365ers - An Interview with Jesse Wallace

365ers is a series of interviews with members from our fantastic community. The interviews were kindly carried out by Loni.
Last week we featured Lauren Dahlhauser and we had a great response from you guys.

This week we're sharing time with Jesse Wallace, thanks to him for providing this great interview, I hope you enjoy it.

The Interview

Tell us a little about yourself.

I live just outside of Atlanta – Georgia born and raised. Have a beautiful wife and son, which are littered through my project. I am a creative director by day, and either a freelancer or avid video game player by night. Been messing with photography for about 7 years I believe.

Why did you start your 365 project?

I used to be a part of DeviantART (http://myndbyndr.deviantart.com) and got pretty
turned off by the community and overall vibe there, so I hadn’t done any personal shooting in a while. I had seen my buddy Dave (who is actually on here now too, http://365project.org/365photo) start a 365 which he was self-hosting and I thought “man, that sounds pretty sweet.” Riveting, eh?

Do you have any formal training in photography?

If by formal you mean class or school based, then I would say nay. But I am a big fan of reference materials, and started reading the UK pub Digital Camera World magazine, as well as shooting practically as an intern on weekends with a wedding photography
company called Princess Bride Photo (yes, like the movie :) ).

You have good taste in movies Jesse! Anyway, what camera(s) do you shoot with?

I shoot with a Canon T1i and a variety of lenses, most often the 50mm and 105mm macro.

If you had to choose one lens and one other camera accessory what would they be and why?

My desert island lens…I would probably stick to my guns with the 50mm. I can use it for so many applications, and the 1.8 aperture is delicious. Reverse it and it’s a macro. Love it. Camera accessory would be a tripod.

What's your favorite photo from your project?

That’s a toughy. If I had to just choose one, I’d probably say 84/365 - It's Coming. I love the vibe, texture, color. I had always wanted to get a shot like that too, being a big fan of horror. 113/365 is a close, CLOSE second though.

Do you remember the first photo you ever took? What was it?

I remember the first photo I took to try and my hand at artful photography. It was of a girl I was dating at the time, and it was a portrait. It was horrible, but I thought it was great at the time :)

Is there a photographer out there, pro or otherwise, that has influenced your photography?

Influenced? I wish I could be culture-rich and bathed in the fluency of the modern art community, but I’d have to say not really. Most definitely there are some who challenge me, especially on 365. And I’d say at the top of that pile is my good friend Christy Parry,
who is probably one of the best photographers I’ve ever seen. She can’t put out a bad photo. It’s infuriating :) Please check her out on Facebook , her stuff will blow your mind Facebook or at her website.

I love your project - it seems to be a variety of fine art and fun portraits of your family and friends. What or who do you like to photograph most?

Probably people, especially my son, at the top of the heap. You just never know what your gonna get, or what memory you may capture. Its exhilarating. Otherwise, I just like to try and take in whatever is around me, be it a beautiful landscape or a ball of lint.

Who do you like to follow on the 365Project?

Jill Montes - I am enamored with her processing and ability to beautifully capture her children
Frio Rivera - probably some of the best landscapes and processing of them I’ve ever seen. Unbelievable.
Teresa - I find we are connect photographically a lot – doesn’t always have something super photogenic to shoot, but makes the best of what we got :)
Erin Henry - Look at her 365 and tell me she doesn’t have photographic prodigy written all over her. 15, just started really taking photos, doesn’t have photoshop or lightroom, and produces better photos than most. Just awesome.

Do you have a website or Flickr account you want to plug?

I do web/graphic/photo work on the side, so you can visit http://www.jessewallacecreative.com if you are at all interested. Its on the tail end of a redesign, so hopefully it’ll be up before this goes live :) If not, enjoy the contact form, everyone!

Read more interviews from this series...

Thanks Loni!