Alumni Spotlight: Jason Andrescavage

Jason Andrescavage is an alumni of the Photography Department at City College of San Francisco and earned a Masters Degree in Photography from Kingston University in London in 2014. He has been creating photographs for 10 years concentrating on traditional film and analog wet darkroom techniques. Jason also shares his knowledge at Harvey Milk Photo Center in San Francisco, CA where he teaches photography and darkroom techniques. See our interview with him below:

©Jason Andrescavage

Jason – how do you think the Photography Program at CCSF help prepare you for a masters program in photography?
I think the CCSF Program is a great first step on the road to a graduate degree because of the intensive technical courses on offer throughout the curriculum.  If you are willing to put in the time as a student, there is absolutely no limit to what you can accomplish there.  Between the facility and the amazing faculty I was always able to grow as an artist and a practitioner during my time there.  In addition to the technical courses, the artistic development classes, business courses, and comprehensive history curriculum I always felt like I was well prepared for a graduate-level education.

Was graduate school always your goal?
No!  I started at CCSF as a pure hobbyist looking to get some instruction and improve my photography.  It’s hard to understate how important my time at CCSF was in changing my mind in regards to photography as a profession and academic pursuit versus a pleasant pastime. The steady pace of advancing skills and knowledge through the curriculum was addicting and led me to want to continue on to the next level.

©Jason Andrescavage

©Jason Andrescavage

What made you focus on traditional film and darkroom techniques?
It wasn’t specifically a “film-vs-digital” choice to continue on with traditional film.  I started photography with an inexpensive 35mm SLR I bought on Ebay.  At the time, the first class in the CCSF Program was Photo51, and it was still a film-only course.  As I worked up through all the classes in the Program and became more competent behind the lens and in the darkroom, my style and choices evolved around the medium.  At some point, the look I got was so tied up in traditional wet photography that a digital practice just wasn’t an option for my personal work.  Since then I’ve gone even farther down that rabbit hole, shooting my most recent project with an 8×10 camera and paper negatives.

Do you have a go-to camera and lens?
I shot with a 35mm Leica R4 SLR for many years with the occasional medium format roll here and there.  Right before I went to grad school I bought a medium format camera for the work I would be doing there and have since then not shot any 35mm besides for backup purposes.  During my grad program in in the years since I have moved up to large format 8×10 for specific projects while doing my typical work in medium format.

The two cameras in my bag are:
-Hasselblad 500C with 80mm and 150mm lenses.
-AGFA Ansco 8×10 from old timey times with a newer Schneider 300mm lens.

© Jason Andrescavage

What is your main source of ideas or inspiration for your work?
It really depends on the project, but for the last few years inspiration for my large format project has come from early artist photographers such as Henry Peach Robinson and Julia Margaret Cameron, up through the Pictorialists- and especially California Pictorialist Anne Brigman.  My inspirations for my typical work include the works of Lillian Bassman, Dan Winters, Richard Avedon, and Tim Walker.

I don’t shoot socially-themed works, mostly concentrating on portraiture and themes that excite me within the world of photography, such as the interaction of photographer and subject.

© Jason Andrescavage

Finally – Do you have any advice for our film & darkroom students wanting to pursue fine art traditional photography?
Have a reason to use traditional wet photography and make it your own as a reflection of your artistic concepts.  Have the traditional process be as much of the “why” as the subject matter itself.  The fact is, the medium is a choice- make it an interesting one.

Working at a fine art practice is a difficult and your work may go unnoticed for a long time.  I’ve had many works dear to my heart get no attention at all when others are unexpectedly selected for exhibitions all over the place.  Work with a style and subject matter that excites you, and you will have the enthusiasm to constantly improve and evolve your work.

For more Jason Andrescavage: www.andrescavage.com
Jason’s workshops and class offerings at Harvey Milk Photo Center