Meet Jason Judd | Nature and Landscape Photographer, Guitarist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jason Judd and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jason, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
When I was younger and I had a career in the “real” world, my work-life balance was almost non-existent. I was dedicated to my job, because I had to be. The company I worked for pretty-much owned my soul. At some point along the way I stopped and asked myself, “what am I doing”? I was living so that I could work, and not the other way around. I realized that I needed to make changes, because I should be working so that I can live my life, and not living my life so that I can be controlled and abused by a company that really could care less about me. So to make a very long story short, I took matters into my own hands. I have now reached a point where my “work” and my life are almost the same thing. I am doing things that I love to do. I am my own boss. I could not be happier with the way things have worked out. I must add that I have had a lot of good luck along the way, and it seems that things just sort of fall into place for me at times. But I believe that we each make our own luck to at least some degree, and the moment I decided to make changes in my life, everything just clicked. It was almost as though the universe was waiting for me to get the courage to make that leap into the unknown, and once I did, the universe took great care of me and presented some opportunities that I never imagined could actually happen to me.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I love photography, and particularly nature photography and landscape photography. Almost daily, you can find me out on a trail somewhere or in a nature preserve somewhere, with my camera hanging around my neck. My 6-year-old son, Keegan, is frequently with me and serves as my trusty assistant. (Side note, Keegan took the photo of me that I am submitting with this interview). I really enjoy attempting to show through my photos the beauty of the outdoors. I would not say that it is “easy”, necessarily- it can be very time-consuming. I frequently spend several hours a day just going through and editing photos. But it is also fun and highly rewarding.

I am also a freelance guitarist, which I consider to be “‘art” as well, but that is another story for another time. (I was once in a rock band that you have never heard of, unless you happened to live in the north end of Seattle around 1990 or so).

As for what lessons I have learned along the way, I think the old Ricky Nelson song sums it up pretty well: “…you can’t please everyone, so you’ve got to please yourself”. What makes good photography is very subjective, and no matter what you do there will be detractors, and/or well-intentioned people saying “no, you need to do this” or “you should have done it that way” and such. I have my own unique style, and not everyone appreciates it, and that is totally fine. I am going to keep doing what makes me happy, because that is what makes it my own art. Having said that, if someone requests a certain project from me and they want it done a certain way, I am happy to oblige because they are my customer and I will do whatever is necessary (within reason, of course) to make my customer happy.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I live near Tucson, Arizona (in Oro Valley, to be exact), and there are more things to see and do here than I can possibly fit into this. But I would definitely take them out to some of my favorite spots, which include Catalina State Park, Saguaro National Park, Mt. Lemmon, Madera Canyon, Picacho Peak, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Sabino Canyon, Kartchner Caverns, and Patagonia Lake. Oh, and I cannot forget to mention the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum west of Tucson. We go there often, and every time we are there, I learn something new and/or see something new. My being an Arizona transplant, the museum has been a great resource for me as far as learning about the flora and fauna of the Sonoran Desert. I don’t think any trip to Tucson would be complete without a visit to the Desert Museum. As for food and drink, well, there are numerous excellent Mexican Food restaurants in our area, as we are only maybe 70 miles from the Mexican border. I could eat Mexican food every day, and sometimes I do!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Above all I have to give a huge “shoutout” to my wife, Brenda, who has given me the freedom to pursue my dreams and to be myself (and to take risks at times). She is very patient with me, and also unwaveringly supportive. I could not have gotten to where I am without her support and encouragement. I suspect I might not always be the easiest person to be around (I am somewhat impulsive by nature, and also very stubborn), but she humors me most of the time (although she also has no problem with putting me in my place when she needs to).

I also must give a shoutout to my grandmother, who passed away in 2016. When I was a child, she taught me to watch, appreciate and enjoy nature. She was an avid birdwatcher and she taught me most of what I know about birds. Starting from the time that I was around 8 years old, she used to take me with her on her birding expeditions into the wilderness near Seattle, Washington, which is where I grew up. Eventually as old age caught up to her, she was no longer able to get out much, so I would take my old 35mm. camera out into the woods and take pictures to bring back and show her. She planted the seeds that sprouted and grew into the person I am today.

Website: https://1-jason-judd.pixels.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jason.judd.986

Other: email: earthmonkey71@yahoo.com

Image Credits
Keegan Judd (photo credit for the photo of me).