A UNIQUE VANCOUVER PHOTOGRAPHER

I'm a Canadian filmmaker, photographer, and visual effects artist with a deep passion for historical and obscure darkroom techniques. My work is rooted in analogue processes, from ultra-large format photography to motion picture film, and I love introducing people to the magic of traditional photographic technologies: methods that shaped visual culture for over a century but feel almost like alchemy today. Seeing the joy these processes bring to modern audiences is one of the most rewarding parts of what I do.

I’m one of a handful of modern practitioners of the Cirkut camera, a rare rotating panoramic camera that was once the gold standard for large-scale group portraits. Few photographers still work in this medium today, and I love carrying on the tradition, capturing people in a way that feels both historic and immediate.

After working along side Jesse for weeks at a time I can tell you, I was constantly several steps behind him playing catch-up to his vision and his drive.
— Matthew D'Avella, camera assistant, "Transmutations"
You are amazing in your vision and endeavors
— Douglas Seifert, underwater explorer

MY STORY

I earned my Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Photography from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in 1997, after which I worked with the Australian Federal Police, photographing and cataloguing microscopic features of human hair for forensic analysis. My background in scientific photography has given me a deep understanding of precision, process, and technical experimentation, allowing me to craft unique, tailored photographic experiences that blend historical and contemporary methods.

My work has been featured in exhibitions across Canada and internationally, including the Capture Photography Festival and The Vancouver Art Gallery. I have received awards and grants, including from the Canada Council for the Arts, and my photographs are held in private collections around the world.


 
Jan - April 2025 Solo Exhibition, “Transmutations: Visualizing Matter | Materializing Vision”, Gold Street Studios, Trentham, VIC, Australia 
May 2022 Solo Exhibition, “Transmutations: Visualizing Matter | Materializing Vision”, Cineworks Independent Filmmakers Society, Vancouver, BC 
May 2018 Screening & artist talk, “Photography & Radiation”, (15min 3s, colour, HD digital projection from 35mm film), Cineworks/DOCBC Film & Media Showcase, Vancouver, BC 
May 2018 Screening & artist talk, “Photography & Radiation”, (15min 3s, colour, HD digital projection from 35mm film), ATOMIC Study: Film Screenings (for the exhibition “BOMBHEAD” by the Vancouver Art Gallery), The Cinematheque, Vancouver, BC 
Feb 2017 Screening & artist talk, “Reclaiming The Deep: Solving the Riddle of Nitrogen Narcosis”, (5min 36s, colour, HD digital projection from 35mm / 16mm / 8mm film) Cineworks, Vancouver, BC 
Nov 2016 Screening, “Dream”, (5min, HD digital projection from 16mm black & white film), BLUE Ocean Film Festival (As Honourable Mention), St. Petersburg, FL, USA 
Aug 2016 Screening, “Reclaiming The Deep: Solving the Riddle of Nitrogen Narcosis”, (5min 36s, colour, HD digital projection from 35mm / 16mm / 8mm film), Cineworks/DOCBC Film & Media Showcase, Vancouver, BC 
Aug 2016 Screening & artist talk, “Underwater Film”, curation of films and technical presentation, Cineworks, Vancouver, BC 
Nov 2014 Screening, “CHUUK: Adventure on the Thorfinn”, (5min, colour, HD  digital projection from digital SLR) SDUFEX (as Finalist), Irwin M Jacobs Qualcomm Hall, San Diego, USA 
Oct 2014 Screening, “CHUUK: Adventure on the Thorfinn”, (5min, colour, HD digital projection from digital SLR) Cineworks Film & Media Showcase, Vancouver, BC 
Aug 2013 Screening, “5 seconds: Adventures in Underwater Hockey”, (5min, colour, HD digital projection from regular-8mm film) Cineworks Film & Media Showcase, Vancouver, BC 
2004 Group exhibition, “Daguerreotypes”, (series of five 4”x5” original landscape daguerreotypes) Sony Pictures Imageworks, Los Angeles, USA 
2002 Group exhibition, “Colour infrared 2443”, (series of three large format colour infrared landscape C-prints), ESC Entertainment, Former Naval Airforce Base, Alameda, USA 
1996 Group Exhibition, “Waterfalls”, (series of three 16”x20” cyanotypes of  Victorian waterfalls), B.App.Sci Photography Exhibition, RMIT, Melbourne, Australia 
1995 Group exhibition, B.App.Sci Scientific Imaging Exhibitionem>, (Scientific photography portfolio), RMIT, Melbourne, Australia 

Exhibitions & Representation


CONTACT

Email: jesse@hirudinfilms.com

Phone: (604) 355-5439

Hirudin Films

2611 Fraser St,

Vancouver, BC, V5T 3V5

Canada