We recently had the chance to connect with Jack Orta and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Jack, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: Are you walking a path—or wandering?
I am oh so proudly wandering. Generally I’m a very…high-strung person. I personally struggle a lot with self-worth and pride. Both of which are heavily tied to my work and an endless pursuit of improvement, so it’s hard for me to sort of lack direction. Strangely enough college was the nexus point of moving from being a self-proclaimed “planner” to kind of trying to be someone who sort of accepts the flow.
Coming out of college was rough. My grandfather had passed the following year of my graduation, and personally I never sought out to be a freelancer, I wanted to be an academic in my field, a teacher. The loss of him and the indecisiveness about what my next step was, broke me, in a very quiet way. I went through the motions of struggling to find a job, I distanced myself further from accepting clients, and I largely stopped photographing. It really wasn’t until the beginning of this year that I started to pull out of it. I had constantly been asking and pressuring myself- “what’s next?” “so much talk about going to grad school, but where are the applications?” To be honest, it caused a crisis. Most of my mature life there was a plan: undergrad, grad, teach. All of a sudden, that wasn’t necessarily the answer anymore.
As to my internal question, what’s next? I don’t really have a concrete answer. I have dreams, and ambitions, and yes, even rough plans for what the next few years could look like, but I don’t know for sure. I do know that I’m happy though, and that’s something I had been missing and brings me more peace than any five-year plan I could make right now could give me. I do want to stress though, that doesn’t mean that behind the scenes I’m not preparing. Because everything I do and invest myself in is in the pursuit of finding my limit, and I’m still just scratching the surface and excited to face the unknown when it had been one of my worst fears for the longest time.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am Jackson (Jack) Orta, the person behind bummer photo. First I’ll address the name, as that usually is the first question. “Bummer.” It speaks to a lot of how I’ve viewed myself growing up- in the sense that, I’m not the pinnacle of excitement. I’ve always been aware of my identity and orientations, being a minority in America, seldom is it that you aren’t though. To put it plainly, I’m a gay, BIPOC individual; things that people can often find reason to vilify, or simply dislike. So, naturally, I’m a bit of a bummer in terms of expectations to some people. I’ve grown not to be apprehensive about that though. Life will throw enough at me because of those things I can’t change, so why not embrace it? Because of that, I proudly wear the term “bummer” as a brand rather than a burden. There’s beauty in mediocrity, so why not the less desirable too? However, that is not at all how I view the clients I work with of course, I just focus on the beauty part. I’ve gone through a handful of name changes through the years for my personal brand, but this felt right to land on, it felt like home.
I started editorial and fashion work (or aspiring to) in high school with a friend who introduced me to photography. I had always been connected to the visual arts, but photography is what clicked with me. I’m a bit of a nerd and while it began as another aesthetic practice for me, it grew to be a magical combination of art and science as I developed with the right guiding hands. I never had a relationship with photography the way I did with other mediums. For me, it was a way to speak- not in a literal or sub-contextual sense, but very specifically, an abstract one. I’ve grown more in love with the craft of it each year I’ve been doing it, and so I hope to express that love in all the work I do. To work not in aesthetics solely, but creating something that speaks without words and that means something.
Because of that, my work has begun to feel more like a conversation from my perspective. When I’m photographing, it’s a bit more of a search than it used to be and feels like achieving some sort of synergy. To be honest it’s become something more fulfilling because of that- while it may not be the most overt of explorations, that’s what I feel like I bring to the table.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who taught you the most about work?
I’d love to say it was any one person, but it would discredit the important network I have in my personal life to. The biggest influence would have been my grandfather. He was one of the people who raised me, as well as one of my biggest supporters in my ambitions. He was a man who loved to put you to work in some way haha. Not as a method of punishment by any means, but to encourage you to be motivated, to self start, and to have a chance in the world. Growing up, he didn’t have it easy- I know that’s a horribly common thing to say, but he didn’t. He worked hard and he taught me to. He imbued in me the importance of having a reason behind what you do, one for yourself rather than one to justify yourself to others. I believe he wanted me to understand the value of work because it’s the basis for getting anywhere- from changing breaks in his garage, next to a heater that barely worked, to having conversations about my own ambitions for what photography might turn into for me, he was there in spirit; helping me find the value of what I was doing and to make sure I knew why I was doing it.
Aside from him, it’d still be too many to drone on about- I try to take something from each interaction in my life and surround myself with motivated people. Because of that, I’ve learned to appreciate a lot of things from their passions as well and learn what drives them to achieve their goals. That’s particularly why I love working with people as a subject, there’s always more to learn.
When did you last change your mind about something important?
Quite recently, and actually concerning the sort of ethos behind my work. I’ve gone sort of up and down between making work for the viewer, for myself, as a means of communication, so on…I’d been motivated longest and most difficultly, by others.
I don’t think comparison is something you can ever really get away from. I used to compare myself to others’ work. All it did was develop and foster a resentful relationship I had with my own work. So, I made the decision to change the way I engaged with social media as a start, and then in turn, the way I engaged with my own work and process. Challenging those thoughts, I feel, was one of the better things I’ve done because it made my work more meaningful to me. It also freed me from an expectation that didn’t really matter. While I value that I do have a following and appreciate any one who engages with my work or books with me, it isn’t the end all be all. It can’t be, I believe, because we should have an independent relationship with our work as creators that doesn’t have to be affected by metrics.
So that’s been the largest thing. On top of that, I’m working on just trying to shake up a lot of the views I have on life. I feel like every once in a while it can be a positive thing to do. Being critical of yourself and your own beliefs can help you figure out why exactly you have them, or even make you feel more confident about them. Art and photography is just something I never really have been confident about, but approaching it from an earnest place rather than one seeking notoriety or to “crush the contest” so to speak. It’s made me value the practice more and strengthen my relationship, when over the past few years, it’s been tenuous at best.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. Is the public version of you the real you?
For the most part yeah, I’d say. I’ve always had a difficult time with social media and being a “public figure” to some degree; you want to be likeable and have this draw as a person that’s universal to sort of substantiate being good, if that makes sense? Like if I’m not an extraordinary person, what value does my work have?
I feel this sort of need to be polished, and at the end of the day, I’m just not. I am imperfect, and opinionated, and have my own faults- I just happen to take pictures too haha. So I don’t hold myself to that polished idea I felt obliged to be for god knows why. I think capitalization on the fact that freelancers, especially in the arts, are people, is important. Selling an image of myself for the work that I make feels wrong because it is an extension of me and how I see the world, so why should someone else be speaking on behalf of it, ya know?
Growing into how I deal with social media now largely came from a lack of care for how I’m perceived because I can’t control that, but also from just growing to be more comfortable in myself. It takes a lot to even put your work out there, so I try to manage the anxieties that come with that.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: Could you give everything your best, even if no one ever praised you for it?
Without question, yes. In fact, to be a little salty haha, it’s happened on multiple occasions already. I’m not interested in praise to put it simply. While I do value recognition for my work, it doesn’t drive me. It used to, to a degree. I think it’s normal to be bothered or driven by people critiquing your work or the effort you’ve put into it, but I also think there is a very thin line to walk with that. Considering the grip of social media on our society and the sort of open/always open for critique atmosphere we’ve cultivated, there is ALWAYS someone there to let you know what they think of you and your work, whether it’s done through words or if you’re beating yourself up over how many views you get. I tie my work so closely with my own self worth that it just isn’t beneficial to place too much value into praise.
I put everything in my work because I’ve always said, doing it just feels like breathing; natural, right, and almost essential. I haven’t had too many experiences in life that are fulfilling as photography has come to be for me. So I’d unquestionably give it my everything, and more. I’ve had complications and less hopeful moments with it, and days I hate every photo I take, but at the end of it, I love the practice deeply, and that’s enough for me; just having the privilege to fire the shutter.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bummerphoto.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bummerphoto
