Benjamin Jackson is a photographer, outdoorsman, and multidisciplinary creative whose journey spans graffiti, freight trains, mechanical engineering, and running trails. Based in Oakland, Benjamin shares how his passion for storytelling through images has been shaped by a love for movement, an appetite for exploration, and a refusal to choose just one path. 

How did you get into photography? Take us through that journey.
What’s always sparked and continues to drive the photography impulse in me is the archivization of true life. I started moving around a lot in my early 20s and took a film camera with me. I think what got me really dedicated to photography was graffiti and riding freight trains, and it served a purpose to that end: documenting.

Over time, that evolved to the point where I was squatting in a pretty nice apartment in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood, traveling on freight trains all summer, and taking photos “full time,” I guess you could say. It wasn’t how I thought about it at the time, but it was a skill I was honing and ultimately fell in love with. I’ve always been enthusiastic about being outdoors, and when I started running again, I directed my creative energy toward that.

You’re in Oakland. How do the textures, shapes, silhouettes, and landscapes of Oakland and its surroundings influence how you shoot action sports?
At the risk of sounding like a space cadet... I draw a lot of inspiration from the alien nature of the Oakland hills and Bay landscape at large. I grew up on the East Coast, and as much as I explore the American West, it still feels new, isolated, and empty. The rounded-over hills, the cliffs crumbling into the ocean, deep gulches loaded with seashell fossils.

I like to photograph people in these places as if they exist in a bubble—where only they exist and their effort feels like a necessity. I think there’s a lot of forlorn romance in the air here, and it blows over us from the ocean. For me, the city of Oakland feels like a safety net to return to when the day is over.

 

How does having multiple passions or hobbies shape you as a person, as well as your perspective on the world?
Having a lot of passions is a defining part of my life and perspective. I’ve been a lot of things: an environmental researcher, educator, train hopper, salesman, slumlord, mechanical engineer. Through all that, of course, an outdoorsman and photographer. For me, it’s important to follow your intuition and the things you love, and figure out the rest later.

I’m driven by a fear of the passage of time and don’t want to compromise by leaving stones unturned. I think it’s a good approach for creating a holistic view of the world around you, and when you can connect ideas from one avenue into another, it’s really satisfying.

What was the last thing you were a beginner at, and how did learning that new sport or creative medium help you grow?
During the pandemic, I bought a 3D printer. I was raised by an engineer, and that’s had a lot of influence on me and how I like to solve problems. For a while, I was making stuff like a 4Runner-branded stereo cover so I could take my aftermarket stereo out of a totaled car without getting pegged by the insurance adjuster, etc. I started looking for ways to make money with my new passion, and I worked in a shop as a prototyper making parts for everything under the sun. From there, I got a job doing similar work for a startup in SF, where I managed their hardware prototyping lab.

Eventually, I was working there as a mechanical engineer designing parts for their products—which is a job a lot of college grads would kill for. The takeaway, I guess, is that if you really enjoy something, you should just run with it. I’m not trained to do any of the above; I didn’t get an education for it. It was something I was excited about and decided to go for. For me, it was another proof that if you can dream it, you can do it—and it strengthened my resolve to that end.

In what ways do your athletic pursuits impact the stories you want to tell through photography?

The story I tend to gravitate to in my photography is one of a renegade (shout out to the hometown running store Renegade), a rebel, a maverick. It’s really easy to find those people on the trails. I remember the first time I ran up Mt. Diablo with Rei (pictured) and brought my camera. Sometimes things just click. Dude was absolutely fitted, and the photos came out looking like something out of a product editorial on a much bigger mountain. I think the best stories come naturally from people and places that inspire you. The love for those things comes through in the photograph.

What was the “jump the tracks” moment that made you fully commit to turning this into your career?
The couple of times that I’ve been laid off have been the most transformative moments. They’ve given me the opportunity to double down on my passions that were taking a back seat to my career. It’s how I got into engineering, and it’s also what drove me to focus in on photography.

If I had to tell my 18-year-old self how to get here, I would just say to follow what makes you happy with few sacrifices, be happy being broke, and take full advantage of the mobility and energy you have now—because nothing is forever. Things change, so you should go do that thing before it passes you by.

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