A fine art photographer of cityscapes, landscapes and wildlife, Jeff Mitchum’s work takes him far from the serenity and safety of a San Diego sunset. According to Jeff, “My favorite images are always the ones I had to hike or freeze or get bitten for!”
Fortunately, no biting occurred during Jeff’s run-in with a grizzly bear and her cubs in Alaska’s Katmai National Park, where only two weeks later a couple was killed by grizzlies. Jeff and his two photographer friends had been taking shots of a bear and her two cubs in a river illuminated by a full moon when the bears decided to leave and bed down in a meadow. As Jeff and his friends headed back out the trail, they were met by an angry momma bear charging toward them – 40 yards becoming five in a matter of seconds.
“She was so close I could smell what she had for dinner,” Jeff recalled. “In my calmest voice, I shared with her that it would be a really bad idea to eat me because if she did, I’d die, and then they would have to shoot her.” Despite his calm retelling of the story, Jeff dubs the bear “God’s perfect killer of man” since they can “run 35 mph, swim six mph, and climb trees like an ape.”
He escaped unscathed with his photos and his life intact. This, however, was no solitary incident in Jeff’s life of extreme photography. Twice he has unknowingly dashed into Israeli minefields to catch a shot of scenery or wildlife. Spotting a flock of flamingos and cranes, Jeff thought his driver was only yelling advice for sneaking up on the birds; he was already surrounded by mines when he realized the driver was shouting for him to get out of the field.
“Let’s just say that I was very glad to see lots of rocks to lightly walk over!” he joked. He just shrugs the incident off as another day in the life of a photographer.
Though his hazardous adventures are playfully narrated, Jeff comes to his photography with profound intention.
“It really amazes me how some people capture subjects with words, and one day I realized I see nature and things no one else can see,” Jeff said. “Photography allows me to express in film what other people can in writing.”
Jeff’s work as a fine art photographer has taken him to every state and around the world. Alaska, Yosemite National Park, Israel, and England are among his most frequently visited sites in his search of those moments that the average eye misses.
“There’s a light show that God has put in the natural world that can become spiritual if you approach it with the right mind. And to share in the beauty of creation and the way it washes the mind, eyes and soul – that is rewarding,” he said.
In addition to being a photographer, Jeff is also the senior pastor at Calvary Chapel Point Loma. His roles are unified in sharing the love and beauty of God, be it through a sermon or a photo. Clearly photography is not just his work, it’s the way he approaches life.
“A big part of life and photography is perspective – that is, keeping all things in the right light,” he quipped.
Jeff has a few rules that govern his photography and most likely also contribute to his risky escapades: go slow and be patient, be picky, think outside the box, go early and stay late, don’t go to the dark side (Jeff refuses to join his contemporaries and “go digital”), and stay fit.
Fitness plays an important role in Jeff’s photography, and not just by delivering him from bears and minefields. His endurance allows him access to places where other photographers have to airdrop. An avid runner and triathlete, Jeff has competed several times in the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon and recently ran the 50 Mile Run on Catalina Island.
“Ansel Adams’ greatest regret in life was the fact that when he turned 40, he lost his fitness,” said Jeff.
Jeff’s panoramic photos can be seen locally in the Wyndham Plaza Gallery, around Rancho Santa Fe, Del Mar and La Jolla, and even gracing the walls of PLNU’s Draper Hall. Beyond his local prestige, Jeff’s work has appeared at the Getty Museum and in National Geographic. Private collectors throughout the world have sought his work. Currently, Jeff’s Israel photography is displayed in his “Unveiling Israel” exhibit, which “acknowledges the inherent struggle, the life that emerges from the ashes, and the determination to survive while surrounded by hostility and hatred.” Part of the exhibit’s proceeds help to fund The Timeless Foundation, an organization Jeff started to protect Israel’s environment and biblical sites.
Jeff also has several books soon to be released:
The Unveiling (Israel photos),
Seasons of Light , and
Dancing Water (a joint project with surf photographer Dan Merkel). Two galleries are due to open in Israel in November 2008, one in Jerusalem and one in the Tel Aviv airport. San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf and Disneyland’s Promenade are also upcoming gallery sites as investors come forward.
Not everyone enjoys work, play and adventure being one and the same, and Jeff is well aware of the privilege. The job is “diverse, complete, extreme,” he said. “It’s a dream.”
“My boss is the elements, the last few moments of sunlight, traversing the hills and valleys to get that one last shot,” he explained. “Another day, it might be a bear with big teeth.”
Despite the on-the-job stress, it’s just another day in the office – or rather the wilderness. Or the minefields.