My relationship with photography started by accident. In June of 2008, the summer before my freshman year at Pomfret School, I broke my foot in a diving board accident and needed surgery; my summer was over before it even started. I love being outside and have always had plenty of hobbies to keep me busy including surfing, wakeboarding, skydiving and kitesurfing to name a few. Due to my injury I would spend the entire summer on crutches. As I sat sulking on the beach one day, watching my brothers and friends boogie board and surf I knew I needed something to do. I decided to pick up my mom’s Nikon D60 and start taking pictures of my friends from my beach chair. Turns out the pictures weren’t half bad and I now had something to preoccupy my time while I was stuck on the sidelines.
Fast forward to the fall, as a freshman in high school with a newfound interest in photography I was thrilled to be able to enroll in an intro to photography course. I was fortunate enough to have access to quality photography gear, editing software and the beautiful scenery surrounding my high school. My teacher, Lindsay Lehmann has played an instrumental role in my development as a photographer. She saw potential in my work that I wasn’t aware of and continually pushed me throughout high school to be the most well-rounded photographer I could be. I graduated from AP photography with a focus in Environmental Portraiture (specifically athletes).
In May of 2013 I decided to start a photography business shooting Family Christmas Card pictures. I was getting paid to take pictures and making pretty good money while being able to work for myself. I was happy with how things were going but could not have predicted how my creativity as a photographer was going to be affected. As I continued shooting these family portraits the shots became generic and I began thinking of photography as work rather than my passion. After that summer I wasn’t inspired to shoot for a little over 3 years.
I started shooting again in May of 2017 during a solo road trip from Fort Lauderdale to New York. This trip had solidified my passion for landscape photography. I shot sunrises in Jupiter Florida, star trail photography in the Outer Banks of North Carolina and mountain photography in The Great Smokey Mountains.
As I continue to grow and develop as a photographer my focus will be on Landscapes, Fine art photography and Environmental Portraiture. You can follow me on Instagram @heyguysimjack and check my website regularly for new content!
Please send me an email at jackwheatleyphoto@gmail.com if you’re interested in ordering prints!