Frank Jackson, Guest of honor 2021 edition of Photographic Nights of Selma

Frank Jackson was born in 1956 in Jacksonville, Florida. The city got its name from the unusually high number of Jacksons living in the area. Complicating matters was the fact that his father had intended to name him Jack, Junior. Had this happened, Mr. Jackson would have been Jack’s son Jack Jackson, Jr. from Jacksonville . His mother, however, saw little point in naming him Jack, Junior, since his father’s name is Frank.

During the confusion , Mr. Jackson left for Northern California, settling in the vicinity of Sacramento. He eventually developed an interest in photography after discovering that no matter how skilled he became at drawing, art supplies looked less attractive hanging from his neck than a camera.

Mr. Jackson’s interest and appetites are diverse. He enjoys fresh air, strawberry milkshakes, and black and white film, though he admits the combination often gives him gas. “I prefer shooting in black and white”, says Jackson, because it forces the viewer to look at the essence of an image… its form, tone , light , and shadow… instead of being distracted by the decorative effects of color. And also black and white film costs less.

As a final note, Mr. Jackson is self trained, leaving others blameless for his level of accomplishment.

Gordon Lewis, 1998

all images are ©2021 Frank Jackson

www.fotographz.com

@ see level

Being at see level is about showing you the visual moments not seen by others.
there is nothing wrong with your eyes…just open them

Since we all now live in a world of self important social mediocrity…
…It’s not what you’re looking at, it’s what you see.

My images tend to show evidence that someone was there or things
that people don’t notice.

I am self taught. (I strongly DO NOT recommend this*) Find a photographer whose work you admire and study them

I am using film and digital cameras to make my images…and I think digital photography is one of the most amazing creations of last 20 years.

I learned digital photography at first only to get my images into and out of a computer.
Although I am known for images in black and white, shooting black and white film taught me to understand color photography.
For over 20+ years I have gone around the world photographing coffee cups and travel with a cup, saucer, and spoon to shoot in different places around the world.

Sometimes I see an image and other times that image happens to see me. When this happens I don’t think, I photograph and move on.

This is “my dance” …a dance that started when I was 16 years old. I have learned you don’t always get to lead.

Photography is a physical act of documenting moments and I am simply happy to become the sum of my moments.

Frank Jackson

…go and take the long way home!