Jack Jeffers explores COLORADO NATIONAL MONUMENT 2008

Colorado National Monument is located just a few miles west of Grand Junction and geologically, it is part of the Colorado Plateau.

This is an easy day trip, and I felt that a touch of snow would liven the image up a bit. The red rock against the snow did, indeed, improve the photograph.

This thirty-five mile route through the Monument is always a rare treat, and it reminds me, in many ways, of Canyonlands and Arches National Park near Moab, Utah. A tripod and a polarizing filter are highly recommended.

Before taking a field trip such as this, I always check out the area on Google Earth. By using this program, you can fly through the area and get a pretty good feel for the lay of the land in three dimensions. I strongly recommend it as a time and gas saver on long day trips. .

COTTONWOOD GROVE SW COLORADO 2008

Jack Jeffers - ASPEN GROVE COLORADO 2010

LAST DOLLAR ROAD NEAR THE SAN JUAN RANGE

This view of the aspen grove was made at the nine thousand foot level and all of the elements are in place. You have a nice foreground, middle ground and a striking background of dark blue sky.

The sky at high altitudes is darker than it is at lower levels, but I felt that the sky in this image could use a little extra darkening so on with the polarizer.

Notice the spacing of the dark brown patches of vegetation in the foreground. This adds another little touch to the composition.The finished image is about as close to being a perfect photograph as you can get, and I have always heard the experts say that there is no such thing as a perfect image. Well...that just depends on who is judging the finished image.

When I made the shift from film to digital, the actual process came naturally because I already knew the basics of the medium. What hung me up initially was learning how to use the computer. And then there was the processing program. I struggled with the computer for several months before I was comfortable with it.

I ended up purchasing Microsoft Digital Image 2006, and it was quite easy to walk my way through the various programs. A computer expert in the area recommended it as a great "starter" program. Heck, I am still using it five years later because it has everything I need plus more. It took me less than a day to figure out how to use most the various functions, and my philosophy has always been to keep it simple. And that applies to fine art work as well.

An engineering friend kept telling me how great Photoshop was, and that all the serious photographers used it. So, one day I broke down and dropped a hundred dollar bill on the counter and went home with Photoshop Elements 5. After one solid week of absolute total frustration, I took that program out of my computer and put the Microsoft back in. Enough was enough. I just wanted a simple program that had everything I needed. Nothing fancy!

As for RAW, I use the Nikon Picture Project 1.7. It too, is simple and easy to follow, and there are a few processing tools available for the user on page one. The Nikon program then channels your images directly into the Microsoft program with the conversion to tiff or jpeg already made. The simpler it is, the better I like it, and the results that I have obtained during the past few years vouch for the end results.

My objective was to obtain stock-art quality for the agency that handles my work, and my computer programs meet their quality standards.

I am from the old school, and I like to get the exposures right the first time. So why mess with Mother Nature. I have become a bit spoiled by the simplicity and accessability of the tools on my Microsoft program.cc

FALL COLOR IN THE ADOBE HILLS SW COLORADO

2008

When fall arrives in Montrose, CO, I am always ready to head out to the adobe hills. It offers all manner of photographic posibilities, and I am only two or three miles away by road.

This is a digital image of an old cottonwood tree and the clouds moved in and solved the blank sky problem. All the elements fell into place, and I returned home with some real nice color.

As you progress into my blog, you will discover many more images showing the stunning fall color in the San Juan Range to the south of us, and the Cimarron Range to the east.

Don't forget to left click on the image. It will bring up a larger and sharper one.

Jack Jeffers - THE GREAT DISMAL SWAMP 1970

The previous entry featured my daughter Hilary. This one will feature my son John.

Backpacking and canoeing used to be my primary activities and this trip to Lake Drummond went into the books as one of our best. Lake Drummond is located right dead center in the Dismal Swamp, and the ideal time to take a canoe trip into such a place is during the late fall when the leaves are changing and the mornings are crisp and comfortable. I have always had a difficult time with high temperatures and humidity, and that is one of the reasons I headed west following my early retirement.

Finding a dry place to camp in the swamp is always a bit of a problem, but we managed to find a spot to pitch our tent. I often slept in my old kayak when taking long trips with the Boy Scouts, but this time we roughed it on dry leaves and soft ground with a light plastic tarp to keep us dry. In those days my camera pack was fairly light and the kayak was the perfect means for maneuvering into places to make exposures.

This image of John just sorta happened. As I recall, fishing was poor to nil in that lake, but we gave it a try. We did catch a few perch along the entry canal and that provided us with at least one nice meal. John was standing out on that log along about dinner time and I could not resist making several exposures on a roll of Kodachrome. This was my choice of the lot, and that transparency is as good today as it was forty years ago.

Adventures such as this stick in your mind, and the image brings back fond memories from the old days.

I can remember another camping trip to Buggs Ialand Lake near Clarksville, VA, shortly after the lake was completed. I was crusing along with a double bladed paddle when I spotted a pretty good size snake out near the middle of the upper lake. At my present pace, we would likely come pretty close to one another. I pushed it a little harder just to see the critter a little better and I got to the crossing point first. That blasted snake darn near jumped into the kayak with me. He literally made a jump to get over the kayak, and I quickly pushed it off with the blade of the paddle. I never could tell exactly what kind of snake it was. It could have been a water snake or quite possibly a cotton mouth. They are both short tempered. I have heard that the cottonmouth might range inland that far, but who knows. It was another memorable moment on a beautiful trip up the lake.

To view a larger image, left click on the photograph

OLD RAG MOUNTAIN 1972

WHAT CONSTITUTES A FAVORITE?

In this case, the young girl sitting on a rock atop Old Rag Mountain turns this image into one of my most memorable.

The Skyline Drive weaves its way through the Shenandoah National Park in the background.

The youngster is my daughter and she must be about seven or eight, I would guess. She joined me on this day trip, and with walking sticks in hand, we hiked to the top of this beautiful mountain in northern Virginia. Hilary even had her small back pack, and I carried my old Yashica Mat two and a quarter camera. This was my first 2 1/4 camera, and it provided me with the art to produce my first book.

This image later appeared on the front cover of National Parks and Conservation Magazine. I believe that was the name at the time. It just seems like a long time ago. The edition of fifty originals sold out rapidly during several of my early art shows. It was an image that people could relate to.

In 1973, I published WINDOWS TO THE BLUE RIDGE, and the Washington Post picked up the story and ran a major feature on my documentary of the mountain people. That article resulted in a sell-out of the first four thousand books in one week. I then followed with a reprint of five thousand copies which lasted for about a year. I did not pay one thin dime for advertising. I had approached several publishers about taking on the project, but they all told me that a regional book like this would never sell. Well....go figure!

I recently noted that some of these early books are showing up on the Internet in used book stores.

To view a larger image of the above, left click on the image.

JACK JEFFERS MAJOR DONATION TO ASU

MOUNTAIN MAN

Mountain Man is one of over six hundred original silver prints that were recently donated to Appalachian State University in Boone, NC.

This is the largest donation that I have ever made, and it represents the core of my Appalachian Project which covered a period of nearly forty years.

The objective was to keep the collection intact so that it could be enjoyed by future generations who will appreciate a documentary of bygone days throughout the Appalachians. The collection is noted for both it's historic and artistic merit.

It was a tough decision, but I chose ASU because of its location and their established programs relating to the Appalachian area as a whole.

The image of Mountain Man took one of the most satisfying awards of my career. It was the first fine art photograph to take a best in show in a multi-media art show. It happened in 1972, and I had to take on the art league single handed before they would allow what they considered an "unacceptable medium" to stand beside painters, sculptors and other media.

This win dramatically raised the acceptance level of fine art photography, but for me personally, it became a cause that supported my belief that a photograph was as much a work of fine art as other media.

Over the years, I continued to put my art where my mouth was, and I took many more best in shows before retiring from printmaking in 2005.

I was also one of the first fine art photographs to number my originals. Each image was signed, numbered and documented by me personally.

To view a larger image of Mountain Man, left click on the above image.