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Okinawa Japan

About Jay Nielsen

Jay's Background - Jay is a native Utah resident and has spent much of his life outdoors enjoying the diverse scenery of Utah and the Western US with his family both for recreation and photography opportunities. Through these activities he developed a love for nature's incredible beauty at a very early age. In High School he took all the photography classes available and gained an appreciation for the technical aspects of photography, learning about exposure, composition, depth of field etc. He also gained a knowledge and appreciation for black and white film and learned much about its unique characteristics, and how to develop and make his own prints. He eventually got his own equipment and set up a darkroom in the basement of his parents' home making many images and further developing his talent for printmaking.

Jay served a two year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Sapporo, Japan and while there got his first "modern" 35mm camera that actually had auto focus and built-in metering. After returning to Utah and starting his own family he continued the tradition of family outings into nature eventually combining his love of photography and the outdoors to discover "nature photography" as an art form.

In 1999 Jay created "Nature on Display" to showcase his work. Three years later Jay and his family moved to Okinawa, Japan where he discovered many new opportunities for nature photography adding distinctive seascape and cloudscape images to his portfolio. Jay and family returned to Utah in 2007 where he enjoyed making images of the inspiring mountains in the North and the beautiful sandstone country in the South. In 2009 he returned to Okinawa for a second time where he currently resides and is truly loving the beautiful sunsets and the opportunity to once again make nature images of sea, clouds, jungle, and beaches.

Jay's style of nature photography has been shaped by availability and evolution of equipment. Early on having no wide angle lens he was forced to look more closely at nature. Although he now enjoys doing macro and wide angle compositions he still prefers images somewhere between the two. His main photographic style would be defined as abstract shapes, textures, and intimate scenes in nature and many of his images are captured with telephoto or macro lenses.

Jay's work has been published in William Cheung's Camera Craft series "Landscapes", he has provided instruction for individuals and groups, and grown his business with mostly word of mouth advertising. His work has been sold in gift shops from Yellowstone National Park to St. George , Utah and his stock images have been featured on websites and in publications. He has entered several art competitions and has won several awards, most recently two first place finishes at the 2010 Brigham Young University Life Sciences Museum Nature Photography Exhibition and Competition.

For well over thirty years Jay has improved his technique and equipment and currently offers through this website a wide variety of stunning images available as fine art giclee canvas prints which can be gallery wrapped ready to display and enjoy.

Message from Jay - I absolutely love to spend time in the outdoors. I especially love being in nature during the times of day best suited for nature photography, early morning and late evening. There is something incredibly peaceful about witnessing a sunrise or sunset. I have a great desire to share that peace I feel with everyone I come in contact with. The more time that I spend marveling at the beauty of nature, the stronger my conviction becomes that there is indeed a Supreme Creator. The way the earth and all things thereon interact together, along with the powerful beauty of nature, is absolute evidence to me of God's existence and great power.

When I step back out of nature into the "real world" and see all of the troubling things that are happening, I also know that there is an adversary who is very real. His goal is to make all of us miserable like himself. We definitely live in troubled times. Many people are searching for help and guidance in the face of difficult circumstances.

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I know with all of my heart that this is the Savior's true Church. It is the same Church and organization he established when he dwelt here upon the earth. He directs the Church through a modern day Prophet and Apostles. The Gospel of Jesus Christ truly brings peace in an increasingly troubled world. This Gospel also provides the way for families to be together forever, there truly is life after death where we can be together.

I encourage anyone who is searching for peace, true happiness, and the meaning of life to find out more about this wonderful Gospel. Click Here to learn more about the Church and the purpose of life.