About Jesse Speer

I was born and raised in Kansas City, where I enjoyed a youth filled with the arts and an education within the fine arts program at the University of Kansas. Upon graduation at the age of twenty five, I moved west in search of adventure, wilderness and identity. I roamed the Colorado mountains for many years—hiking, backpacking and traveling in every spare moment. Somewhere along the way, I began carrying cameras so I could capture and share the uncommon beauty that surrounded me—aspiring to the more commercial forms of landscape photography. And though I found a certain measure of challenge and success in these efforts, the right side of my brain was completely bored.

Tired of my own photography and full of creative frustration, I began to look inward for inspiration—tapping into a more contemplative relationship with the natural world. What eventually came to light was a more meditative approach to photography. I learned how to illustrate the more intimate and often uncommon perspectives that filled my meditations in the natural world—developing a visual language that was more true to my own heart. In doing so, I not only discovered the art of photography, but also a sense of self.

Today, my creative journey is largely one of designed happenstance. I travel to interesting places with no expectations or notions of what I will photograph. The wild, western lands still captivate me, but I can find "wilderness" nearly anywhere … whether I'm wandering a quiet, rural road or walking a remote mountain trail. I still enjoy the simplicity of photographing the serendipitous moments of beauty in the places I encounter. But whenever possible, I look deeper—seeking out the simple aesthetics within simple moments of beauty … moments that are often overlooked, but are no less inspiring.

My primary tools are lightweight cameras, an aesthetic born out of my experience as a graphic artist and an intimate knowledge of the natural wonders of the Western United States. I use cameras that allow me to move and work freely, and am currently enthralled with a Canon 5dII and a small set of lenses. I've fully embraced digital technologies, and most of my minimal image processing is done within Adobe Lightroom.