A Photographer’s Life

From huddled figures in mental institutions to sweeping landscapes, Pulitzer-Prize-winning photographer Jack Dykinga’s images span an enormous emotional range from disturbing to celebratory to sublime. They are touchstones in a life of photography.

It’s not often that a career in photography makes as many twists and turns as it has for Jack Dykinga. Early in Jack’s career as a photojournalist he won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography. He then worked as a photo editor and later became a wilderness guide. Today, Jack’s work as a landscape photographer is world-renowned.

After a near-death experience, Jack formed a new perspective that provided a framework for self examination and a deeper look into why images resonate with a photographer’s feelings. As the images displayed in this book progress through the distinct periods in Jack’s life, he describes the influences and events that shaped his changing style and his design sense. With an intense sense of gratitude, he explains the forces that caused his focus to evolve, and he describes the often-subtle changes that define his work.

A virtual “who’s who” of editors, writers, and photographers have influenced Jack’s photographic journey, which has spanned fifty years. His amassed images form a body of work that is diverse and profound. From huddled figures in mental institutions to sweeping landscapes, his images span an enormous emotional range from disturbing to celebratory to sublime. They are touchstones in a life of photography.

Let this autobiographical book of Jack’s journey inspire you to pursue your own artistic journey and apply artistic vision to your craft.