Jason Peterson is a a proper multi-hyphenated creative. He is the current COO (chief creative officer at award winning advertising agency Havas Worldwide) and a renowned photographer in his own right. He recently held a photo exhibition of his helicopter photography at Soho House Chicago and built up a huge instagram audience of over 600,000 followers. His speciality when it comes to photos is beautiful black and white aerial shots. I picked Jason’s brain on his visual style and some of his inspirations behind his work as well as having him share some of his favorite images.
Click through for the feature.
Describe how you got your start in photography and how you developed your style?
A study of the human condition vs urban scale. I am heavily influenced by classic 1940’s-50’s street photography like Harry Callahan.
What gets you inspired to take photos? What other aspects of life do you draw inspiration from?
Taking photographs is like a hunt to me. I’m always searching for an image that is better than the last. Music is a huge inspiration for my photos, I am always listening to music while I’m shooting or editing. All of the titles of my photos come from the music I’m listening to at the time.
What makes a great image for you?
Emotion. If you don’t feel something it’s not good. A great image needs to make you thing and look at the deeper narrative.
How long have you been shooting in black & white, what draws you to that medium?
I have been shooting photos everyday since I was 15 years old.
What is your favorite equipment to shoot on?
My Leica Q or SL for bigger jobs. But actually I love shooting on my iPhone the best!
You are also interested in style and fashion. What are some of your favorite brands or things to wear at the moment?
Mix of Reigning champ, SSur, Supreme, Rapha, Montclair, Lexdray backpack with Jordan 3’s
Where would you like your life and career to be a few years down the road?
I’m doing exactly what I want to be doing right now!
You can find more of Jason’s work on his Instagram.
