Colloboration with SFMOMA

I’ve teamed up with SFMOMA to provide photographs of the museum for all of its members for use as Zoom or Microsoft Team backgrounds. Here’s the page.

These photos mean that while the museum is still closed due to the shutdown, its members can spruce up their next staff meeting or happy hour with sights from SFMOMA’s collection and nightlife from events at the museum.

Here’s how to set the images below as your background on Zoom and Microsoft Teams.

The Living Wall at SFMOMA - Adam Jacobs Photography/SFMOMA

Sculpture Terrace at SFMOMA - Adam Jacobs Photography/SFMOMA

White Cube Lounge at SFMOMA - Adam Jacobs Photography/SFMOMA

My photo as a Billboard outside SFMOMA

As a photographer nothing quite beats seeing your work in print rather than just on screens.

I was therefore really excited to collaborate with the San Francisco Museum of Art (SFMOMA), one of the worlds largest museums of contemporary art, on a campaign to create a photograph that was made into a giant billboard to market the museum. The photograph shows their amazing outdoor rooftop sculpture at dusk bustling with visitors.

The billboard has been printed in downtown San Francisco and is located right outside the entrance of the museum.

Here are some photos I took as I was walking past last week.

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Chosen as one of the six best Fine Art Photographers in San Francisco

I was so excited to be chosen by Peerspace as one of the six best Fine Art Photographers in San Francisco. See here for the feature on my work along with the five other talented photographers chosen.

Feature on my photography on Fox

It was a pleasure to be interviewed this week by Fox to talk about my photography, life story and also help raise awareness for all those with invisible illnesses. Here’s some behind the scenes shot from the day.

I was excited for the piece to air earlier today and I’ve been overwhelmed by such amazing and positive feedback - they even showed it three times throughout the day on the morning, lunch and nightly news! You can view it here. or by clicking on the video below.

Adam Jacobs outside the studios of Fox before being interviewed on his photography and career.

Adam Jacobs being interviewed inside the Fox Studios with his fine-art photographs on display.

Photographing Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National Park is so different to any other National Park I’ve visited in the States. For much of the time, It’s vast, arid and other-worldly landscape makes you feel as if you are in Mars. However, the park is incredibly interesting and has plenty to explore and photograph with its diversity offering ample opportunities for landscape photographers: there are areas where cool cactus formations are clustered together and other regions where enormous and interesting rocks formations have been formed from seismic activity and sculpted by hundreds of years of erosion structures. In fact, I could even imagine it making a great backdrop for a fashion shoot! And then, of course, there are the Joshua Trees. These trees, twisted and contorted in their appearance, have a Medusa-esque look and despite apparently falling in number still stretch in many parts of the park further than the eye can see.

Entering Joshua Tree National Park

Desert Sunset - Joshua Tree National Park

A classic Joshua Tree at sunset - Joshua Tree National Park

Barker Dam in Joshua Tree was the only place I found water in the Park. I was told by some locals that it was extremely rare for it to be this full so I stuck around and was rewarded with an amazing sunset! See the photos and video below.

Behind the scenes with my trusty Gitzo Mountaineer tripod photographing Barker Dam.

One of my shots from the amazing sunset at Barker Dam in Joshua Tree National Park!

And another sunset at Barker Dam.

A cholla cactus garden in Joshua Tree National Park

Skull Rock at Midnight. This creepy rock formation that sits right in the center of Joshua Tree and clearly resembles a skull I shot at midnight on Halloween! Thought it was appropriate.

Arch Rock - Joshua Tree National Park which reminded me of a mini version of the arch in Canyonlands in Utah.

Couldn’t help but pull over at the side of the road and capture a field ofJoshua Trees at dusk as I was driving out of the park.

Late Summer in Yosemite

Yosemite National Park is such a special place to photograph. It has something for everyone: enormous Sequoia trees, cascading waterfalls, beautiful meadows and of course those awe-inspiring iconic granite cliffs and rock formations including El Capitan and Half Dome (from which the North Face Logo is based)

I made a quick trip there last weekend in between some jobs to capture some landscape photos following the recent fires. It was so sad to see the massive devestation caused by the Ferguson fire which was especially noticeable when driving into the valley off the road from Wawona. However, fortunately much of the beauty and majesty of the park remains intact.

Below are a few of my favorite shots from the trip. I can’t wait to go back in a few weeks to photograph some fall color.

Fun fact…Yosemite has more granite formations than anywhere else on the planet!!

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Exposure Isn't Everything

Sometimes perfect exposure doesn't always mean getting the shot that you're after. For example, in this fine-art photograph I wanted to give this stretch of Manhattan Beach  an ethereal appearance and therefore chose to use my histograms to over-expose the image, defying normal convention. This produced a somewhat dreamy effect helped by the already hazy conditions.

I really like this effect as it helps to draw attention to composition and color as well as creating a very specific mood. I'm therefore working on a series of these shots with a similar effect from different beaches. I've included another one here with a similar effect achieved from a beach in Miami. 

Using Manfrotto's Xume System

I've had a lot of fun the last few months experimenting with Manfrotto's new lens filter suite which works with the Xume system. Essentially, the system means that you can attach filters to your lenses much faster and more efficiently using magnets rather than having to waste time screwing them on, risking breakages or damaging equipment as with conventional systems. Take a look at this video I made below: 

Here's an article I also wrote explaining a little bit more in depth on the system and how it can be used practically in the field to help you take better photos and not miss that perfect shot...just click on the photo below! 

Photographing Venice at Midnight

During a recent trip to visit the HQ of Manfrotto in Bassono Del Grappo in Italy, I was fortunate enough to have an evening free to explore Venice. Giorgio, who looks after all of Manfrotto's ambassadors globally, kindly agreed to be my guide for the evening and it was fantastic to have a local show me around the winding streets and canals of this historic, beautiful and unique city.

We braved temperatures of about -3C and spent around four hours traversing the streets and discovering the beauty of Venice by night under a clear, starry sky. The cold worked to our advantage as the city was deserted adding to its mystery and charm - Giorgio explained the history of this unique place and showed me some beautiful hidden gems that you would never find as a tourist. I still can't quite believe Venice has managed to remain so unique with it only being accessible by boat, having no road names, and maintaining a charm that is unrivaled in no other place I've been to. The advantage of photographing Venice at night is that you do not have to deal with the hoards of tourists and it is so easy to get lost amongst the winding canals, bridges and streets as you discover hidden gem after gem to shoot. Below are just a couple of my favourite photos from our walk. 

P.s. If you're going to shoot Venice at night a sturdy and light tripod is essential. Firstly, there is not much ambient light so you are going to want to use long shutter speeds and secondly you are going to have to a lot of walking...I'd carry as light weight a tripod as you can and think about how much gear you want to take before heading out...your legs, shoulders and back will thank you later! 

UK Abandoned Spaces

After spending time documenting Abandoned Spaces across the United States, I have been finally devoted some time to shooting some of these dilapidated places closer to home in the UK. I've already shot a plethora of photographs from some amazing sites but what better place to start than with the largest abandoned site in London - it's 62 acres and as you can imagine is going to take some time to do it fully justice!! However, here's a black and white fine art image from inside one of the old factories on the site which I particularly like - even though it was a relatively cloudy day the light infiltrated through the girders and huge windows just enough to give some gorgeous dappled light which I think juxtaposes beautifully with the old Victorian checked floor.