Jake Hartman

Interviewed by William Xu

Grade

Medium

Photography

Classes Taken at Harriton

Art 1H, Photography 1 and 3, AP 2-D Art and Design

Interview

Art Focused Questions:

Can you tell others about who you are as an artist, student, or person in general?

As a person in general? That's a good one. My name is Jake. I'm a senior at Harriton High School. I'm currently taking AP 2D with a focus in photography. I primarily like to take pictures of moving subjects. Outside of school I like to exercise, work out, anything that keeps my body moving.

So you said you've worked most with photography. Is it also your favorite medium to work with?

I don't know if I'm good at it, but I enjoy it. I think it's much different than drawing, which I've also done before. I feel like as long as you're in a good position, you can get a good photo. Versus drawing when you have to take a lot more variables into account. I prefer photography though, because I can't draw anything that looks like a photo.

What type(s) of photos do you usually take?

I like sports photos, taking photos of moving subjects like cars, planes, anything that moves quickly, anything that you might not ordinarily see.

What is it like taking photos of moving subjects? Can you go over the typical process?

Usually I'll look for a location. If that’s a football game (I did some of those), I'll get to the field during warm-ups. I'll find some angles. I'll make sure I know where I want to stand if certain things are going on. If I want to get photos of the offensive players, I'll make sure to be downfield so I can face the offense and vice versa, versus let's say following the ball because then things get much more difficult.

Do you do a lot of planning before you arrive?

I wouldn't say a lot of planning. I might think about some photos I want, but usually I'll just get there and see what comes up and plan accordingly.

Do you find a particular part of the process frustrating?

Sometimes editing, especially with Photoshop. Not a big fan of Photoshop. I think it's too much for me.

What do you believe are your strengths and weaknesses as a photographer?

I'm good at choosing which shots are better than others when I'm picking photos out for a final project. Sometimes I struggle to go full manual mode if I'm shooting something super quick. And I have to really dial it in, set it up, and try several times if I'm going for that.

Do you take inspiration from famous photographers?

I like stuff taken by this guy named Jamey Price (@jameypricephoto). He's a motorsport photographer. He's always getting those panning effect shots where the background's blurry but the subject's focused. He was my inspiration for some of my photos. Also, he gets cool angles. He does cool things with light, long exposure, blur, things like that. He kind of showed me that you don't always need a perfectly in-focus photo to have a good piece of artwork.

How do you brainstorm your ideas? When you take a photo, how do you decide which angles to take?

Usually I'll look at what's going on beforehand, look at how things develop. Let's say I go to a car show and the cars are leaving and I can take pictures of them accelerating on the way out. I'll look where the light is and, depending on the look I'm going for, I'll decide whether to face into the sun or face my back to the sun so the light goes on the car. And I look at how close they're getting to me, which determines which lens I'm going to use. And a lot of it's just changing and adapting as things around me change.

Are any of your photos inspired by your personal experiences?

One that's going to be on display for the senior panel is a photo I took inside the car of my dad driving. It just reminds me of being a little kid when my dad would drive me around all over the place before I had my driver's license. I enjoyed those times being in the backseat with him zooming around.

Will you continue to do art in college? In the future?

Yeah it's a hobby of mine. I enjoy the creative process. I enjoy seeing cool results. It’s not my main thing, but I could definitely see myself doing it on the side in college.

Do you have any goals as an artist?

Not much now. Just keep shooting, really. Keep developing my craft.

What advice do you have for students who relate to your experiences, students who also aim to be photographers?

Just go out and shoot. Watch videos, go out and shoot. When you really obsess over it is when you'll see a breakthrough.

Do you have a favorite place in the Philadelphia area?

Ben Franklin Parkway. It looks cool. You can see the art museum. You can see the oval. You can see the buildings, see the river, see the highways, see the trains etc. You can see everything from there.