Welcome to R. Jay Flaming Photography - Jay Flaming Photography, PhotoMaker

Photography

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Philosophy

I am a lifetime storyteller. I use my camera to convey stories with a strong sense of place and emotion. I prefer a minimalist clean image with a photojournalistic feel, without contrived or overblown edits. I was blessed in youth to live in Yellowstone Park, surrounded by astonishing photographers. I have been most heavily influenced by the work of Walker Evans, Edward Weston, William Henry Jackson, and my mentor John Stamets.

Work

I teach photography in formal classroom settings, on ships and in small seminars. I also exhibit, publish, and do custom shoots. My subjects include nature, landscapes, architecture, nightscapes, and historic rephotographics. My favorite camera is my Graflex 4x5 monorail, which I shoot in B&W film and develop in house. I also shoot a Graflex Speed Graphic 4x5 for remote work, and various Pentax DSLRs. I enjoy the challenge of remote field work. I've been lucky to have opportunities to take photographs in places from Greenland to arctic Alaska and the Mediterranean.

Selected Recent Images

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I post select images from my various projects and daily life on Instagram. Here are my most recent feed images… follow my feed directly in Instagram, I’d love to connect with you! I try to post about five images per week, depending on my work load.

https://www.instagram.com/jayflaming/

jayflaming

The outsider. July 16 2021.

The outsider. July 16 2021.

Printing out a cyanotype contact print in December

Printing out a cyanotype contact print in December requires patience! I probably should get an ultraviolet lamp. #altprocess #cyanotype

Last summer there was a BLM march down our street.

Last summer there was a BLM march down our street. I was recovering from knee surgery a couple of days earlier but I went out and got some shots with my Speed Graphic. Some of the film got lost in my pain killer haze and I just found and developed it. I hadn't even noticed I was being photographed when I shot this. Shooting fast moving events with a Speed is pretty all consuming. #4x5 #graflex #speedgraphic #photojournalism #fomapan400 #blm #seattle

Dog portraiture on a 4x5 monorail studio camera re

Dog portraiture on a 4x5 monorail studio camera requires a helper for steadying during focus and setup... Stuart is a good subject, though. Graphic View camera, 152 mm antastigmat lens. Fomapan 400 sheet film, developed in stock xtol. Pretty happy with it... getting my groove back on the big cameras. This developer is a bit oxidized, though, I'm getting about a stop under. I'm thinking about dumping my tank and starting over with microdol x (the legacypro remake from Freestyle). #fomapan #4x5 #largeformat #dogportrait #labbrittanymix

A few pictures from Blewett Pass. First snow of t

A few pictures from Blewett Pass. First snow of the year for me. In the direct midday sun landscapes weren't great but the icy vegetation was awesome.

It's rare that the sea is still enough to capture

It's rare that the sea is still enough to capture night long exposures of boats in a marina. We arrived to overnight in guest moorage at the Boat Haven on the hottest day in a long time in the PNW. After a muggy shower in a boiling hot room, amazing fish and chips dockside, and a very strange beer in a local brewery garden, it was weird to see lightning off in the distance (we don't get summer storms here). I shot some pics of the strange sky with the camera sitting on the ramp, which was fairly level due to the very high tide. Port Townsend is a town full of weird and wonderful boats. #porttownsend #nightphotography #nightscape #marina #boats #harbor #washingtonstate

Bioluminescence in sea water off Cypress Island in

Bioluminescence in sea water off Cypress Island in the San Juan Islands of Washington state, behind a kayak paddle. This isn't a great photo, but I've never been able to get a picture of it before, it's quite dim for cameras, even if it's very bright and impressive in person. This shot was at ISO 12800 on an f1.4 lens, and it's the best I've been able to do. If you haven't seen it, it's incredible. Every disturbance of the water kicks off chemical light from little microorganisms. It's mesmerizing if rowing, or in the wake of a boat. #bioluminescence #sanjuanislands #salishsea #sailing

The B side of my view while shooting Neowise last

The B side of my view while shooting Neowise last weekend. #nightsky #pentax

Neowise below Ursa Major (Big Dipper)

Neowise below Ursa Major (Big Dipper)

Protestors march in Seattle, Sunday June 6. #blac

Protestors march in Seattle, Sunday June 6.
#blackandwhite #photojournalism

Protestors march in Seattle, Sunday June 6. #blac

Protestors march in Seattle, Sunday June 6.
#blackandwhite #photojournalism

Mothballed 737 MAX airplanes fill an empty employe

Mothballed 737 MAX airplanes fill an empty employee parking lot at Boeing in Seattle, as seen from the South Park Bridge. #seattle #boeing #737max #photojournalism #pentax #sodo

OK, I will wrap up Fairbanks in March photos with

OK, I will wrap up Fairbanks in March photos with this set from the World Ice Art Championships. #FairbanksAlaska #iceart #icesculpture #alaska #sculpture

@ordinaryadventurespnw wearing a mask when you did

@ordinaryadventurespnw wearing a mask when you did it because of cold! @Chenahotsprings checking out the cabins along the hot spring exit creek. #alaska #fairbanksalaska

Fairbanks in March continued. This ice sculpture w

Fairbanks in March continued. This ice sculpture was at the World Ice Art Championships. #icesculpture #icecarving #fairbanksalaska @explorefairbanks #pentax #pentaxian #alaska #winter

#FairbanksAlaska shoot continued. This shot is on

#FairbanksAlaska shoot continued. This shot is on a road, the Goldstream, to the north and west of town that used to be known for inexpensive permafrost land. The homes here don't have running water due to the frozen ground, and most are built up above the surface to prevent the building from thawing the soil. When permafrost melts it heaves, so a building built on it will very quickly become structurally unsound as it twists and settles into the new mud underneath. The permafrost extendes down well over 100 feet, so there's no digging pipies "below the frostline" like you think of in the lower 48. The trees are black spruce, that can live in the thin active layer on top that thaws every summer. They are all topsy-turvy because they have little structural support underneath, and despite looking like saplings, they can be quite old.

More pics from Fairbanks. Visitors to Chena Hot Sp

More pics from Fairbanks. Visitors to Chena Hot Springs have drinks in the ice museum bar. @explorefairbanks @chenahotsprings #icehotel #appletinisandice #alaska #fairbanksalaska #pentax #pentaxian

Visitors to the Chena Hot Springs ice museum can e

Visitors to the Chena Hot Springs ice museum can enjoy a cocktail (as long as you want an appletini in a glass made of ice). Barstools are cushioned with caribou hides for warmth. The light in here is wild. @explorefairbanks @chenahotsprings #fairbanksalaska #icehotel #icecarving #thatscold #pentax #pentaxian

More from the Fairbanks shoot in early March. Silv

More from the Fairbanks shoot in early March. Silver Gulch Brewery in #fairbanksalaska has a roadhouse vibe, just a few miles north of town in Fox. It is odd to come out of the cold, dark winter in a bright bustling space like this. @silvergulch @explorefairbanks #brewpub #craftbeer

More throwbacks to our trip to Fairbanks preCovid.

More throwbacks to our trip to Fairbanks preCovid. We were wishing we could hang around until the deck opened. Fairbanks has a great deck dining and beverage culture. #alaska #craftbeer @explorefairbanks #fairbanksbeer @blacksprucebeer

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News and Projects

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Yacht crew cheering

July 24, 2018 Jay Off Featured Image

Some pictures of the yacht Bribery at the 2018 Whidbey Island Race Week regatta. More images of other boats to…

June 5, 2017 Jay Off Featured Image

Mt Rainier over the Duwamish River rail bridge.

May 7, 2017 Jay Off Featured Image

High hedges provide wind relief near the bike trail along the Sammamish River in Woodinville Washington.

May 6, 2017 Jay Off Featured Image

Heartleaf Arnica peer out at the sun.

May 5, 2017 Jay Off Featured Image

April 30, 2017 Jay Off Featured Image

Racing the rain, a Thunderbird yacht heads for the finish line in a race at Corinthian Yacht Club‘s Lake Washington…

April 16, 2017 Jay Off Featured Image

Who says you can’t shoot wildlife on the wing with 25 speed film?

April 16, 2017 Jay Off Featured Image

Removing color from bright subjects can sometimes highlight their textures. I find this image super moody, a sharp contrast to…

April 1, 2017 Jay Off Featured Image

In his book “Just Ride” author/bicycle company owner Grant Peterson uses the term “beausage” to describe how things don’t get…

Sage, Potholes Reservoir

March 31, 2017 Jay Off Featured Image

I’ve never seen it greener in Eastern Washington than it is right now, but it’s still a totally different set…

Portfolio

Ceaseless Change: South Lake Union

Currently on exhibit: Ceaseless Change: South Lake...
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Iconic Views

Available soon: the first of our series...
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Pacific Northwest Seasons: Up Close

Designed for interior decorators, this is a...
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Picturing the AYPE

I have fond memories of working on...
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Elwha River: A River Reborn

Large format maps prepared for the Elwha...
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Sage Spirit

I prepared maps for the book "Sage...
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Store

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https://www.etsy.com/shop/rjflamingphoto

Contact me

Section Description

About Us
I serve up innovative photography and cartographic solutions to many communities, including architects, real estate, and historic preservation specialists in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. I can provide digital imaging or traditional large format silver-based black and white photography to meet HABS/HAER and archival needs. Examples of our services include architectural photography for new construction or historical preservation, new business packages, including photos and maps for websites, printed materials, or advertising, fine art photography, product line imaging, and process documentation.

Our Address
R. Jay Flaming Photography (LLC)
Seattle WA

Phone
(206) 569-5486

Keep in Touch

Email List

Quarterly to monthly at most, never shared.