Was it destiny? Success means different things Part 2.

Thankfully, I havent forgot to bring my
camera to a shoot since!

Getting film developed was a regular task then.

Do you think sometimes "this is what I was meant to do!"? I do. ALL the time. I struggled to find my place for many years in a different career, fighting the urge to quit because I feared the unknown. 

Fear of failure, fear of mistakes, fear of anything actually - has kept many good people from doing what they should be. Once you overcome it, so many possibilities reveal themselves, and the prior path to that point will look MUCH different when it's behind you, than it did in front of you.

Looking back, I think I was always supposed to be a photographer / producer. I certainly didn't run down that path the first chance I had, but it came back around when the time was right. So many opportunities I have had, would not look or be received the same a few years before they actually presented themselves.
My dad had this Yaschica 35mm SLR camera he bought so long ago I couldn't even tell you how old it is. He only had a couple of prime lenses for it, and it is as basic as it gets for a camera. But he traveled the world with it, and going through old photos, you can see the care he put into what he documented. He still has that camera some 45+ years later. Im actually VERY jealous of the simplicity and how it allows you to just focus (bad pun intended!) on the scene and craft. Devoid of all the modern features a $4000 DSLR has to make sure you nail the technicalities right off the bat.
Once I came along, dad didn't hang his camera up. He just drug me along. While it was always a hobby for him, he still took pride in what he did and his photos. Looking through old albums, it's like I was there, or it brought back the memories just as I remember them. I am quite certain (even if unintentional) he passed this on to me. My love for photography, as a job, hobby and craft, is certainly attributed to the childhood he gave me.

Dad in the early 70's, getting ready for
shore leave in Europe.

Texas and Oklahoma Architectural Photographer

Dallas Commercial Real Estate and Aerial Photographer

Jason Jones Photography's Instagram

#commercialphotographer #architecturalphotographer #photographylife #bts 

Success means different things, at different times.

Disappointed they did NOT have an Ansel Adams stamp...

Taken in 2009-ish. I know.. It was a nice
thought though!

Before I finally quit my 9-5, and long before I made a living as a photographer, I knew I wanted to be one. I had no idea my path would lead me to where it has - something I am truly grateful for, and still have no idea where I may end up.

When I was working a "regular job", I barely had time, or the the money (and never both at the same time) to REALLY travel. I did what everyone else does, and dreamed of destinations through photos I saw. I always told myself, and my wife, we would go there someday. In my mind, I knew we probably wouldn't, but it's nice to dream and hope. Fast forward to when I was getting close to quitting the corporate world for a life of freelancing - lofty goals and high expectations, that were quickly shot down by the reality of working harder than I had ever worked before, and learning what "Hustle" truly meant. I still dreamed, I still aspired. Without goals, work is pointless.

I remember reading about Ansel Adams and how he came to be a household name, what his photographs meant, etc.. I had always liked landscape photography, although even early on I knew a career taking only landscape photos was probably not a realistic occurrence for most people. I mean even if it was to sell a few prints here and there for pocket cash, that was fine by me. Sometime in the early 2000's I literally told myself I wanted to be "there", when I saw the picture of Ansel on top of his station wagon in a random book or literature. "There", as in "I made it", was just as much a state of mind, as it was standing on my truck in an iconic location to shoot some amazing photo, just like Ansel Adams did.

As things, and life, go, I went a different way. I still remember that conversation I had with myself, what I EXPECTED out of that goal at that moment, like it was yesterday. What I did NOT know at the time, was that success is not always what we thought, or wanted it would be.

Fast forward to April 2018 - more than a decade later. I walked into the Ansel Adams gallery at Yosemite Natl. Park, bought this post card and jotted on the back an obligatory "here", so as to not mail a completely blank postcard. I mailed it to myself from the Yosemite Park Post office next door to the gallery, which had an added bonus of a Half Dome postmark stamp too. When I came home, and retrieved this postcard out of the mail it dawned on me. I DID make it. I DID succeed. I actually teared up, because I realized what had REALLY happened with my life, and the long hard road of sacrifices my family has made to get me here too.

I've sold several landscape prints in the last few years, that I had taken on my travels that photography paid for. I walked the same path at Yosemite that Ansel did many years before, because of money I earned from MY PHOTOGRAPHY.  In the last 4 years I have taken my family to nearly every state in the lower 48 (many of them multiple times), driven coast to coast, and to 3 countries. In 2015 we drove enough miles to circle the equator, plus throw in a trip to the North Pole from Dallas. I made it before I even realized it, but it took Ansel Adams himself (in a weird name dropping way!) to make me realize it.

Texas Architectural Photographer

#photographylife #commercialPhotographer #wishyouwerehere

The Dallas commercial real estate market is HOT!

 I've always said "There's no place like Texas...". No words have rang truer over two decades than that one sentence.

 2017 saw a boom unlike any most have experienced with real estate, commercial and residential. With companies like Toyota, Boeing, and host of others moving their HQ's to the Lone Star State, its sizzling hotter than 1980's junk bonds! The looming decision of Amazon's new headquarters location (with Dallas as a possible contender) just adds fuel and mystique to our fire.

 If you're a broker, principal, agent or property manager, get ahead of the listing and tenant game with top notch photographic representation of your properties.

 Wether it's aerial photography, ground level stills and video, or interiors (OR a package deal with it all!), contact Jason Jones Photography to get the edge and brand recognition you need.

 Servicing commercial brokers, real estate agents, construction, golf course, land and ranch, civil engineering, insurance, oil and gas, and any other industry that needs QUALITY photography and video.

jasonjones-photo.com

txaerial.photography

My instagram page and feed!

  I have to confess something - I avoided Instagram for quite some time. I keep facebook to just close friends and family members, and just didn't see any need for multiple social media outlets. I really didn't. When I went through my last image / business rebranding (which was long overdue), I decided to give Instagram a go, and see how it played out.

  I was shocked at what I had been missing out on! It was so much more intuitive for a photography business as a regular outlet. I shoot so many photos that never make it to my website, or they are behind the scenes stuff, etc. It's been a great way to share those "live", as I take them, instead of forgetting the image is on my phone for weeks. I do occasionally toss some portfolio stuff out there to remind my audience what it is I am truly passionate about doing - Commercial Photography.

  If you're bored, nursing a paper cut from writing a check to pay the water bill, or truly interested in what I do with my time on and off set, go have a peek at my Instagram!

Texas Advertising and Commercial Photographer Instagram Feed

Architectural photography.

  While I participate in several genres of photography, my favorite, and first choice is Architectural Photography.

  There is something about the the lines, materials and form that always call my name. I love to take it a step further and add a touch of the human element when I can for comparison to the organic world, and a sense of scale.

  I think my love for Architecture started long before I was involved in photography, but one of the "ah ha!" moments came for me when I was first starting out, assisting a local photographer who was shooting an editorial article on a house in Ft.  Worth, built by the Architectural legend, I. M. Pei. His work was almost entirely commercial buildings, but he did design a couple of residences. Standing in one of them (it is not anything open to the public or easily visited) was an honor. The commercial / industrial influences were very strong in the residential design and it felt very much like a museum, yet still warm and cozy, as a house should be.

  Being able to combine these elements of design was very influential on my eye and tastes when photographing projects. I always want to show form AND function of a space, with scale and human element. Sometimes it is easy, sometimes it is not. I ALWAYS love the challenge, and strive to perfect it.

Call or email Jason for a quote on your next project.

Texas Architectural Photographer

Texas Commercial Real Estate Photographer

Dallas Photography for Real Estate

FAA part 107 Certified Drone Operator - Texas Aerial Photographer

I recently passed the FAA part 107 exam. Officially licensed and legal pilot for all drone / UAV work, as well as manned aircraft aerial photography. I am ready to discuss your next project!

Aerial Photography is something I have done for years from manned aircraft, so this is not a new fad I just decided to try. I have almost a decade of experience photographing commercial and residential properties from the sky, as well as construction progress and other projects. While there are still times a manned flight is the only option for a very specific project, adding Drones to my toolbox opens the door to a few new things that were not possible or cost effective with manned aircraft.

• Orthomosaics - Georeferenced mapping can be done in real time. Mapping of properties of all types, in many cases same day. This allows for weekly, bi weekly or monthly progress of job sites, construction, or land development to be documented efficiently and accurately. With precision ground control points surveyed on the initial setup, and satellite GPS tagging of images, each map is extremely accurate and can be updated in 24 hours or less. These maps can be overlayed into google earth maps for exact updates of your site in comparison to the surrounding infrastructure.
• Inspection - Quickly and accurately inspect areas that would normally require specialized climbing tools, techniques and personnel. Get a quick, real time view of tall roofs, towers, or difficult to access areas to determine if sending in maintenance/repair employees is necessary. No ladders or harness required.
• Volume measurement - In construction and Mining operations, measuring production material volume, volume of blast areas, and removed material piles in real time, gives decision makers on site, and at remote offices access to real numbers in real time. This aids in logistics planning for removal and dispersion of excavated materials, and storage capacities of delivered / consumable materials.
• Mining, Oil & Gas Production and Energy - In addition to volume measurements, Drones allow tracking of equipment positions, excavation progress, drill and rig site surveys, aggregate calculations, and monitoring of safety compliance on site.

For more info on what I can do for your business with Drone technology, call or email and I am happy to discuss your specific needs in detail.

http://www.jasonjones-photo.com/contact