A photographer's life taken by pictures
Danielle Switalski
Soft spoken and humble, one would never guess the truly creative eye that lies behind photographer Jake Wallis’ modest demeanor.
Born in England, Wallis has spent the last 40 years successfully developing his craft and ultimately moving to Camas Prairie, Montana in 2004. He has spent the last few years of his retired life capturing day to day life in Montana even working for a tribe last summer where he dedicated most of his time to capturing life on the reservation.
His photographs of Montana range from the widespread landscapes of Hot Springs to infrastructures such as the Symes Hotel, capturing the skies and imagery that gives meaning to the name Big Sky Country. Wallis said there are plans for a three year photography project currently under development in which he is trying to secure grant money for, but would not elaborate because it is currently being kept “a secret.”
Wallis began his career in photography in England. When he was young, Wallis said he had a nervous breakdown and his mother contacted the governor of an art college where he was sent to begin his education.
“I didn’t like drawing much and they didn’t have a photography course, but they let me do everything photographically and because I didn’t have any exams I couldn’t continue my education and I ended up working in an antique shop in London,” said Wallis.
Some of Wallis’ photos can be viewed at the gallery currently being showcased at the Wall Street Place in Hot Springs or at his Web Site www.jakewallis.com. His photographs vary in subject, capturing everything from a car speeding down a highway with a brilliant night sky in the background to an airplane with an orange sky decorating the landscape.
Wallis said his favorite thing to shoot pictures of is still life, but the trick is being out and about and just capturing scenes that look interesting.
“I just have my tricks and it’s always been like that. It helps if what your photographing looks good for a start, say the record player looked good you can arrange it,” said Wallis who added his favorite time to take photographs is right before it gets dark.
Wallis’ photography career began with theatre photography, but he quickly moved on to doing still life working for advertising agencies.
Wallis worked for UPS for approximately 12 years where he worked with a crew of 30 people following UPS trucks around the world to places such as Bangkok to photograph the UPS trucks in these different locations.
Photography has changed tremendously throughout the years, for both good and bad. To start, Wallis is particularly pleased with the instantaneous results produced by digital photography. Wallis said when he lived in Ireland he would have to drive an hour to the train station and put his film on a train to Dublin and four days later it would come back. With digital photography, the picture is taken and can be instantly seen on the computer.
However, one problem Wallis sees in the constantly changing world of technology is the use of computer generated imaging.
“Now people are doing computer generated imaging which I don’t see the sense behind at all, you mine as well build it and shoot it, it’s quicker and cheaper,” said Wallis.
For now Wallis continues to take pictures of the unique Montana landscapes while enjoying the quiet life he has built in Camas Prairie. The gallery in Hot Springs is simply a tiny look into Montana life that Wallis is capable of capturing on camera. There will surely be more to come once this “secret” project is no longer kept a secret.
“I’d like to help people in photography if I could, but being out here is difficult. I’m just happy with my life,” said Wallis who remains humble despite talking about all of the success he has had in his photography career throughout the years.