This is one of the most intense and interesting Walkie Talkie's yet. I felt sad, confused, conflicted, inspired, and everything in between. So few people will ever do something with that much dedication in their entire existence. Not to mention the photos are incredible and fascinating. Thank you Paulie and thank you Jake for sharing your world. I selfishly hope the world can see a completed and curated project one day.
He's absolutely determined to make it his choice. Remember, he lives in the land of opportunities and has a Leica and money for an endless supply of film rolls. Apart from that, his work is interesting.
I think this episode in particular could/should be submitted to film festivals in the short doc category. Such a fascinating story on so many levels. Anyway, I'm in love with this series.
The guy saves lives while taking pictures, He can't afford to develop his negatives and still he doesn't turn to digital. He is the saint of photography. I love this guy !
you imagine if his camera shutter was off or something broken, and he hasn't known about it for 3 and a half years. thats some nightmare thoughts i'd be having, also that if your apartment burned down with 1500 rolls of undeveloped film.
Paulie’s Walkie Talkie is extremely special and important for the photography and art space. Someone might call me dramatic for this but his series deserves an Emmy or something.
can't Believe governments throw away millions of dollars for useless stuff and someone like this can't even get funding to put an amazing history together. should be more grants and programs in place to support someone like this. Jake is so deserving of everything. best walkie talkie to date.
Man.. this is the strongest, most meaningful body of work I’ve seen on here yet. I was not expecting to feel so verklempt. I can’t wait to see how this body turns out.. this dedication is truly altruistic. Jake if you read this just know people are watching, crying, & caring
That’s a real human being first, who happens to carry camera around his neck all the time, while walking in the bridge 🌉 and saving life’s. The grant will come!
Great work , def merits a book . It's strange , because it seems like in many ways it's not even about the photos so much as it is about giving his life some sense of purpose . You have to admire his commitment regardless.
Really felt something deep about this. Emotional and inspired. I think all great artists at some stage had people and maybe even themselves questioning their madness.
What an incredible series. Like others said, this one is particularly moving and inspiring. I commend Jake for saving countless lives and limiting himself artistically to the bridge space for his body of work. His captures are so captivating I am curious what else is buried among the thousand undeveloped/unscanned rolls.
His obsession, dedication, and consistency is something you rarely see. It’s also crazy he hasn’t seen his photos in years but continues to do it. That’s work without seeing the result. Paulie you have to do more on this guy and make a documentary
Jake is probably one of the strongest contenders for photographers who will someday be remembered as one of the all time greats. Astounding commitment to creating a truly unique body of work.
It’s interesting because I think Jake is as passionate about photography as he feels about the bridge. His commitment is impressive and I appreciate that he’s vocal about the good and bad about this hobby - him saying that the only thing he can control is this I feel explains why he keeps going back. I continue to keep tabs on the status of his rolls & hoping he’s able to find a way to fund developing. To know he has about 2,000 rolls to go through is wild.
Sorry if this seems like a stupid question, but why would they give a grant to someone who never bothered to develop their film for years? Doesn't that show irresponsibility with their funds and general "not-caring" about their craft? I'm genuinely asking because I just seems very strange to me.
That’s not a hurdle for an arts grant, he’s got a lot of progress on a project and can pitch it as “funds to finish the project” which is less risky than “funds to start a project”
Makes sense. Just weird he bashes magnum photographers and says everyone is as lost as he is. It sounds like he needs more than monetary help I feel bad for the guy.
dude, you should at least get a check up in a lab to be sure that your camera does work.. imagine all the frames being unusable because of a faulty shutter… Quite a big gamble in my opinion, but if it works out, this will be an amazing book!
This episode is great, Jake's project is great. This vid makes me heavily question shooting film though. I know I like to shoot film on the street because I never have to wake up the camera, but something of this scale and project of this value not being developed and scanned due to costs of film is super heavy.
"I have to". That is when photography chooses somebody, not the other way around. I hope somebody with money helps him develop his rolls of film because he is a hidden Legend. Vivian Mayer was discovered, (sadly after her death) when some guy developed her 1500 rolls of films. "A Leica on my neck, a phone in my pocket and an apartment in SF", I don't need anything else", is a summary of a real dedicated photographer. I'm 100% sure, "The future is yours" Jake. Thank Paulie for introducing us, Jake!
loved this walkie talkie! jake is such a talented shooter and an incredible story teller. i have my reasons for choosing film as my preferred medium but id love to know jakes, 1200 rolls of undeveloped work seem very overwhelming, nearly 45,000 exposures that are completely untouched. I love his process but digital just seems so much more feasible when shooting this kind of volume.
I met Jake recently on the night the niners lost to the chiefs. He is so humble and grounded, truly an inspiration. Talking to him it felt like there was almost more passion than flesh in his body. Truly, I think, one of the greatest doing it right now. Thanks Paulie for letting him speak.
I admire Jake. He continues despite not getting the monetary support he obviously needs. It's a sad world that someone who puts the effort in and yet cannot get a grant is criminal. He and his work deserve better.
This is, by far, my favorite Walkie Talkie. Absolutely amazing storytelling, photographs and philosophy about photography. No amount of technical practice can prepare you to produce work with this much feeling behind it, thank you for telling Jake's story.
SAVE MONEY GO DIGITAL!!!!! Start a go fund me page, and use this video to raise money to get your film developed, so that you don't jump!!! hehe, sorry I don't mean to be an a hole even though I know I am.
How can someone shoot so much and not want to see the output? I want to immediately get my stuff developed once I have like 2 rolls max i genuinely can't fathom having hundreds of rolls of undeveloped work
I follow Jake's work since he started photographing the bridge and he is the only photographer that gets me excited when he posts something on Instagram. That dude is special and I'm sure we will remember him as one of the greats 20-30 years later.
Why doesn’t he start a Patreon to have people donate to have the film developed. Also, find a publisher to put out a book. There are ways to get it done…great shots!
Why this "self imposed" limitations like shooting film, then saying it's too expensive to develop? Many photographers seem to think their photography is only "legit" if it's shot on film and apparently more "legit" if it's shot on black and white film. You can get a grant if it's digital, and it's way cheaper than having to develop film. Strange.
Awesome. Jake’s work is remarkable. Someone give him a fucking book deal! Telling that he thinks he was rich when he was getting unemployment and had the time to go to the bridge every day. I like it when people have that notion of what wealth means. More power to you Jake and another stormer of a video Paulie. Thanks.
Great episode and a very genuine person here. Do whatever you want and what makes you happy, but this obsession with film is holding this guy back. Go ahead and roast me.
I remember walking into the Leica store in San Francisco and seeing his photo of the man who almost jumped, the photo hit me hard. It was a powerful moment he captured. It’s been a long time since a photo impacted me like that. Great work you guys. 👏
I'm conflicted -- not by his content but by the man himself. Why put so much time, energy, and money into starting the "project" but put zero effort into finishing it?
I’ve asked Jake and he doesn’t fundraise, he’s trying to sell prints and have partnerships with brands and labs but I honestly have no idea how he makes income because print sales and licensing income is not consistent 😅
He's got to get that film developed before a tragedy. A theft, fire or power outage. Those emulsions don't last forever. He' an outstanding artist. I hope he gets the help he needs.
"They have the same shoes...", followed by the smirk. That got me haha pure awareness. Keep up the work, Jake! You've inspired me to seek out a project of my own.
Bro just move to digital at this point. Why stick to film if you can’t see your work? Or show it to anyone. I get that you want to be original and all that, but how you know what you been doing all those years? I just feel that nobody’s ever going to see those pics… Anyhow, love your work and work ethic! 😅
I've been following his work for so long. And this is by far one of the projects I'm most looking forward to seeing come to fruition. It doesn't matter what it's going to be, an exhibition, a book, whatever. Jake is doing an incredible work and his tenacity is astounding.
Reminds me of winogrand and his commitment to photography. The sacrifices made in other aspects of life for the pursuit of photography. Not to mention the undeveloped film! Holy crap! Excellent work as always Paulie.
Yet, if digital photography was available during Winogrand's time, he would have definitely been shooting digital. While this guy shooting on film, considering his situation, makes no sense to me.
Man, with that level of volume, he should be developing his own. For the cost of maybe 12-15 rolls sent in, you can get a whole development set up. Darkbag, Patterson Tank, Chem, Sous vide, beakers, chem bottles. It doesn't take much and you'd save so, so, so much money.
and time. Average wait times for film are like a month and a half. Develop your own and it's like 30 minutes will you have a strip done. Seems so crazy to me to ever put myself through the time and money investment of "sending a roll in." You can fit the whole dev setup into one medium-sized storage tub and it's easy af to do. Probably one of the best investments I've ever made. I can't believe I ever sent rolls in.
@@szecek Dwayne's takes 2 months because they develop for big box stores, State Film Lab in TN takes 3-5 weeks. Darkslide in CT is like a month. If you have one close to you that takes two days, bless you. Time not withstanding, the cost to have a shop process it (especially if you want prints, scans, or contact sheets) is WAY more than developing your own.
@@OBFLife This is pretty wild. I guess I should have mentioned that I live in Europe. It seems like there aren't enough labs in the US anymore. For me, the main problem is the cost of film, so I mostly shoot B&W and develop at home.
Thank you very much, Paulie. This is by far one of the most enjoyable shares! I am very happy for this wonderful clip; it's a life lesson, nothing forced or egocentric. If the community doesn't come together to help this artist, we really are a lost race. Surely, this artist requires the involvement of SF galleries, museums, Kickstarter, etc. I don't think this dedication could be maintained by a person who leads an Instagrammable life! I can't wait for him to make the selective decision on the physical volumes of prints that will be published! The picture at 25:55 represents him/us!
Dude, you are one of the 'real ones' Seriously. That's a compliment. Commitment to a vision like this is rare in life. But I would now candidly advise you to take breath and work to get those rolls developed and edit them into something to share with the world. A lot of this sounds like late career Winogrand who shot to shoot. He had already impacted the world with his vision before he stopped processing the rolls at the end. I want you to have your beginning and middle part of your career, you know? The good stuff. Get your work seen. What I have seen here is beautiful. Really transcendent stuff. I love that Paulie raised the idea of having done the best work and then stopping. But I believe you won't know what the work is till you develop the last few years to know. Think of all the surprises, the things those rolls can teach you. Stuff you will see in an instant that will help you grow and refine that vision. I wish that for you. On another note, I worked for years as war photographer, and I love that at times I was able, like you, to do things that saved lives -- all these stories no one knows. At the same time, I didn't go become a doctor, if all I ever wanted to do was help people. I wanted to help people by and give something to the world with my work. And sometimes the eclipses of life and death in front of me also helped me sidestep what the work could be when focused on. When I did stop and prioritizes finishing the work, what came out on the other end made my career. Also, I grew so much, and I am much better at what I do for the breathing time to examine the work when put together. Lastly, you mentioned Jim Goldberg and Mike Brodie. I met Jim last month in New York. He was an angel and a real example of how taking the photo is only half the gig. Putting it together into something - a book, zine, online thread, a love letter, a print, anything -- is the rest. And Brodie, whom I met at his NY gallery 10 years ago when he was hiding from the crowd who was completely at odds with the work on the walls and fetishizing him, seems to be grateful now for the opportunity books and narratives are giving him to keep him doing what he loves. In short, he has evolved, too. I hope none of this sounds preachy or even critical. It is not. I love what you showed. I love even more the promise of what you showed and all that it beckons when you put it together for viewers, like myself, who see so much scattered life, love and talent in your work.
Jake reminds me of the guy (can't remember his name), who spent years walking every street in NYC. He walked every day, lived very frugally, and decided on the walking project to live his life more fully. I know there is a video about him which is great. Loved this video and I'll buy his book when it comes out!
This was an excellent episode man! So interesting and revealing. Thanks for putting these out brother. Keep up the great work. Really excited to see this body of work!
