Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do.

Hi I’m Jake and I’m a photographer living in Seattle, WA. My work is diaristic for the most part. I love collecting little moments from my day-to-day life and later compiling them into little containers like zines, books, series, or slideshows. I moved from San Rafael, CA to Seattle in 2012 for school and have stayed in this beautiful city ever since. I love watching movies, cooking slop, talking about skateboarding, riling up a dog, things like that. Oh also I work at Photographic Center Northwest here on Capitol Hill and I run our annual zine fair!

How did your interest in art begin?

Well I think my first real exposure to like, actual cool art was through the lens of skateboarding when I was younger. I got a subscription to Thrasher when I was in the 6th grade and I think that cracked open a Pandora’s box of counter culture and naughtiness for me. Thrasher used to do an annual Photo Issue, too, and I remember always pouring through it and thinking to myself like “yeah..this is your ticket to the big leagues, playa.” I wasn’t exceptionally good at skating which pushed me to explore other avenues of expression, so I just sort of fell in love with taking pictures of my friends.
One time when I was a teenager I found a book of images by this French street photographer named Robert Doisneau in my public library, and I’m pretty sure that experience radicalized me. I saw that photographs could be these intricate and beautiful little time capsules, and realised that I really wanted to start a collection like that of my own. I began to feel like I had this weird duty of sorts to document my life and hold on to specific things that I’d experience.

What kind of imagery are you drawn to?

I like dogs and cats and birds and raccoons a lot. Lately I’ve been taking photos of tree branches, night cityscapes, buttons you press at crosswalks…so.. I’m actually not sure what that’s all about yet. Sometimes these symbols are purely subconscious and I may not realise that I’ve been pulling on a thread until way later down the line. Sometimes I am more proactive about it. There’s this one tree that I’ve made a connection with (??) in the old apple orchard at Martha Washington Park, and I’ve been returning to photograph it for the last five years. I don’t think the pictures are that good, but I do love the excuse to keep going back to my favorite park and visiting this tree. It’s been a nice practice in watching seasons change and feeling the weight of time passing.

Which camera do you find yourself reaching for most often and why?

Ok so I don’t really use anything nice. Maybe I should?? I just need it to fit in a pocket or a tiny bag. The three cameras I’ve been using lately are an Olympus Stylus Infinity, a tiny red digital Canon Powershot, and this adorable point and shoot called the Chinon Bellami that has little barn doors. I really don’t want to think about anything technical when I take a picture, like at all – so I appreciate cameras where I can take it out, turn it on, take a picture, and put it away without having to look at the camera itself.

How often do you take photos, do you work spontaneously, continuously, something in between?

It’s a daily practice, even if that means considering taking a photo and then deciding not to. My compulsion to photograph comes in waves for sure, but lately I’ve been on a real tear with it. I try to never leave the house without a camera, which can be annoying but I’ve grown pretty accustomed to always having a bag with me. People love calling it a purse! The schlep feels worthwhile when I do encounter something interesting out in the world and I can just reach into my pocket for a camera. Honestly, some of my favorite images have come from the most benign outings to like CVS or the library.

What is it like living and working in Seattle?

It’s cool, I love this city. I love that I can be downtown staring up at big tall buildings and then a few minutes later be at the lake or in the woods. Seattle has amazing parks scattered all over and feels overrun by trees and moss, it just feels alive here. There’s a family of rabbits that live in my front yard and I like to think they look up to me as a protector.
In terms of aesthetics, my god, Seattle has an epidemic of dogshit ugly developments and 5-over-1’s popping up all over town. It’s rendered much of this city swagless. Honestly I should’ve become a brick mason. Despite this, I still find all sorts of scenes to photograph and enjoy. The darkness of winter still stings when it rolls around but I’ve actually grown to love it. When it got really dark last winter I’d just go to the movie theater all the time, which did assist with the mania, but really I found that it’s the Propanolol and Zoloft that make me 100% impervious to most negative energy.

How has your work evolved over time?

When I was really getting into photography in high school I had my sights set on one thing: getting as many Tumblr notes as possible. I loved early social media and posting pictures of my friends – it became a constant feedback loop for me. Things change as life goes on, though, and of course so have my pictures. Photographing has become much more of a personal practice for me lately rather than a collaborative one. My girlfriend and I are doing long distance right now, so I often find myself with a bunch of time on my hands. I love walking out the door and seeing where the wind takes me. These days I tend to lean more toward the abstract rather than the straight photograph. I think I’m less concerned with people being represented in my images now and I’m more excited about things like clouds, birds, shadows, and dirt.

What have you been reading or watching recently?

Well I got a library card a few months ago so I’ve been running up the DVD rentals like crazy- it’s really fun, it’s sort of like being at Blockbuster if you squint a little bit. There’s been a really fun string of horror movies to open in the last few months which has been awesome to see (undertone, Hokum, Obsession, Backrooms), and it’s the theater experiences that makes it. Seeing a scary movie in a packed house is honestly the closest I’ve felt to the normalcy and community we once had before the pandemic. Just spilling popcorn and hollering with strangers – I love that. Otherwise I’m watching random stuff at home; I’ve seen a few good docs lately like Mole Man, Carpet Cowboys, and The Truffle Hunters – those were all great. I like revisiting older skate videos too.
I find a lot of inspiration for my art in the music I’m listening to as well – certain things will make me want to go and create something immediately. Lately I’ve been listening to Loukeman’s new album Sd-3 which is great, older Young Thug and Future are always around, and for some reason I’ve been listening to a lot of Billy Joel these last few days, too.

Could you share some recent, current, or upcoming projects you’re working on?

Sure, Paul! Btw, it’s nice to imagine that I’m sitting at a dinner table talking to you as I type this.

For some time now, I’ve been slowly building towards a book project that centers around my experience recovering from testicular cancer during the early stages of Covid in 2020. It’s kind of been this big scary project that’s been on my mind for years, but I do finally feel like I have enough to make something happen. Hopefully that is what’s next, otherwise, I’m continuing to photograph as often as I can.

What do you collect?

Well I’m trying to collect all my favorite movies on DVD but I’m still missing a bunch (Boss Baby: Family Business, A Serbian Film, etc.). I used to collect my movie ticket stubs but…..can’t do that anymore. A few years ago I began collecting vintage matchbooks but then I thought “what is even the point of this.” So yeah, just DVD’s and cameras that don’t work pretty much. Oh, and photobooks, I like photobooks.

 

Interview by Paul Fitzpatrick