My History

My deep passion for nature and the landscape as a photographic subject was nurtured during childhood whilst freely exploring the many forests, rivers and mountains in the Yorkshire Dales. I was raised so close to many beautiful and adventurous places, that as children, my brother and I were rarely in the house. This childhood freedom mixed with countless natural influences, remained with me until I got my first camera (a 35mm Pentax ME Super). Many years later I decided to pursue an artistic career and enrolled at a Leeds Art College. Photography and in particular ‘landscape photography’, quickly became a passion. I was thrilled at how I could connect my love for nature and explore it within a creative and technically fascinating context. I distinctly remember the conversation I had with my mother trying (and luckily succeeding) to persuade her to let me convert our attic into a darkroom, with a projector I had managed to find in a skip! I continued to explore photography as an art form during my education, but embraced the wider creative possibilities and for many reasons steered towards a career in animation. First traditional stop motion, (kids TV, feature films and commercials), then with the advent of the affordable personal computer, I moved into computer graphics and spent several years producing computer games. My passion for photography has never left me and I currently teach animation and run Photoshop workshops at Bradford University, write articles for the photographic print and web media and run a landscape photography training company 'landscape Inspired', offering in the field workshops for people wishing to explore the creative and technical photographic skills necessary to produce striking landscape images.

Approach To My Work

Nature and the protection of our raw environment untainted by human intervention, is at the heart of my passion towards creating photographic art. I find deep contentment when truly immersed in it, escaping our high-speed world and reconnecting with what it is, to be real, in the moment.

I firmly believe that good photographic images are made by photographers who manage to unlock something in the viewing process that fundamentally stimulates an emotional response. Like any art, the audience is key to that art’s success and engaging the audience beyond the representation is something I strive for. I aim to move beyond the cliché in order to produce personally satisfying work, however I need to be careful to balance the work between a commercial / creative target audience.

My subjects tend to be beautiful natural places removed from negative human influences, (forests, streams, coasts, mountains), for they satisfy my personal need for a ‘nature fix’, to recharge my stress relief batteries. Even in sometimes perilous and harsh environments, I’m in awe of the depth and beauty to be found and I feel true exhilaration when immersed in it. Being alone on a hazardous rocky shoreline with a rising tide and large breakers crashing around you whilst the sun goes down, really concentrates the mind and forces you to be totally in the moment! Yes dangerous if you are complacent, but such a profound optimistic experience, that’s truly addictive!

It is never my aim to purely record a location as ‘real’, but I attempt to produce images that go beyond and in some way capture the locations as an emotive representation. I purposely strive to explore and transform, to use the technical processes to experiment with representations that are outside our own visual capabilities. The camera is merely a tool to play with, that can offer us extended visions to experience the world around us. This is why I love movement and long exposure in photography. Not only does it assist in the simplification of the graphical image, but it offers us a glimpse into a different reality, one that stimulates further creative enquiry.

For me it’s important for the image to fulfil a personal perception of beauty. I want to be moved by the image so seeking out and focusing on the aesthetics remains central to my aims. To this end composition is critical, in harmonising the viewing process and maintaining a form of energy, balance and subtle visual tension. But colour and naturally vibrant subjects maintain an interest for me as a way to stimulate emotional engagement. If my images in some way stimulate others to appreciate the natural beauty and optimistic wonder in our world, that in some way bring positive appreciation for our environment, then I’m truly contented.

My Training Website

Please look here for details of all the landscape photography workshops, testimonials, Photoshop workshops and more...www.landscapeinspired.com

My Personal Website

You can see more of his work on www.jasontheaker.com

Publications

I’ve written a few articles for Amateur photographer and Digital Camera:

Take a look here for my interview with Tim Parking for Great British Landscapes.

Some charity work (myself and several other esteemed landscape photographers)

Some charity work for Yorkshire Air Ambulance calendar.

I was also commissioned to write an article on movement t in landscape photography, in the June edition of “Digital Camera Magazine”. They requested to use the following images

My image Not Sure I like People was licensed for a TV and Cinema campaign to promote Yorkshire. Seems everybody else saw it but sadly I didn’t...

See if you can spot it at the end of this (o:

Against all odds landscape photographer of the year, book and exhibition

Elemental Metamorphosis landscape photographer of the year, book and exhibition

I also recently been contacted by what digital camera magazine that ran a portfolio piece in the October 08 issue of some of my Yorkshire images.

My Son and I Digital Camera Magazine

Turbulence Wharfedale newspaper, Otley Courthouse calendar and BBC Look North

Featured in the Saturday ”Guardian” and on channel 4's 'Picture This'

Many of my images have been used for (non profit) web publications and blogs and if are interested in a particular image them, I would appreciate being contacted before it is used. If you use them without permission you are going against my wishes and breaking the law!

If you want to use my images for commercial use, please contact me by flickr email and we can discuss terms. I’m currently working on a personal website that will offer limited edition prints and I should get this up and running soon (I hope). Anyway cheers for stopping by.

15-11-08