About JAK WONDERLY PHOTOGRAPHY
Jak's images have appeared on CNN, Brazil TV, NationalGeographic.com, The Equine Journal, Highways magazine, Armchair Tourist Video, The Journal Gazette, and more. He has worked on national campaigns with agencies such as Campbell-Ewald, Goodby Silverstein and Partners, and Deutsch. Other clients include adventure tour companies, major veterinary hospitals, and horse ranches.
In previous incarnations he worked as a furniture designer, visualization software instructor, and advertising supervisor. He graduated summa cum laude from the College for Creative Studies.
Jak believes in photography as a tool of awareness for living in the present and being balance with the natural world. He frequently donates his work and resources to various wildlife organizations and animal rescue efforts.
info@jakwonderly.com
USA Voicemail; 1 - 415 - 347 - 5473
"The most important decision I make in my work is how to approach a subject. It is a privilege to light-map an animal, a sacred act. I try to bring a quiet mind and a great deal of patience to the encounter. Waiting until the subject acknowledges me, perhaps even senses my purpose, I let the animal compose the shot. I focus on what I am being offered, rather than what I can take. The language of photography is unfortunately and inaccurately predatory, particularly when it comes to animals. The camera does not really shoot or capture the subject; it receives the light of the subject with great delicacy.
My photographs are not staged and I only use ambient light. Nothing is added; nothing is taken away. The images are collaborative: the photographs are mine, but the art belongs to the animal, the sky, the land, the water, the light. I am merely the witness, the framer, pointing out little miracles or little tragedies. The art of photography is opening your eye, mind, heart, and then shutter to the fierce beauty of the world. It is the practice of saying ‘yes’ to this exact moment, and gratefully letting life in."
