Modern Model August 2013 | Page 18

Modern Model Pg. 18

The simple beauty and mystery of photography lies in the truth that it is a practice of basic principles that anyone can learn. Lighting. shutter speed. composition. Every photo is some combination of these elements. Anyone can take photos -- few people can do it well.

I imagine that, when Model Krysti Sentz began looking for photographers to help build her modeling portfolio, she never saw Jason Paul Armstrong coming.

There are guys with cameras, there are photographers, there are master photographers, and then, there are guys like Jason Armstrong, who are photographic superheroes.

After meeting with Jason, I can say, with certainty, that even when he is quiet and still, his mind is churning with creative ideas -- poses, locations -- he is like a tornado inside of a glass jar, waiting to unleash his artistic skill with the simplest click of the camera's shutter.

"At a very early age, I was given a Polaroid camera, (which I still have), but I never did much with photography until my sophomore year of high school when I was handed an slr camera in yearbook," Jason explained. "I spent the next eight years doing mostly journalism, yearbook, local newspapers, college editions, and some artistic work with nature and models."

After a few more years of practice, Jason acquired his first good digital camera, and began to move into the professional side of photography.

"I got a Nikon D40x, got a good photo printer that Christmas, and I was on my way," said Jason, adding that it took several more years of specializing in nature images before he moved into shooting models. "It was a very long transition. I did only print work for several years, thinking I was more of an artist than photographer."

As models began to move into frame over the past three years, Jason realized he could no longer ignore his call to photographic responsibility.

"I have a non-traditional viewpoint and early images of models were very theme oriented," he said. "No bikinis, no latex, no pretty dresses. The longer I do photography, the more

Shipwrecked: Armed with a Nikon D7000 (waterproofed), Photographer Jason Armstrong followed Model Krysti Sentz into the surf to capture a series of stunning images titled Shipwrecked. Photo (c) Jason Paul Armstrong