About Jesse Petersen

Jesse Petersen took quite a few side steps and side roads in his life before he got here. He started out in a workshop in his native Copenhagen and learned how to build violins. He played the guitar and toured the U.S. with a band playing Country and Western, blues and rock. Later, he became a cinematographer, shot  documentaries  and worked in Television for many years. He also worked for an investment bank. He travelled all over the world and spent much time in Cuba where he fell in love with the country. But through all those years, and on all the trips and all the ups and downs, whatever he did and wherever he went, his constant companion was the camera over the shoulder, in the pocket or in the bag. He was always ready to draw and shoot with this never-ending appetite for that great shot. It’s like an addiction, an instinctive attraction, this urge to get that perfect shot.

And now, Jesse has arrived, at last.  Now, he spends all his time on photography with the same passion and devotion as when he was young.  He admits that he may not be as fast as he was in the past. But, he explains, it does not matter because he’s not in a rush. What he has lost in speed, he has gained in a deeper understanding of the people, the landscapes and the street scenes he shoots. “I see more than ever,” he says, “and I never tire of shooting people. A whole life in one face.”  Finally, after a long journey he can embrace what he has loved through a lifetime. He’s not in a rush. He has time. Plenty of time.

 Samuel Rachlin