Jes Lee Studios

I am a photographer, documenting memories of our landscapes. I photograph what we leave behind, our trails left on this earth, what appears, what remains. Using my camera I capture the stories of our fragile home, witness the changes, and attempt to tell her story.

Much of my work focuses on water. I am drawn to it. Our bodies of water hold memory of the space they occupy, how it has changed over the centuries, how the surroundings change. They hold the memory of our footprints on this earth, the memories of centuries of inhabitants within and without.

In one of my recent projects I documented a year of Lake Superior’s memories. These photographs were taken with medium format film from the same vantage points at four locations along the north shore. I photographed each location once per month from May 2018 through May 2019. The final journey to these locations was embarked on one year from the date I started, completing the cycle of one year. To create the final images, I layer these photographs on top of one another. Through this process I create an image of one full year of memories of that water and land. 

This summer I will begin a similar project documenting a year of Mississippi River memories. I have identified six locations between South St. Paul and Elk River to photograph. I will photograph each location once per month for one year. At the end, I will create compilations images of each location, each image being one full year of memories of that water and land. If you are curious about this project, and would like to help support it as well as get frequent updates, join me on Patreon!