JACK JEFFERS FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHER

WELCOME TO MY BLOG!

This blog has been around for a spell and has a total of about 225 images posted. These images include a number of my original silver prints from the late sixties until I retired from film and printmaking  in 2005.  I then decided to give digital a shot. Well, I'm still adding to my digital collection at age 83 and quite a number of my new digital images are included in this blog. If I have a legacy, it will be my Appalachian Collection.

A brief biographical is shown to the left. You can also left click on an image and it will be greatly enlarged for your further enjoyment.

A note about the two images shown above.

Mountain Man was my first major award winner. It was the first photograph to take a best-in-show in an all-media juried art show. That statement was made in the Richmond Times Dispatch in 1972. This win opened the doors for photographers in multi media art shows.

The second image was made after my wife and I moved west to Wyoming in 1997. It is a "silver and oil." original. I made a series of these which became known as my Wyoming Outback. All of my originals were short edition originals.

There is a lot more to my story, but this is enough to fill you in on some of my contributions to the art world.

Jack Jeffers

I published two books over the years, but the first was a grand success, thanks to the Washington Post. This feature story appeared in the Sunday edition in the Panorama section. It resulted in the sale of nine thousand books which got me going as a working artist. The complete story is recorded in the blog dated 9-5-ll. Check it out, it gives some details about  how to order a copy of book number two, APPALACHIAN BYWAYS.

I have held on to a number of copies since it was printed in 1984.

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The Virginia Historical Society

Of all the exhibitions which I have had over the years, this is the one that I remember the most.

Before we left Virginia in 1997, I donated over a hundred of my framed originals to the Virginia Historical Society in Richmond, VA. Their lovely building is right next door to the Virginia Museum of Fine Art. Because of my subject matter, my work fits in much better right where it is stored. Several years ago they displayed my art in a major exhibition that drew a record number of viewers; so many, in fact, the museum extended the show by several additional months. The image above was made by one of the museum staff.

Since then, I have donated two more large collections; one to Appalachian State University in Boone North Carolina, and the second to Radford University in Radford, VA. Again, I chose an academic atmosphere which allows more exposure to the general public. And I know that all of my silver sulfide originals will be well taken care of for future generations to enjoy.

I must also mention a smaller collection which went to Eastman Kodak back in the early eighties. They ended up publishing an eight-page feature article from the Appalachian Collection in their company magazine. It was a first class presentation and was titled An Interview with Jack Jeffers.

They also purchased all of the originals that were used in the publication. That also made my day.

My work can also be found in numerous private and corporate collections.

   

                                             
                                             Monument Valley, UT  USA


       
      Left click on image to greatly increase it's size.

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This image was made several months ago near the foot of the San Juan Range in SW Colorado.
I was driving along a back country dirt road when I spotted the scene before me and the lighting and everything else was just perfect.   

The high peak in the background; just left of center, is Mt. Sneffels; one of several fourteeners along the western slope. It is just over fourteen thousand feet and this photograph was made before the spring melt in mid May of 2016. We were camping at Ridgway State Park at the time, and this is an easy camping trip for us because it's only fifteen or twenty minutes from our wilderness location along the Uncompahgre Plateau.

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                                 So much to see, and so close to home. Posted July 25,2016  

Several miles north of Montrose, Colorado are the Adobe Hills. This is all BLM land, but it is open to the public. Just don't make the mistake of going in and getting caught in a sudden rain storm.  If that happens you are stuck. This stuff is like kitty litter. If it gets wet it turns into instant  goop. Having said that, here is a typical desert setting. Juniper trees in the SW Desert. And yes, take ample drinking water for your day in the desert. 

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LADY IN A CAR 1979

This image was made during a hot summer day on July 21, 1979 in the small town of Bridgewater, Virginia.

There was an antique car show going on, and I spotted this lovely old lady sitting in an old vintage automobile. This scene would make a great image, if I could capture her without creating a distraction. There was an identical car sitting right nest to hers, and I decided that that was just what I needed to frame her and make a great black and white image. I set up my tripod and made several exposures before the crowd got in the way.

I always like to inform the subject, in a case such as this, that I had made a photograph just in case there was some objection. In this case she was excited that someone had actually photographed her in the old family car. What I didn't know was that she was blind and totally oblivious to what had just taken place.

This image later appeared in a number of exhibitions and has been published in more than one magazine. I also included her in my second book, APPALACHIAN BYWAYS which was published in 1984.

To enlarge the picture, click on the photograph.