forward to the day that I can return to my roots in Kansas and walk through the quiet grasslands and stark forests with my camera in hand.”

What are you most proud of when it comes to your photography?

Jesse: “Breaking the barriers, limitations and traditions – mostly self imposed – that drive me to create ordinary images. Which is hard to do with nature and landscape photography. For so many years, I wanted my work to grace the covers of calendars, fill the pages of books and generally achieve a certain level of commercial success. Today, I am thankful to have a solid career as a graphic artist – which allows me to pursue photography without restraint, rules or any one golden path to success. I shoot what I want to shoot. I’m continuing to learn how to break the rules, and to produce my own brand of art – and hopefully still inspire others to an appreciation for the natural world.”

I know you want to inspire others to appreciate nature but what do you want your work to represent?

Jesse: “When I first started out in nature photography, I had no aspirations for reaching a large audience with my photographs. I simply found a need to photograph, in order to satisfy my own creative hunger. But over time, I’m been fortunate enough to connect with a large number of people through my work, and have realized the impact that my photography has on a good number of people. It’s both humbling and inspiring at the same time. And quite honestly, I don’t fully understand it most of the time. My photography is quite simply an extension of how I see nature. I do not adhere to any one set of ideals in either the creation of my art or in the hopes of how my art is perceived. But this ability to reach other people in a meaningful manner certainly feeds the inner fire that motivates me to continue shooting. But I would still be out there doing this even if nobody else was looking.”

How is your work different than other landscape photographers? How do you market your work?

Jesse: “A couple of years ago, I realized that I was getting quite bored with my own photography. Part of it was a self-awareness that the photographs in my portfolio weren’t really that different than the work being churned out by 1,000’s of other photographers. Part of it was also due to the fact that my own creative needs were starting to evolve – or better yet, were being forgotten in favor of my commercial aspirations. So lately, I’ve been in a phase of self-experimentation and refinement – a process that will continue to develop for many years. I’m starting to shoot what comes naturally for me, as I abandon my long-standing goals and aspirations for commercial success. And strangely enough, my commercial success is beginning to really take off. I’ve managed to connect with a certain audience who appreciates my shooting style – and large segment of this group is art consultants and interior designers. The result has been both very lucrative and very rewarding as an artist – to see my work put to creative uses by other people.

My career as a graphic artist gives me very little time to devote to photographic marketing, but a majority of my efforts are concentrated on this growing market. And I continue to develop a photographic style – or better yet, a realization of what it is that makes my photographs unique. I’m only now beginning to exploit this new-found knowledge.

I’ve also been showcasing my photography through various self-published websites for more than 10 years – which is what has driven the level of notoriety and success that I’ve achieved to date. As a result, the internet has brought an unbelievable amount of work to my door over the years. I rely heavily on maintaining good websites with good search engine placement, and in maintaining good relationships with my clients and professional contacts. I also keep in touch with my audience as much as possible, which is happening mostly through Facebook these days. The personable and highly interactive nature of these social community websites is a no-brainer for artist participation.”

I notice that your gallery is full of many different types of landscape photography, is there any type of landscape photography that is your favorite?

Jesse: “Images that showcase the elements of nature – the smaller slices of beauty that are often overlooked – these are the types of images that give me an adrenaline rush. I’ve realized that one of my strengths as a photographer is the ability to capture the essence of any given location. Not always the grand scenic or the glorious sunset, but often the smaller elements within the big picture. The way the light is hitting a certain tree, a certain leaf or even a certain blade of grass. Making these types of photographs speaks more about how I relate to nature, and provide the greatest reward in my photographic pursuits.”

Is your website the primary place for purchasing your work?

Jesse: “Today, the internet is the only place to purchase my work. I’ve made my name and have reached a certain level of success primarily via the internet. At some point, I plan to be more involved with the gallery scene. But for now, I enjoy being able to keep up with making my own prints and licensing my digital files for various purposes. I always give my customers a money-back guarantee – regardless of the reason – to provide some peace of mind for buying art online.”

In the Rocky Mountains, what is your all time favorite public place for shooting?

Jesse: “Without doubt, it is the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. This is a very broad area, but my favorite locations are found here … Ice Lake Basin, the Weminuche Wilderness, the Uncompahgre Wilderness are at the top of my list.”

What is your favorite time of day and time of year to shoot? Is there any particular type of weather that you like the most?

Jesse: “I honestly love shooting all day, and welcome the challenge of shooting throughout the day. Many landscape photographers focus on the magic hours of the day – at sunrise and sunset – but I take pride in challenging myself to make good photographs at any hour. But there is no question that autumn is my favorite time of the year to shoot. Wandering through an aspen forest in mid-morning or late-afternoon … it doesn’t get any better.

I can also be found wandering into the mountains in the worst weather. The type of weather that drives most people to the comfort of home is what gets my photographic adrenaline pumping. The time periods both before and after the summer thunderstorms that are so common in the Rocky Mountains often present extraordinary moments of light. I endure a good deal of wind, rain, lightning and hail in the hopes of making unique photographs.”

While shooting in nature, what has been your most memorable experience?

Jesse: “The attempt of photographic a pre-dawn landscape scene in Grand Teton National Park in the spring of 2009. I was doing some roadside photography one morning, and had drifted about 200 yards from my car – in a large meadow under the shadow of the towering Teton Range. As I was setting up my tripod and planned shot, a large herd of elk came charging over a nearby hillside, and continued to run directly at me. It was odd behavior, as else are usually running away from people. As they began to slip up and continued running past me, I realized the source of their distress. A grizzly bear was lumbering behind the heard, and was coming right at me. I made a beeline for my car, with only a few moments to spare. I watched the bear lazily lumber past my car toward a distant hillside – with what turned out to be no care for me or the elk. I had a good laugh, my nerves eventually calmed down and I spent the rest of the morning photographing from my car.”

I know that you’re a freelance graphic designer and help other photographers with their websites, which websites are you most proud of designing?

Jesse: ” Marc Adamus’ website design has been my personal favorite to date. It ended up being a perfect pairing of appropriate graphic design with his bold, stunning photography. I am also extremely proud of Michael Anderson’s website. It was the biggest website challenge I’ve had to date. But the result is visually rich, appropriate for the photography and most importantly – made the client extremely happy.”

Who are some of your favorite photographers that have inspired you?

Jesse: “I love looking at the work of other artists – and discovering new artists. But when it comes to my photography, I try not to let the work of others influence or inspire what I do with my camera. As a result, most of the photography I enjoy is outside the realm of landscape photography. That said, there are certain nature photographers whose imagery and photographic styles inspire me to better my own art. Some of these include:  Christopher Burkett, John Paul Caponigro, William Neill, Art Wolfe, Elliot Porter, Guy Tal, Michael E. Gordon.”

Make sure that you check out Jesse’s website and see his amazing nature photography portfolio of images where you can be inspired by his artistic talent or buy any of his images to decorate your home or office.