KIAWAH ISLAND DIGEST | 3
During that time, he gave dozens of talks in the U.S. and
abroad on chemical education and the use of technology.
Today, an active member of Kiawah’s photography
club, he continues to teach, now to club members, on
photographic technology, “what he calls “the nitty gritty
of photo software.”
Jack said he was always interested in photography. When
he began writing textbooks, they were heavily illustrated,
and as he worked closely with the photographer, his
fascination with photography grew. “Twelve years ago, a
good camera was my retirement gift to myself,” he said.
As camera technology has evolved, Jack has been drawn
to the physics and the technology of photography. Not
only does he appreciate the technical knowledge that
good photography requires but also the thought and
planning.
Kiawah is a photographer’s dream, a nature paradise, Jack
remarked. “You have the aquatic environments, seashore
and marsh, as well as forest. Dolphins, alligators, bobcats,
240 species of birds, even wild turkeys. There are not
many places in the country you get all that. Now with
climate change, we are seeing birds we didn’t have before.”
Although his work is anything but amateur, Jack considers
himself an amateur enthusiast. “I’m always tickled when
someone is willing to buy what I’ve done,” he said. He
sells his work at the Art and Artisan Showcase on Kiawah,
by word of mouth, or through his website. One of his
photos (of Caw Caw County Park) was recently awarded
honorable mention by the National Wildlife Federation,
one of 77 photos out of 23,000. See photo on right.
Jack and Katie love to travel and often take two major
trips a year. Although they usually don’t choose their
destinations for the photographic opportunities, “I am
always aware of the possibilities,” Jack said. Some of the
trips include Alaska, Costa Rica, Botswana, Panama,
Italy, and their next trip is whale watching in Mexico. For
each trip, Jack designs a photo journey book, and to date
he has made more than 25.
Kiawah’s photography club is important to Jack both for
his work and for social connections. The group will often
go on a shoot together, such as to Charleston or Magnolia
Plantation, taking pictures of students in the schools or
at athletic events, or nature shoots, and then have a meal
afterward.
B e s i d e s
photography,
Jack has many
interests. He
just finished
the
10th
edition of the
freshman level
chemistry
textbook he
first
wrote
in the 1980s.
He considers
chemistry
a “form of
creative art,”
and
likes
“bringing
a
sense of the
artistic
to
chemistry.” He
also
creates
online chemistry tutorials. He has served on the board
of the Kiawah Conservancy and headed the conservancy
committee on environmental science. He recently served
on the town Sea Level Rise Committee.
While most of Jack’s teaching career was in a college of
the State University of New York, Jack and Katie have
also lived in South Africa, New Zealand, England and
Portugal. They have two sons and six grandchildren.
They first came to Kiawah when one of their sons
married into a Charleston family and Jack and Katie
stayed at their Kiawah home. “We stayed out here and
woke up with a cottage,” Jack said. “No one does that!”
They moved to their current home when they retired
here full time. In retirement, Jack continues to work on
textbooks and teach, not chemistry but photography.