I began my photographic journey as a photographer’s assistant while still in high school. That early experience instilled a strong desire to create images professionally. After earning a B.A. degree from Brooks Institute-School of Photographic Art and Science in California, I started my professional career as a staff photographer at Tektronix, Inc., manufacturers of electronic test and measurement equipment. As a staff shooter my assignments were varied and many, and my skills grew along with my personal satisfaction. The work was challenging and fun. Within a few years I was managing the department, where new responsibilities expanded my professional growth. I had responsibility of directing and supporting a staff of photographers, lab techs and assistants, as well as creating and managing budgets and financial plans, and writing performance reports. The work was again challenging, but I was spending much less time behind a camera.

In 1993 I left the corporate environment and opened my own studio, Jason Kinch Photographic, Inc. Over the next 2 plus decades, I created images for Fortune 500 companies and cutting-edge startups as well as regional ad agencies. Much more shooting and much more satisfaction.

In addition to reaping the rewards of my commercial career, I enjoy exploring natural landscapes and work to create images that capture startling realism and beauty. Classical photography training and the years of commercial experience exposing film with 4x5 and 8x10 cameras and making prints in a wet darkroom provide me with an expert technique that I now effectively leverage in a fully digital workflow. My craft and art remain fundamentally traditional — regardless of new technology, a successful image still must have a clear vision and message. I believe that an image can only be fully realized with a successfully built (now digital) negative. As Ansel Adams famously said “The negative is the equivalent of the composer’s score, and the print the performance.”  

I think of those words as I begin to create each new image — selecting camera and lens, considering composition and factoring exposure — all the way to final processing. I consider how my vision will translate to the print, and I strive to make it the ultimate interpretation and expression of the scene. I hope you enjoy each “performance”.