New York, South Fork, Quogue, wave curl
Wave Curl, Quogue, NY,
I had driven about an hour to get to the beach at sunrise. It was a clear day. The waves were rolling in beautifully. I shot about 500 photos to get the perfect moment when the wave feels like a glass petal.
Blue Sparkle, Atlantic Ocean, Montauk New York, , Long Island, South Fork
Blue Sparkle, Atlantic Ocean, Montauk, 2004
I was high on the bluffs on the Eastern most spot In Long Island looking out at the vast expanse of the ocean, It was late morning the sky and the ocean where this wonderful blue. The sun created these wonderful sparkles on the water. On a wall it feels like a window out into the ocean.
Watching the movement of waves, were does one end and one begin, how one shape fades into another shape. The bright silver sparkles dancing along the surface. Jake Rajs
Look at nature, work independently, and solve your own problems. Winslow Homer
Playing volleyball, Ponquogue Beach, Hampton Bays, NY.
Ponquogue Beach, Hampton Bays, New York, South Fork, Long Island
This is a composite of 2 pictures, shot over the span of 45 minutes. One of the volleyball players and one of the family walking with the stripped beach towels. The luminous lighting and harmony of the repetitive lines of the snow fence, blue beach towels and the volleyball players and net, at the beach moved me. JR
Manhattan an Island In Focus book by Jake Rajs
Manhattan an Island in Focus introduction
Manhattan is a romance between the dreams of its people and their reality. As a photographer I try to capture those special visual moments when the dream becomes a real.
My earliest memory of the city is the immigrant’s introduction to the Promised Land. I was eight years old. My family had spent two weeks on the ship from Israel, and as we pulled into New York Harbor at night, everyone looked up at the Statue of Liberty and began to cry. I was to young to understand what was happening, but I cried too, and that emotion always returns when I see her.
I was trained as a painter and sculptor, but when I picked up a camera and shot that first roll of film, I experienced a sense of freedom, the freedom to leave the studio and make the world my subject. I moved to Manhattan in the early 1970s. Ever since then I have known that I would someday make this book. It is the ultimate challenge for a photographer, since Manhattan is probably the world’s most-photographed city.
Manhattan intrigues me so much that I can shoot nearly every day, waiting for that sudden instant when the sun’s rays rebound off a skyscraper or a bridge. For the last ten years I have watched the city’s seasons change, always finding a new design, a new symbol, or some new image that tells a story about the greatest city in the world.
The city has moods affected by the times of year and the times of day. In the winter, the sun sets below the Statue of Liberty, but by summertime it goes down above Central Park. Each day the light is different, as the sun takes up its new position. It may rise between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, for example, only three days a year, so I have to plan from one year to the next in order to be ready for particular shots.
The experience of photographing Manhattan is so overwhelming that time seems to stop. When the hostages were freed from Iran in 1981 and New York gave them a ticker-tape parade, I got a press pass and found a good vantage point on the ledge of high above Broadway. All of the sudden I could hear the roar of the crowd. The roar began to build, then far below the parade began to approach. I was mesmerized. The next thing that I knew I was hanging over the ledge, with my assistant holding my feet, firing away, photograph after photograph, until gradually the roar began to die down, and my assistant hauled me back inside. I took a deep breath. What had felt like a second was actually an hour going by.
The photographer uses the camera as a machine to strip away unnecessary information, simplify it so that the image can become a symbol. A friend once called me because there was a huge blaze on Thirty-fourth Street. I rushed down to the scene and found confusion- fire trucks, smoke, and firemen running with hoses. But in the camera the chaos became an image of man’s battle with the unknown.
The city sometimes shows its negative side. One morning I decided to photograph the sunrise from the top of the Brooklyn Bridge. I had permission to climb the cables, and about four o’clock in the morning a steelworker, my assistant, and I had began the ascent. It was still pitch dark when we got to the top, but we could see a man on the outside cables, ready to jump. The man begged me not to take his picture and I didn’t, but after the steelworker went for help, the roadbed below was filled with television cameramen and photojournalists. Before rescue police could get to him, the man jumped, his body reappeared three hundred feet downstream, and they pulled him into a boat. My stomach was in knots and I called it quits for the day. That night I found out the man had miraculously survived. The next day we tried again. The sunrise was gorgeous.
One of the most exciting experiences I have is photographing the city from a helicopter. It’s like being Superman, swooping in and around the buildings, circling the Statue of Liberty. Just as the camera is a machine that I can use to extend my vision, the helicopter is another extension, giving me the ability to fly.
A lot of what I shoot comes to me in dreams. I wake up in the morning with a particular image in mind, like the one of the Statue of Liberty between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. I knew somehow that the view had to exist, and I went out looking for what I had imagined until I found it. Other times I use two photographs to create an image. With “New York City on Ice,” the ice floes moving below the Brooklyn Bridge reminded me of clouds. By superimposing two images I came up with an unexpected scene of ice that seems to float in the sky.
I don’t expect you to see the way I see. But through the photographs in this book, you will see the way I feel. Enjoy the feelings, as I have, feel the romance for yourself, wherever you are. This book is as much about the way of seeing as it is about Manhattan.
J.R.
New New York, Collage of buildings that were build the first decade of the 21 century
Modern New York City
A couple of years ago I noticed that New York had gone through an architectural transformation. It moved into the 21 century. This is an image of the new buildings and parks that were created during the first decade of the 21-century.
Le Corbusier said “Light creates ambiance and feel of a place, as well as the expression of a structure.”
These United States by Jake Rajs
Jake Rajs’ by Peter Kotsinadelis These United States—The Definitive American Landscape, Rangefinder Magazine Article
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. That being the case, one could say the images in Jake Rajs’ new book, These United States, speak volumes. The book is the most recent from the New York-based photographer and took nearly four years to compile from 30 years worth of archived images. Additionally, there is a wonderful introduction by veteran newsman Walter Cronkite, whom Jake remembers seeing on television when he was eight and had just moved to the United States.
These United States (Rizzoli, 2003) is a photo book that illustrates the magnificence of the country and is divided it into six sections: “Land,” “Coast,” “Freedom,” “Trails,” “Country,” and “City.” As you review these sections, the images convey a story—a journey from vast open land to beautiful coasts, national monuments, open trails, cities and country places.
While looking at Jake’s eighth book in a dozen years, I was most curious to learn how these ideas came to him. Jake explains, “They just pop into my head. I treat each image as a paragraph in a story and go through my library of more than 150,000 images. As the concept develops I look for what else I may need to tell the story and begin shooting to complete the book.
“As I edit the images, I try not to become too attached to one photograph, even though it may have taken me 6000 miles to get to. Another photograph, which may have happened in 30 seconds could better tell the story. The public only sees the end product, so once the photograph is taken, you ask yourself if there’s life in the photograph. How long it took you to take it and how difficult it was to take are things the public will not see in your image.”
Born in Poland, Jake’s family immigrated to Israel when he was five, and a few years later to the United States. A graduate of Rutgers College with a B.A. in Studio Art, one does not wonder how he was drawn into photography.
“Originally I thought I would be a sculptor or painter since Michelangelo, Matisse and Picasso were huge influences on me, but I have always been interested in the arts. So one time in college when I was writing poetry I decided to use photography as a means to illustrate my work. What I soon learned was that my photography was a lot better than my poetry, so I decided I had to go with what I was better at.”
Jake’s photography has led him from working on national ad campaigns for American Express, AT&T, Ford and the U.S. Army to traveling to places like Istanbul and Turkey, while doing feature stories for Travel & Leisure magazine. Currently his clients include Nike, Citicorp, CBS Records, Donald Trump, GM’s Chevrolet division, and Marriott, just to name a few.
His photography work speaks for itself, “Good work comes from passion. You reveal yourself. You need to be honest. You cannot lie to yourself, or it will be like diving into a pool with no water in it.”
Jake’s cameras are all film, and include a Fujifilm GX-617 medium format panorama camera with 105mm lens and a Center Neutral Density filter to remove vignetting, a Pentax 67 with various lenses, and a Sinar 4×5. He does use a Nikon F5 and F100 35mm SLRs as well, but prefers medium or large format for his work.
“Sometimes if I arrive at a destination and the light is leaving too quickly for me to set up my medium format gear, I grab my F5 or F100 and shoot. It’s always better to get the image even on a smaller format than to miss it entirely.”
His film of choice is Fujichrome Velvia 50 for almost all his work. “As a painter I liked colors and was influenced by pop artists like Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg and James Rosenquist. I tried newer films including Velvia 100F, but Velvia 50 gives me the image I want with great color.”
Jake Rajs’ by Peter Kotsinadelis These United States—The Definitive American Landscape article PDF
South Dakota, Mount Rushmore National Monument in Black Hills
Virginia. George Washington's home on Mount Vernon, built in 1743
Mount Vernon, located near Alexandria, Virginia, was the plantation home of George Washington, the first President of the United States. The mansion is built of wood in neoclassical Georgian architectural style, and is located along the Potomac River.
Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company.George Washington
I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.
True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity, before it is entitled to the appellation.
If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.
If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known, that we are at all times ready for War.
It is better to be alone than in bad company.
It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.
It may be laid down as a primary position, and the basis of our system, that every Citizen who enjoys the protection of a Free Government, owes not only a proportion of his property, but even of his personal services to the defense of it.
Let your heart feel for the afflictions and distress of everyone, and let your hand give in proportion to your purse.
Mankind, when left to themselves, are unfit for their own government.
My first wish is to see this plague of mankind, war, banished from the earth.
My observation is that whenever one person is found adequate to the discharge of a duty… it is worse executed by two persons, and scarcely done at all if three or more are employed therein.
Over grown military establishments are under any form of government inauspicious to liberty, and are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty.
Some day, following the example of the United States of America, there will be a United States of Europe.
The Constitution is the guide which I never will abandon.
The constitution vests the power of declaring war in Congress; therefore no offensive expedition of importance can be undertaken until after they shall have deliberated upon the subject and authorized such a measure.
To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace.
I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.
George Washington
Jake Rajs was born in Poland and moved to Israel before coming to Brooklyn at age eight. “My father came first, while we were in Israel, maybe it’s my childhood memory talking, but we came on a ship. It took two weeks, and then we arrived in New York harbor. We were all on deck, it was nighttime, and we see the Statue of Liberty and everyone’s crying, I’m crying. Then, early in the morning, we were watching the sun hit the skyline, and everything turns golden. People came for their dreams.”
New York, Long Island, Hudson Valley, Connecticut-based photographer. Specializing in commercial and art photography, best known for stunning and timeless architectural and landscape imagery.
Jake Rajs has traveled across America and throughout the world capturing the images and spirit of place. He has created award-winning photographs that have been featured in countless magazines, books and albums and his prints are in numerous museums and private collections.
Over 16 art books in print by publishers including Rizzoli, Random House, and Monacelli Press. Representative works include, New New York, (Random House, Monacelli Press, 2011), These United States, with an Introduction by Walter Cronkite (Rizzoli, 2008), Atlantic with an Introduction by Walter Cronkite (Rizzoli, 2007),New York: City of Islands, with an Introduction by Pete Hamill (The Monacelli Press, 2007), Manhattan: an Island in Focus, (Rizzoli/Universe, 2005), Portrait of Long Island: The North Fork and the Hamptons (The Monacelli Press, 2011), Carved by Time: Landscapes of the Southwest, with an Introduction by Hampton Sides (The Monacelli Press, 2010), Beyond the Dunes: A Portrait of the Hamptons, with an Introduction by Paul Goldberger (The Monacelli Press, 2008), Between Sea and Sky: Landscapes of Long Island’s North Fork (The Monacelli Press, 2006), America with an Introduction by James Michener (Rizzoli/Universe, 2005). The Hudson River: From Tear of the Clouds to Manhattan (The Monacelli Press, 2006), Cherry Blossoms (Rizzoli, 2008), Cape Cod and the Islands (Rizzoli, 2008), The Twin Towers: Moments in Time (Apple App, 2011)
If you want the highest quality architectural, landscape and aerial photography you have come to the right place. We are a digital imaging company specializing in fine art and commercial photography for advertising, architectural, corporate, design, construction, real estate, art gallery, interior design, landscape architecture, publishing and editorial clients. We offer an extensive collection of fine art prints and image licensing.
Our range of services includes, architectural, aerial, landscape, product, portraiture, and reproduction of fine art photography. Our digital services include digital retouching, large format printing and framing.
We offer private lessons on all aspects of digital imagery.
Photography has been featured in more than 10,000 publications, including Time, Life, Newsweek, The New York Times, Esquire, Town & Country, Travel & Leisure, New York, Men’s Health, and National Geographic. Commercial work includes award winning, global and national campaigns for clients such as American Express, Nike, AT&T, Ford, Honeywell and the US Army.
Received numerous awards and honors, have taught and lectured.
Parade for Hostages returning from Iran, Broadway Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, NY, USA
The experience of photographing Manhattan is so overwhelming that time seems to stop. When the hostages were freed from Iran in 1981 and New York gave them a ticker-tape parade, I got a press pass and found a good vantage point on the ledge of high above Broadway. All of the sudden I could hear the roar of the crowd. The roar began to build, then far below the parade began to approach. I was mesmerized. The next thing that I knew I was hanging over the ledge, with my assistant holding my feet, firing away, photograph after photograph, until gradually the roar began to die down, and my assistant hauled me back inside. I took a deep breath. What had felt like a second was actually an hour going by.
New York. Chrysler Building Aerial, New York City, designed by William Van Alen in 1928
One of the most exciting experiences I have is photographing the city from a helicopter. It’s like being Superman, swooping in and around the buildings, circling the Statue of Liberty. Just as the camera is a machine that I can use to extend my vision, the helicopter is another extension, giving me the ability to fly.
Statue of Liberty National Monument, New York City, New York, New Jersey, Aerial
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