#1 Please introduce yourself

Hi, I’m Jason Henthorne. I currently reside in Florida, USA

#2 How did you get interested in photography?

Originally my true interest in photography developed when I started traveling internationally in 1998. Sharing my travels to all these unique places was the initial drive. Quickly the travel became highly oriented towards scuba diving as my biggest passion in life is being on and around the ocean. This soon led to a deep passion to capture the world underwater. I still consider underwater photography one of the most challenging genres to capture. Coming full circle in some aspects, but the water is still what drives my passion.

#3 Do you have an artistic/photographic background?

Until about 10 years ago, I considered myself 100% left brain. Thankfully some neurons finally decided to fire on the other half. I have some wonderfully talented artists in my family. The camera has become, and will probably always be, my singular outlet to be artistic.

I feel very fortunate to be self-taught. I have some wonderful friends that are classically trained photographers . I sometimes envy their spectrum of knowledge of photographers past and present. In return I think they envy the fact that photography just came to me naturally.

Elevating my art to its current state has been a work in progress for many years. I try and constantly remind myself that it’s a dynamic and ever changing journey. I.e. Always room to learn from others. I truly believe the moment you think you have reached the pinnacle and there is nothing left to learn, it’s a downward spiral from there.

#4 Which artist/photographer inspired your art?

I am most inspired by contemporary artists and frankly, I consider lots of my colleagues to be very inspiring. Josef Hoflehner comes to mind very quickly along with Michael Kenna. As I started out shooting color many years ago, it was some of Hoflehner’s work that inspired me to embrace black and white.

I remember seeing his images (in crazy out of the way places) and his perspective and capture being exactly the same as a color shot I had taken. First I was amazed that given all the places on earth to take a shot, we had stood in the same place many times but, more importantly, it was then that I realized how much more impactful the monochrome shot was to me.

In addition, I always enjoy the work of Michael Levin, Hakan Strand and Denis Oliver

#5 How much preparation do you put into taking a photograph?

A LOT! For the most part I typically shoot with the intent of a series in mind. It’s usually destination focused versus some specific object to shoot. I like to think of my art as the intersection of ocean and earth. With my primary focus being waterscapes, preparation for me is not only about light and timing, but also tidal flow and season. How drastic is the angle of sun and how what phase is the moon in etc. Trying to get all of these factors in alignment is like herding cats. And then, there is the weather. It seems that many of the places that inspire me most tend to have very rough seas.

That all being said, months of research happen before I ever step foot on the plane. Google Earth has become an integral part of my research process. Yes, I still have to see the view in person before I know if I am going to shoot at a location or not. Now I spend less time driving around searching and hoping and more time capturing.

Typically I shoot for an hour so in both the morning and evening, splitting time on both sides of dawn and dusk. The remainder of the day I am typically scouting future shots for the next day. Exact location, setup and angle.

#6 What fascinates you in objects that you shoot?

My goal, typically, is to take a very ordinary object and by bending time make the area that surrounds it into the extraordinary thing. I am always trying to sort out the scene and deconstruct it if you will. Boil it down to the simplest elements and then from there start the capture. With rare exceptions, my intent is minimalism.