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Jared Weintraub: An Award-Winning Landscape Photographer With a Passion for Nature

For award-winning landscape photographer Jared Weintraub, his work behind the lens is a natural extension of his love for both nature and adventure.

Weintraub, 23,  is a California-based landscape and fine art photographer with a large following on social media and an impressive portfolio of awards, client work, and more. Although he currently goes to school in San Luis Obispo, his love for photography and nature started years ago in San Diego.

Here’s why Jared Weintraub is a San Diegan you should know about.

A Self-Taught Photographer

Weintraub said that his passion for photography started at a young age. And, despite the obvious skill and talent apparent in his work, he is essentially self-taught.

“My dad gave me a camera in eighth grade,” Weintraub said. “I just picked it up and started taking photos of my friends in the surf and in my hometown in San Diego. And, you know, it kind of just started there.”

Weintraub learned his craft through an incredible amount of research, online tutorial, and trial and error. While in high school, he didn’t even plan to take a photography class until a teacher actually discovered his work on Instagram and approached him.

“He literally reached out to me,” he said. “He’s like, ‘Dude, you need to take my class. You have insane potential.’”

In the high school photography class, Weintraub learned more about different photographic domains like studio lighting work, photo editing, and the business side of photography. This set of skills, along with his natural talent, led him to begin focusing on his work more deeply – and it seems to have paid off.

Award-Winning (& Paying) Work

After realizing his natural eye for photography, Weintraub began submitting his portfolio to local farmers markets, art shows, and gallery displays. His impressive list of exhibits include:

• Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego, CA
• San Diego Museum of Fine Art, San Diego, CA
• Porsche USA Studio, San Diego, CA
• Laguna Art Gallery, Mission Viejo, CA
• Leucadia Art Fair & Farmers Market, Encinitas, CA
• Music and Art Festival, Carlsbad, CA

His work also accumulated various awards. One of his images, “Yosemite Grandeur,” scored third place in the 10th annual AAA WestWays International Photo Contest. From there, it was shown at the Museum of Photographic Arts (MoPA) in Balboa Park.

Additionally, Weintraub was also the first featured artist at the Porsche USA showroom in San Diego’s Fashion Valley Mall. His work was displayed for a full year.

It didn’t stop at awards, however. Once Weintraub began building his portfolio, he started reaching out to local brands. His commercial portfolio includes images for Outerknown, Shaka People, SPY+, Lume Cube, Surfline, and more.

Jared’s Process

It takes just one look at a Jared Weintraub picture to know that the photographer has a deep love for nature — and a natural eye for capturing it. That makes sense since Weintraub said that he grew up surfing on San Diego beaches, going on hikes, and planning trips to destinations like Yosemite, Iceland, and Mammoth.  

“Ever since I was a kid, I was outdoors,” Weintraub said. “My passion is just getting out there, exploring, and adventuring — and having the camera along the way.”

When it comes to capturing stunning images of nature, pretty much every photograph he shoots is grounded in deep research and planning.

“Like, if I’m going to see a sunset with my friends, I’ll bring my camera. It could be good, or it could not be, you know?” Weintraub said. “But if I’m going to shoot by myself, it’s never really winging it.”

Weintraub’s research process includes using Google Earth to find good locations for landscape images, and then pinning those locations to his phone for offline navigation. Additionally, he’ll also track local weather data based on satellite models to see if the conditions are going to line up for a good sunrise or sunset with beautiful cloud coverage.

This commitment to craft has also led to an interest in storm chasing since many of the meteorological skills translate. Although he doesn’t profess to be a professional storm-chasing photographer, Weintraub still uses weather data and SAT feeds to track storms — and then capture amazing images of lighting, clouds, and other storm conditions.

The future for Jared

Weintraub is currently attending school at California Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo, where he is studying business and marketing. His current plan is to find a position that allows for him to keep adventuring and work on his photography in his spare time.

“It is my passion and joy, not only to capture these images, but to share them with others,” Weintraub said. “I don’t create art. I just capture the beauty of what already exists.”

Shop Jared Weintraub Photography in the La Jolla Store

We’re pleased to feature Jared’s work in the La Jolla shop. The La Jolla shop creates pieces of wall art that bring a sense of California to any space. We couldn’t be happier to feature the stunning California imagery from Jared. Click below to view Jared’s work.

Media credit: Images courtesy of jaredweintraubfineart.com