"Ucluelet Snails" Print - Limited Edition of 25

My interest in photography began in Colorado at age twelve. That summer, I cut lawns to save enough money to purchase a Minolta SRT-101 and began shooting. My parents were supportive of my passion, and soon helped me build a darkroom in the basement of the family home.

Black & white prints captured my attention most even in those early days, and they continue to be my format of choice today.

As my interest and abilities grew, I moved into the worlds of Hasselblad and Leica. And with the added capabilities those cameras provided, I began working with large format prints.

Once I was married and on my own, I built a larger darkroom at my home which served me for some twenty years – before eventually moving my growing portfolio of work and its processing to an even newer facility located at what has now become the gallery for Jeff Puckett Images in downtown Denver.

Along with my Leica M11 Monochrome, my favorite cameras today are the Phase One XT for field work, and the Phase One XF for studio shooting. My passion for image making in large and small format black & white is further enhanced by printing Photogravures on a large American French Press and using the Intaglio process from the late 1800’s. This method of printing is mastered by very few photographers today. Photogravure gives my images a depth and visual resonance unmatched by conventional printing.

In recent years, I have been able to merge my passion for photography with my long-standing love of aviation. I am a nationally recognized aerobatic champion as well as a business jet and helicopter pilot. I even earned the prestigious Legends of Aviation Medal, as well as the Harrison Ford Legacy of Aviation Award.

I'm still a very active pilot, and I volunteer my helicopter flying today for a wide variety of humanitarian missions in and around the Denver area. The helicopter also provides me with some very unique perspectives for sweeping landscape photography in Colorado and the desert Southwest.

“Finding beauty in the unexpected” is more than just a slogan for me. It defines my work and my photographic eye. Where others see the ordinary, I see the opportunity to create. The result is a unique style and photographic art expression that is both contemplative and engaging – and now offered through my new gallery, Jeff Puckett Images.