Jay Gordon
Manuel
To the Rescue
Cutie Caleb
Waimea Canyon
Greek Priest
Jay’s first camera was the popular Brownie, recognized by anyone who lived during the 50s. It took black and white photographs, which were expensive to have printed and took several days to process. It sometimes took longer than that to raise the money, because his primary source of income was returning pop bottles for the deposit refund of two cents each. He says he took numerous photographs of relatives, missing their heads or other vital body parts, but almost never failed to get great pictures of their feet.
Jay says he didn’t become really serious about photography -- and that was largely involuntary -- until the mid-60s. As an employee of Pan Am he literally traveled the world. He began selling travel articles to industry publications. It quickly became apparent that he could sell more stories if they were accompanied by photographs. He says that good cameras always looked too complicated for him.
Finally, a professional photographer who was trying to impress a young lady with whom Jay worked, wanted to impress her with how worthy he was and gave Jay some practical advice on which camera to buy, he recommended an Olympus 35. Reluctantly, Jay made the investment and learned quickly that he could take zoom lens photos showing actual details.
Jay says he considered himself a writer since the first poem he wrote for the junior high school paper. Following that, there were two years editing his high school paper. “Why, golly, I was practically ready for the big time as a writer,” he says with a grin. When the first check came in, he was startled to see they had paid him as much for his photographs as for the article. At first he was incensed! Then a wisp of logic reached his bruised ego. Those first photos paid for the camera. He could live with results like that.
Jay now has a Nikon D80, which he says has repeatedly proven it is smarter than he is. “Fortunately, I discovered the Willits Photo Club." He says, "The talented and charming friends I made there have helped me more than I ever dreamed possible.”
Results of Jay’s work appear regularly on travel websites, in the Willits Nickel & Dime, Mendocino Arts Magazine, and several area publications.