Jerry Jacka: Perseverance pays off
Monday, 12 September 2011 22:04
If you spend enough time reading different photography magazines and websites, it seems every new photographer is looking for the secret to success. There must be some magic ingredient, some unique tool or piece of software that successful photographers use and gives them an edge.
Perhaps there is. It just might be a little thing called perseverance. Well, maybe perseverance and just a smidgen of luck.
Jerry Jacka certainly had a hand up in the world of photography. Jacka’s father had a camera and liked to photograph everything, as the younger Jacka remembers. His first camera came from his father, and Jerry often used his high school darkroom to print his negatives. During high school Jacka began submitting photographs to Arizona Highways magazine, hoping to have his work printed. “I had always had a dream of getting into Highways,” Jacka said during a recent phone interview.
Jacka photographed a rattlesnake on top of an old cow skull and remembered thinking, “They’re not going to be able to refuse this one.” But the magazine did. Despite the rejection, the image did win the first place in an Arizona Republic photo contest and was published in the newspaper. Jacka was 16.
He didn’t let Arizona Highways’ refusal dissuade him.
Jacka ended up beginning his photography career as a forensic photographer for the police department. His love for the landscape of Arizona and its Native American cultures eventually helped him achieve his dream, and in 1958, his first image was published in Arizona Highways.
His work began to gain enough attention that in his 30s Jacka had “to decide what I wanted to be when I grew up.” He turned to full-time photography in a career that would span more than 50 years and result in several awards. 1,500 photographs of his have graced the pages of the magazine he once struggled to get published in, according to his website. Five issues of Highways have been devoted entirely to Jacka’s work.
He retired in 2000 but said the magazine still calls occasionally for images from his stock gallery.
It’s a testament to his attitude. “I never heard Joe (Stacey) say, ‘Jerry, you’re a good photographer,’” Jacka said. “What he did say is, ‘Jerry, you have a great attitude.’” Stacey was an editor at Highways from 1974-1975, according to the Highways' site. Jacka adds that he worked his tail off to get the images the magazine needed for its pages.
“Joe told me, ‘I’m gonna put you on stage. It’s up to you to perform.’”
Written by Tim W Glass You are reading Jerry Jacka: Perseverance pays off articles
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