Basham pursuing lifelong dream
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For some, the sheer range of choices makes it hard to decide. But for Warren County High School sophomore Jacob Basham, the son of Bobby and Diania Basham, the choice is easy. Basham, the force behind Jak’s Creations, knows exactly what he wants to do, and he has since he was a small child. And though his particular ambition is quite a lofty one, once you meet this talented, and determined, young photographer you get the feeling he might just make it.
“My goal right now is to work for National Geographic,” Basham says.
A lofty ambition indeed, and considered the pinnacle of achievement for many aspiring lensmen. Basham realizes the competition at that level is intense, but he has a good start. Even though he just turns 16 in December, he has been taking pictures for more than a decade.
“Ever since I was real small,” Basham said, “about 5 years old. I saw my parents taking pictures, and I just wanted to try it myself.”
As one would imagine, things were pretty basic at the beginning, but the young photographer graduated to better equipment as his skill, and finances, advanced.
“I just started out with a normal disposable camera,” he said, “and finally got enough money saved up to buy one of those Canon Rebel G’s.”
According to his mom, Jak had good instincts about equipment, moving to 35mm single-lens-reflex (SLR) cameras early on. He got the Rebel at age 9, a Nikon N55 at 11, and has recently moved into the digital age with a Canon Digital Rebel.
Though Basham has taken courses and knows the basics of using an enlarger and developing film, he has used commercial developers for the majority of his printing. He has turned to local frame shops, like the Frame Peddler, to do some of his framing, but also does some of his own matting and framing, which he keeps clean, simple and elegant in harmony with his photographs.
And quite the entrepreneur, Jak has contracted with a company which makes greeting cards that allow him to insert his original prints which he then sells at craft shows and community events, as well as from his home. He also takes on free lance work from those who have discovered his skill as a photographer.
Basham is mostly self-taught, but realizing the importance of education, he has also taken a variety of classes in photography.
“I actually went to Motlow,” he said, “and took a class there.”
Being only 13 at the time, Basham got a skeptical reception.
“I was the youngest one in the class,” he recalled. “The first day of class they went, ‘Are you in the right classroom? We don’t usually have 13-year-olds coming in to do photography.'”
But Basham proved his mettle, winning a variety of awards on the local and regional level, including ribbons at the Warren County A&L Fair.
An artist at heart, this talented young man knows where is going and what he wants to do. He plans to attend Middle Tennessee State University upon graduation from high school to continue his photographic studies. But though he realizes the importance of education and has an early understanding of the business side of photography, the driving force is his love of the craft, and particularly nature photography.
“Look around,” Basham said. “There’s beautiful things around you, even though you might not think so. You just have to look, and become one with the nature around you.”