Jay Wild

A resident of Ashe county since 1980, Jay began his quest for the perfect image in 1965 after acquiring his first 35mm SLR film camera.  He assisted a friend in photographing for the high school annual and honed his 35mm camera technique and darkroom skills during that time.  Jay has been primarily self-taught but completed photography classes through the Forsyth county arts council in the 1970’s and coursework in biological photography in college.  His main photographic work has been with landscapes and micro-  and macro photography of plants and animals utilizing primarily slide film.  He has carried that focus forward into his work in the digital age of photography.

A career with the NC State Park service afforded him access to unique natural environments and therefore a wealth of subject material.  His photographic objective has been to portray his subjects from a new perspective or reveal something new about a plant or animal.  The elusive nature of that special quality of light or that evasive critter continue to lead him on the quest for the “perfect” image.