Photographer Feature: Jason Lee

Jason Lee's photography includes a couple of compositions and sequences that have become simply iconic.  Watch the photo rotation above - many of these images will be familiar to you, as Jason is a well-published photographer and has become very successful, relatively quickly. For example, we all knew about the amount of photographers involved with Danny Harf's recent helicopter shoot, but Jason Lee is the person that perhaps best captured the fear element of the story Danny told us in a recent interview.  We very much appreciate the time that Jason took to sit down with FUEL TV to talk and share some of his best work. Several of these should be on your wall. —Erik Jernberg

Jason grew up a town called Crystal Lake, IL - a suburb northwest of Chicago. His parents were into lake boating and eventually purchased a Ski Nautique for the family. After a short stint with waterskiing he convinced his Father to pick up a wakeboard - a Hyperlite BAFF 142 to be exact, something he fondly recalls but recognizes the board was far too big for him. He didn’t care – and didn’t water ski again.

While in school Jason took photography classes, shooting black and white film, printing in a darkroom, and that really piqued his interest in taking photography further. That deepening interest lead to shooting his friends wakeboarding and skateboarding. Jason says, “I never thought about photography as a career though, until I was trying to figure out where I wanted to go to college and what I wanted to do. I always wanted to live somewhere warm, and after some looking around I found out about the photography program at Daytona Beach Community College.”

So it was decided. Jason moved to Orlando in 2003 and ended up living on the same lake that Pro Tour veteran Josh Sanders was living on at the time. The two started riding, hanging out, and shooting. “Before I knew it I was shooting lot and meeting other wakeboarders & photographers, and making connections with people that worked at the wake magazines and in the industry”. Jason recalls, “it's all grown from there.”

Living in Orlando, Jason is in the right in the middle of the wakeboarding world, which is crucial for his ability to meet new people and talent. Inspired shooting comes from the fresh faces and new style he discovers out on the water. Jason is on the inner circle of wake, so when things are happing he is usually hearing about it or getting a phone call to go out and shoot. “It's great, I have met and made a lot of good friends in the wakeboarding industry. Orlando has been a great place for networking. I'm out almost every day shooting.”

“I've had photos published on covers and billboards, and have made a lot of friends and met a lot of great people that have helped me along the way to get where I am at now. I will always be grateful for everything that I have and am always excited for what lies ahead.”

Catch Jason over at blurryphotos.com for contact information and more examples of his work.