PLEASE NOTE: Most of this website is now about two and a half years out of date. I don't have time to properly update this site until I get around to the complete overhaul. After that, it'll be easier to update. I'll fix it eventually, I hope. Thanks for your patience... -jj sept 2006
Hi there. My name's Jacques-Jean, although most people call me JJ. I like to take pictures. While photography is what I do for work, I hardly consider it a job. It's more like my way of celebrating the world around me, which is a pretty amazing place. This site is here so that I can share some images with you.
I'm originally from Washington, D.C. but moved to Philadelphia to study at the University of Pennsylvania. Back then, I still somehow thought that I was going to be a biochemist or some such. I ended up as a Fine Arts major with a concentration in photography.
After finishing school in '02, I taught while phasing into freelancing, and am now shooting full time. I hope to pick up teaching again later on, as I very much enjoyed it, but right now am staying away from weekly commitments in order to keep my schedule flexible for travel.
Here are the answers to a few common questions:
How did you get into photography?
Can I buy prints of your images?
Why is your camera bag coated in duct tape?
Do you use digital cameras?
Do you Photoshop your pictures? Are they posed?
Can I use your photos on my website?
Do you do weddings?
Where/When do you teach?
I can't find the photos that you took at X event?
What/Where is the lightbox?
What photography resources do you recommend?
Q: How did you get into photography?
A: Photography has always been a part of my life in some way or another- but deciding to make a career of it was a very slow and gradual process. In highschool, some of my friends were taking photography classes and I caught the photo bug from them. Most of the photos that I took were portraits of the people around me (which is still 95% of the photos that I take.)
In my freshman year, I talked my way into a photo 2 class, and organized funding for the unused darkroom in my dormitory. The next summer, I interned for photographer Darrow Montgomery in D.C. But even then I still thought that photography would be just a hobby.
That all began to change my sophomore year, when I joined the photo staff of The Daily Pennsylvanian. The DP Photo department quickly took over my life. I was amazed by the way in which the photo assignments expanded my horizons. The camera became an excuse to explore so many other worlds; I began to discover many other facets of Penn and Philadelphia that I never would have otherwise encountered. I still didn't know that much photography technique, but I was certainly excited about it.
Then Suzanna Urminska, one of my photo editors, talked me into joining her in taking a photojournalism class taught by David Wells. We ended up being the only two students in the class. David taught me a great deal about documentary photography, and filled in many of the gaps in my knowledge of basic photography technique. He also planted the crazy notion in my head that photography might be something that I could do for a living.
I kept on putting every ounce of my time and effort into working for the DP (this had unfortunate repercussions on my academic career, but so it goes...) I served as photo editor of The Summer Pennsylvanian, then as Senior Photo Editor of the 116th Editorial Board of the DP. I also worked as a lab tech in the photo department of The Philadelphia Inquirer, where I learned a great deal from their staff. Interning with Scott Nibauer and Peter Lien taught me about studio work and the corporate/advertising photography world. As I built my skills, freelance work started coming my way by word of mouth.
In the summer of 2002, my parents gave me a plane ticket as a graduation present. This, plus some funding from a Stouffer College House Research Fellowship allowed me to spend a month photographing in Mongolia. This was the first time that I had ever spent a solid chunk of time doing nothing but photography, and it was a great experience. It was also a frustrating one, as I didn't have a good enough reason for going there other that shooting for myself. Being a photo-tourist isn't very fulfilling; I would much rather be photographing for other people than for myself. That's why my new plan for travels involves more of a sharing approach.
I wasn't ready to jump straight into fulltime freelance work when I graduated, so I stayed on as a teaching assistant and juggled other assorted part time jobs as I began to establish myself. This was a great transition time, and I've been fulltime freelance since May 03. So this is really just the beginning, and I'm not sure where I'm headed next. Really, it's up to you to suggest the next fieldtrip...
JJ at 6 months (parents: if you don't want your children to grow up to be photographers, don't feed them black and white film...)
Q: Can I buy prints of your images?
A: Yes- but it's not easy. I'd really rather be off shooting new things than making prints of older work. Since I take thousands of photos a month, I can't really make 4x6 prints of every snapshot that I take. Some of my work is available for sale though, details here. I'm also hoping to set up an online store at cafepress.com so as to be able to easily offer posters and cards of some of my more popular images. If there's an image that you'd like to see made available, let me know.
Q: Why is your camera bag coated in duct tape?
A: It's become somewhat of a tradition; now I coat all of my bags as soon as I get them. It's part trademark fashion statement, part waterproofing and abrasion resistance. It started off with a satchel that I had in high school that started to fray, and had to be patched. Eventually the patch enveloped the bag...
Q: Do you use digital cameras?
A: Yes. I've been working all digitaly since Nov 2002, and my workflow was primarily digital long before that. Digital photography technology has gotten to the point where it's plenty good enough for all of my purposes. While for some specific applications film is still better, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages now. I'm working with a Nikon D2h and D100, and am very much looking forward to the development of the D2X. If you're interested in learning more about digital photography, check out dpreview.com
Q: Do you Photoshop your pictures? Are they posed?
A: In this day and age it's a lot harder to trust photographs now that anyone can completely transform them in a matter of seconds on the computer. I was trained in photojournalism, where faking your photos is completely unethical. While all of my photos get run through photoshop now that I'm working with digital cameras, I only use it to do basic darkroom work: color and brightness adjustments and dust removal. I would never do things like taking a distracting tree branch out from behind someone's head in a portrait (if I didn't get it right when shooting it, then I just try to learn for the next time.)
As to posing photographs- I don't stage things to look candid (except in rare occasions when required by clients) - when I'm out shooting real life, I just do my best to catch the moments- I find that if I miss one shot (and I miss plenty of them), another opportunity usually comes up. I do pose some portraits sometimes, but those are pretty obviously formal portraits and not fake candids. If you ever have a question about any of the images you see here, just ask.
A picture like this might look like it's been "photoshopped"- but it's not! The cross is hanging from the rear view mirror of a car and the clouds are a reflection in the windshield. The background doesn't show up becausea beam of sun was falling on the cross but not the seat behind it, so it's lost in the shadows.
Q: Can I use your photos on my website?
A: As long as it is a personal, non-commercial site, and you let me know how you're using it and credit it appropriately, then yes. See the copyright section for details.
A: Yes, well, sort of. I've turning into something of a wedding photographer now that many of my peers have started getting married. They're always fun to shoot- but be warned that I'm not a traditional wedding photographer; I don't have wedding "packages" and I prefer the documentary approach to shooting such events. But be warned, 2004 was the year of JJ being a wedding photographer, and I'm going to start having to turn more of them down because I don't want to make a career of it. But, if the timing's right or if it's happening somewhere that I haven't been yet, then I'm happy to shoot a few more. Click here for info-
A: I'm currently only doing occasional workshops at the University City Arts League. I love teaching - I was an adjunct professor teaching Photo 1 Moravian College in Spring 02, and during my time at Penn I was a TA for 14 different classes (intro photography, digital imaging, multimedia and web design.) Right now I'm trying to keep my weekly schedule free for travels, but I'm available to do workshops or tutoring in other cities via the Fieldtrip Project. Later on when my life is more settled, I hope to teach college students again.
This portrait of some of my students at the Arts League was taken to demonstrate techniques to use available light. The exposure was 8 seconds long, using only light from streetlamps on the street below.
Q: I can't find the photos that you took at X event...
A: I photograph all of the time, and most of those images make their way onto this website- but the majority of them are hidden in unlinked galleries and you'll need to know the URL to find the images. (This is because this site serves dual purposes, both personal and business. I don't want potential employers to have to dig through all of my random snapshots.) If you're looking for something in particular, email me.
Q: What/Where is the lightbox?
A: The photo on the main page is a self portrait taken as I was assembling the lightbox that was my undergraduate senior thesis project. I built it (with a ton of help from Zach) in order to avoid having to just show a few prints on the wall. I didn't want to be constrained ot any one series of work, so I decided to build the lightbox to show a mosaic of 288 images from my time in college.
It's now hanging outside of the basic photo darkrooms in Charles Addams Hall. Unfortunately, the slides are fading and turning green from the constant exposure to the fluorescent lights. I have duplicates of them in a box somewhere; if I ever get a chance I'll swap them in.
Q: What photography resources do you recommend?
A: There are tons of great photo resources out there and many sites devoted to linking to them, so I won't even try to list a comprehensive resource. These are just a few of the photo resources that I use all the time:
For getting a dose of current events via inspirational pictures:
Cameraworks ( The Washington Post )For the latest good info on digital photography:
dpreview.com
RobGalbraith.comFor buying cameras and other assorted photo gear:
Frank, my sales rep. at Unique Photo is a great guy with great deals-
Frank Illuzi: 1-800-631-0300 ext 241For film processing in Philly:
Professional Color 215-923-9700
(they were kind enough to donate processing for my undergrad thesis)For professional large digital photo outputs:
Quaker Photo
imagers.com