jimeichelman.com: About Me

My photographic journey started many years ago when I purchased a fully manual 35mm camera for my wife. Before long I was using the camera at sporting events.

Born and raised in Baltimore, what young boy growing up in the 1960’s and 1970’s was not a sports fan? With the Baltimore Colts and Baltimore Orioles routinely contending for World Championships and playing at nearby Memorial Stadium, I attended my share of games. My enthusiasm never waned, and I continued to attend Orioles games even after the Colts were stolen in the middle of the night. As an adult, I had Orioles partial season tickets and attended the last Orioles game at Memorial Stadium. In 1992 the Orioles ushered in the gem that is Oriole Park at Camden Yards, and in 1993 my son and I attended the All Star Game. My camera was with me at every event.

In addition to the Orioles and Colts, a life long love of cars and racing took me to NASCAR events at Dover in the mid 1970’s. A couple of my early images were published in NASCAR Scene. Over the years there have been trips to Atlanta, Charlotte, Darlington, Daytona, Miami-Homestead, Pocono and Richmond.

In 2004, I joined the Baltimore Camera Club (www.baltimorecameraclub.org) to actually learn something about photography. I had been taking snapshots for a number of years and only knew the photograph had to be correctly exposed. There was no understanding of the technical aspects of photography and certainly no creative composition.
With the help of the great folks at the club, the club’s presentations, field shoots and competitions, I began to learn the craft of photography. My images started to become more than snapshots, and I began to expand my subject matter. I also attended local photography classes and seminars including those sponsored by the club.
In 2005, I entered the digital age which enabled me to experiment and learn more. With instant feedback, I was able to see the results and improve my images even further.

I began to develop my own philosophy which helped take my images to another level. Although I process my images in PhotoShop and other software, it is more akin to developing in the film days. What you are seeing is true to what I saw and captured when the shutter was released. Part of this philosophy may have been garnered early on capturing events (my souvenirs) in a photojournalistic manner.
Nowhere is this more true than my automotive images. I take particular care to try and highlight the true contours, colors and details of the vehicle. Over the last few years I have been inspired by Michael Furman (www.michaelfurman.com) whose work includes Ralph Lauren’s car collection for the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in 2005 and the Simeone Foundation Museum in nearby Philadelphia.

AWARDS AND PUBLICATION
Awards
- 2007 1st Place Maryland Wineries Association Photo Contest
- Baltimore Camera Club
- 2010 Novice Slide of the Year “Moonrise”
- 2009 Novice Slide of the Year “Late Summer’s Calm”

Publication
- May 8, 2008 North County News
- September 21, 2006 NASCAR Scene
- January 18, 2007 NASCAR Scene