Jeff Wizniak grew up in Yorkton, and might best be remembered as an early years member of the Western Major Baseball League Yorkton Cardinals.
He now lives in Saskatoon where he works 9-to-5 with SaskTel.
But Wizniak is also exploring another passion, that of being a photographer.
“This is a hobby,” he said. “My job pays me well, and I feel that the minute you bring money into the equation it changes everything. That doesn’t mean I would never consider it, as I get a fair amount of requests, but keeping it this way keeps me motivated and interested. I offer all my work free online to anyone who wants a print or screensaver (jeffwizniak.smugmug.com)
“I get more out of making connections with people then I do by making money. I love taking portraits of people, my payment is seeing positive comments and likes on social media. You can’t put a value on that.”
But why photography, since many hobbies create connections?
“I like exploring, and I love nature,” offered Wizniak. “I also love connecting with people. When I got out of high school I got into music (writing and recording) as my creative outlet, but I found it very time consuming and it was easy to get stale sitting in a room for long periods of time. When I moved to Saskatoon I found myself really enjoying going on nature walks by the river and touring around. I found that I wanted to try and capture the beauty that I witnessed every day.
“I also found that going around and taking pictures was an excellent relaxation technique for my anxiety. As someone who deals with anxiety, I found that grabbing my camera and going out to take pictures was an excellent “remedy”.
“After seeing success in some of my earlier postings to social media, I found that I wanted to keep trying to take it to higher levels.
“I still have a long way to go, but I am having fun learning.”
In the age of digital, Wizniak is a complete devotee.
“I love being able to go out and experiment with different settings and taking advantage of today’s modern camera sensors. Film has its own appeal, but I am a digital guy,” he said. “There is so much potential in today’s modern gear.”
Part of that potential is the ability to dramatically alter an image with computer programs, something some photographers see as crossing a line, while others see it as a way to enhance an image artistically.
“This is a controversial topic among photographers, but one where I have a firm stance,” offered Wizniak. “A camera is a tool, and when I go out and take pictures of a scene, that tool might not capture it perfectly the way I see it, so I tweak.
“Part of my style is that I do something unique. I try and blend a picture so that you can look at the foreground and the background and they appear as if you are focusing on them. If you look at the ground, and then look at the sky, your eye changes the amount of light coming in. A camera behaves in a similar way. If you point your camera at the sky, it will meter for that light, and the ground will be dark.
“I try and capture a scene so that a person can look at it, and see it in the full perspective as if everything is lit the way I see it when my eye is focused on that part.
“Some people like this approach, but I also understand the purists who don’t like any editing.”
Given his interest in nature, it is not surprising that is a focus of his work, the great outdoors, but as an explorer Wizniak said he is trying to expand his photographic horizons beyond the Prairie skyline.
“I am trying to do a little bit of everything,” he said. “I don’t want to be a “one trick pony” as I find photography, and life in general is a lot more interesting when you venture out and try different things.
“I have delved into nature/portraits/night photography/etc. My next big thing is going to be aerial photography. The only problem is that the drone required for a camera my size is very expensive.”
Through thousands of images picking a favourite is not easy, but Wizniak was asked to make the effort.
“I have taken a lot of shots that I love, but one stands out for me personally,” he said upon reflection. “My grandmother (Baba) and I had planned a trip out to her hometown of Endeavour last year. We toured around and visited her old house and visited the family cemetery. As my brother and I were checking out the old church, I watched her walk towards the graveyard to go see her family which is all buried there. I caught a picture of it, and captioned it with this write up.....
“As I was out photographing the yard and my brother was looking inside the old church, it was a sobering moment to watch Baba walk alone out to visit her parents and many brother and sisters at their family cemetery. The amount of memories and missing her former family members is something I can’t comprehend at this stage of my life...”
Wizniak said he sees changes in his work.
“My interests are definitely evolving,” he said. “I want to be more edgy. I want to get away from “safe” stuff and get into some darker photography that really gets people thinking. It’s sometimes difficult to find people to collaborate with on portraits who are willing to go out of their safety zone, but I am searching.
“As well, I want to push the limits on my nature shots. I want to get to those places that others aren’t going to. I’ve put myself into some interesting places, and I find it invigorating.”
And Wizniak hopes the camera takes him new places in the future.
“I want to see the world,” he said. “I have so many places I want to try and see, and capture using my style. I want to take photos of people that capture’s their soul.
“I love taking a picture of someone and seeing a ton of likes and positive comments. I want more of that. That’s what motivates me to take things to the next level.
“I want to connect with more people and try and do stuff that impresses people. I want people to see the images I take and temporarily get transported to that same scene that I saw.
It’s all about forming connections. That is my sole motivation for doing what I do.”
