about jessamyn | co-owner, small circle studio, inc.
(wife, mother, photographer, friend. outdoor enthusiast, dog lover, environmentalist, aspiring designer.)
As a commercial and fine art photographer, one of my most enduring passions is imagery - and all the aspects that contribute to it: capturing photography, processing photography, archiving photography, printing photography. The only thing related to photography I would rather not participate in is being in it!
That’s the short story. Here’s the long story – and bravo if you make it to the end. :)
As a high school student, the switch was turned on. Upon graduation, I was given my first SLR camera. About that time, my grandfather, a talented photographer himself, also bestowed upon me his antique enlarger and dark room set up and what a gift that turned out to be! Taking a year off after high school before starting up in a fine art photography program in college, I spent most of my time outside of a day job either behind the lens of the camera or in the darkroom growing my skills in printing. Fast forward, four years later, I earned my BA in photography and political science after spending four months in West Africa taking photos and studying.
And with that shiny new degree – I got the first job that was available to me that would keep me in the field that I loved most. I started work at a local camera shop and I remained there for seven years. I learned so much more about photography and cameras and lighting: I found myself suddenly immersed in a new world of color analogue photography. And then came digital. So back to school I went. This time, I went to class by night. And out I came, 18 months later with a professional certificate and extensive training in digital capture, printing and archiving.
I founded Photography by Jessamyn in 2006 as a sole proprietorship which became a LLC along the way and ten years later, after falling in love with my now husband while we were both in the employ of that small, local camera shop, we’ve joined forces on the commercial side. Partners in life and business to boot. Please do visit us at Small Circle Studio, established in 2016. Photography by Jessamyn, LLC was dissolved at that time.
The images on this site are the messy pile of my favorites - spanning all the years from 1999 to today, in absolutely no particular order. They are the stuff that I have shot over the years that still spark a smile in my soul - they are the most enduring captures, artifacts of the life I have lived. You will find photos from around the world and from my own backyard; ones that perhaps don’t matter much to anyone else, but ones that hold at times rather profound meaning to me. You will also find images from projects I have been fortunate to have partnered with that help me keep my art in close contact with my values. I cherish the opportunity to use my skills in photography to help shine a light on the social and environmental initiatives that need society’s attention and support. I have been lucky enough to have traveled to South Africa in 2008 with TRIAD Trust, a group working in HIV AIDS awareness, testing and education as well as to Nepal in 2012 with GlacierWorks, a local project working in climate change awareness and education. And most recently I have been so fortunate to be asked to photograph for the Jimmy Fund Clinic to document many of their pediatric patient activities, although those photos can’t be shared in order to protect the children’s privacy.
If anything on this site catches your eye and interests you enough that you would like your own copy – I so hope that you will let me know! Anything can be custom printed in house to fit your needs. Additionally, for anything I sell that was shot in South Africa or Nepal I will make a donation to those nonprofits that are doing the good work on the ground and who gave me that opportunity to travel, learn and shoot for their project.
Thanks for having a look through! Questions, thoughts, critiques – always warmly welcomed!
Jessamyn Martin
jessamyn@smallcirclestudio.com