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Jake Terry
@jaketerryphoto
Landscape photographer based in France
Around three years ago I was making these vlog types of videos on my YouTube channel, documenting my life and travels as a professional snowboarder. That is where my passion for photography derives from. From age eight I have been a sponsored snowboarder, traveling all over the world competing in a variety of contests in Freeride, Freestyle, half pipe or even rail battles.
"I left school when I was 13 to do a winter season in Davos, Switzerland. As a 13 year old spending six months in the mountains I had a dream life that I didn’t want to end."
I wanted to spend my life in the mountains because whether I was on a snowboard or not, I felt at home there. For the next two years I was doing these winter seasons while working in the Snowdome in the summer months, until one day I got home from work (I was 15) and my dad told me to pack my snowboard gear and a suitcase with clothes as if it was for a big holiday. He told me we were going away for a few months so I grabbed my clothes, some personal items and my xbox (so essential, haha). The next day we arrived in Bourg Saint Maurice in the French Alps, a place I had never been to before. Nothing I knew about the local resort Les Arcs and La Plagne, the people, the area. A completely new life that made me realize after a few months that I would never be living in the UK again.
"My dad saw my passion for the mountains and snowboarding and wanted to make my dream of living in the mountains come true."
If it hadn’t been for his courage of taking this risk, I don’t know what I would be doing now but I can for sure say that I wouldn’t be a photographer. It was a moment in life that has forever changed my path and I couldn’t be more grateful and happy for what my father did. I have had some insane experiences since I live in France, experiences I would never have had living in the UK.
When I started shooting, I just took photos of simple candid stuff while filming, such as an empty train station, my snowboard or even a GoPro photo of me riding. It fueled something inside me that I didn’t know existed, this constant desire to want to capture something from my perspective that maybe somebody else would never see. Since we moved to this area in France, it has been hard to not constantly want to take photos. Mountains, Alpine lakes, forests, rivers running through the valleys, wildlife, the night sky… There is so much beauty that I couldn’t resist buying a camera and capture every second of the surroundings.
Snowboarding and photography go hand in hand so well, it is such an intensely energizing action that it is impossible to not want to record it. Since I started I have been seeing photographers doing their job within the winter sport field. I remember I got my first serious sponsor as I was turning 9 with DC Shoes, and a week later I received all my new gear. We did a photoshoot for them as a “Welcome to the Team” press release. Since then I’ve had the pleasure of working with some incredible photographers and with that I learned a little about cameras and photography. What looks good in a photo and what doesn’t, what clothes pop and what clothes make you blend in, and what tricks to do with certain angles, etc. So from a young age I’ve had this mindset that would be thinking: “Ok Jake, the photographer is standing on the left side of the jump, so don’t do this trick or that trick because it will look strange”. When I started using my camera myself more and more, snowboarding was the only subject I wanted to shoot, because I had this background of a rider knowing the angles and knowing the best places for certain tricks. I would use this knowledge to my advantage.
"But as I enjoyed photography so much, I gradually started shooting other views and living in the mountains only stimulated that."
Nevertheless, no matter what happens, snowboarding will be my life. It consumes me in every sense; I don’t see myself as anything other than a snowboarder. But now with my camera I can enjoy the mountains in summer, looking at them with different eyes while hiking to get to the highest point of the mountains. I want that feeling of standing on top, seeing the surrounding view, capturing that moment and then picturing myself riding down, dreaming of the coming winter and actually doing it. I’m a snowboarder with a camera.
"It's difficult to explain what it is about the mountains that has made me fall in love with them, but it is addictive."
Honestly, it led me to the dumbest choice I have ever made: Hike 15km to my favourite place on crutches. Last June I was at a snowboard contest in the Netherlands and I overestimated a jump which ruined my right knee and put me on crutches for about a month. Three weeks after my crash, Caleb, my bestfriend/brother/inspiration in life, came to see me and my dad to cheer me up because I was moody and couldn’t walk. He was staying with us for five days and we decided to do a night camping up in a place called La Sassiere. It is my favourite location for so many reasons that are indescribable – you can only visit it to understand me. The views, the lake and mountains there are unreal and it was one of the first hikes I did when I moved to France so it holds a very nostalgic place in my heart. Beautiful place or not, it was a miserable experience. But I can only think back and laugh like a madman, its an adventure that will forever be engraved in my mind purely because of how stupid it was.
"This same place (La Sassiere) where I had this awful adventure made 2020 the best year of my life."
For 2 years I had been on the hunt for ibex, and a few weeks ago when I was hiking with my dad I suddenly stood face to face with an ibex with around 5ft between us. We had headed out to a new trail up to a mountain we had never been to before: The Lancebranlette. This beautiful mountain on the border of France and Italy with views over the Aosta Valley on one side and the Tarentaise Valley on the other, and a bonus view of the Mont Blanc. About three hours into the hike my dad spotted something moving a few hundred meters above us; it was a small herd of ibex with some baby Ibex.
"I can’t describe the motion my heart made, I think it jumped out of my body but at the same time it sank."
I have no idea. I was so happy that within a few hundred meters I could have the chance of getting a shot I had dreamed about for 2 years. We continued going up very slowly, making sure we were conscious of them and their movements and then I came around a corner on the trail and there he stood, 5ft in front of me, a male ibex with his huge horns and a backdrop of the Italian mountains. I could have cried, I shot close to a hundred photos within just 5 minutes. This ibex remained very calm while having me being so close, just munching on some grass while I was trying to control myself to not scream of pure excitement. A moment that I will never forget!
"I think this year as a whole has taught me so much. 2020 has been an absolute trip, for everyone I think."
The thing I’ve learnt about the most is patience. As a freelance photographer I’ve learnt that it takes time to get that shot you had visualized, but also to get your first paid job. You’re not going to pick up a camera, take a photo and instantly get a job with a huge brand. You have to grind, you have to put in everything you have, shoot everyday, and keep going until you get to where you want to be. At the start of 2020 I was pretty convinced that life as a freelance photographer wasn’t going to happen, I had those inner demons telling me I was wasting my time and I should sell everything and aim for a “normal” 9 to 5. Fast forward 8 months, I’ve had the chance to go on a month long road trip with some of Europe’s finest snowboarders and document that trip for several brands and film for a new movie, and shot some of the craziest mountain bike actions I’ve ever seen. It takes time to get to where you dream of getting. Although I am nowhere near where I want to be, I am fine with that.
"It will take time, focus, determination and a little bit of craziness. But I’ll get there."
"My life as a snowboarder has really shaped my life as a photographer."
You’re going to be at low points and you’re going to be at high points, but for me the key is appreciating every moment and learning from every experience, appreciating the people around you who motivate you, teach you, help you, and cheer you up. I have several people in my life that are invaluable – I really wouldn’t be where I am without them.
I want to say a massive thank you to two people, my dad being one of them. I can’t thank him enough for all that he has done for me, from buying me my first camera to waking up at 3am so I can get a shot of the milky way. He is someone that has supported me in more ways than I can think of and I’m forever grateful for everything. He is my biggest mentor in life and has taught me so much; his work ethic is unparalleled and it motivates me to work hard for what I want to get out of life. And Caleb, my big brother, best friend, motivator, wingman and all round adventure partner. He has always been there to stimulate me and push me, make me smile and do crazy things. It’s never a dull moment with him and I can’t wait for what the future holds.
"Thank you two so much for everything that you do for me, your constant motivation and support has shaped me into the person I am today and I couldn't be more grateful."
About Jakes Editing Style
When I edit a photo I want to relive that moment through the photo for the years to come. I want to convey the emotion I felt when taking it to the viewers. If it doesn’t make me feel something, I don’t want to share it. Sometimes, the feeling I had when taking an image was sad but for others it makes them happy. I think that’s what I love about photography and the whole process behind taking a photo and sharing it – everyone will conceive it differently. I want my photo to make someone feel something different for a few seconds on their day. Mainly, I try my best to convey what I saw with my eyes. Through photography I can express emotions and feelings that I just can’t describe with words.
My editing process has changed a lot since I started taking photography a bit more seriously. When I first started I used to edit my photos a lot, the difference between the RAW and finished product was insane and it was because I didn’t really know what I liked and what inspired me. Now my editing process and style is quite minimal I believe, I try to make the finished photo look as similar to the raw as possible with just a few adjustments, colour adjustments and framing. I did a workshop from Alex Strohl and there was a sentence in one of the episodes that has stuck with me for years:
"Don’t depend on post production, nail everything in camera, and use post production to fine tune."
I try to follow that rule in my editing process. But still, it changes quite often. There’s times where I love bright, vibrant images and there’s times where I love moody, dark, dramatic styling so it really does depend on me, my emotions, mindset as well as the conditions. I don’t want to try and make a bright vibrant day moody, and vice versa.
With this image in particular I knew I wanted the finished look to be moody, because it was a seriously moody day in the mountains. We had this heavy fog rolling in and out all morning making everywhere look like something out thriller movie. As me and my father were walking up the walking trail I noticed a refuge across the valley, for some reason it instantly made me think of the Griggs house in the movie Blair Witch Project. Something about the shape, the tall triangular roof and style of windows gave me this tingling feeling in my spine. I took out my 70-200mm (my favourite lens) and started looking for a frame.
"I like my photos to have a foreground, middle ground and background, three elements that I think everyone looks for when shooting."
The shrubbery in the end of June was very green, all sorts of greens ranging from vibrant to deep earth like greens with the odd mix of oranges and yellows. I wanted to highlight not only the refuge in this image but also the scale of the landscape where it is situated. This refuge sits right under the Glacier des Glacier, a very beautiful glacier that sits on the Mont Blanc massif. I wanted to highlight that without having to see the actual mountain. It took me around 3 photos before I had a photo I was happy with and could continue with the walk. Later on in the day we walked down next to this old refuge and the spine tingles truly came back. It was a very beautiful building with lots of character – I’m not sure If I’d want to spend a night in there to be honest but I’m happy I was able to get a photo that brought a smile to my face.
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