Jake Belcher Photography

Happy New Year everyone! This was one of the last projects I worked on in 2023 for an MIT News feature about Dr. Benedetto Marelli who has developed a silk based technology that is helping crops grow and preserving perishable foods. The technolgies have performed well and are already being tested in Morocco. Seriously game changing stuff for people who suffer from food inequities world wide.

Over the summer I photographed Professor James Fujimoto for MIT. He was recently honored with the Lasker Award for his influential work on optical cohearance tomography which allows early detection of many eye diseases.

I recently followed Boston University juniors, Cadets Dharma Cooper and Audrey Soukop, as they took part in a full day of weapons training and fi****ms safety with the BU ROTC Charles River Batallion. The cadets had never shot on a range before this semiannual trip to Joint Base Cape Cod and the passing of competency fi****ms training is mandatory regardless of which branch of the military the cadets choose to enter. Many thanks to the BU ROTC for letting me tag along for the day. I will post a link to the article in my bio.

I worked on a portrait project with rising seniors last week at Somerville High School for my long-standing client Breakthrough Boston.

Mona Awad, a Canadian novelist has recently been proclaimed literary heir to Margaret Atwood by Atwood herself. Awad's newest novel, Rogue is a darkly comedic horror tale about a young women's obsession with beauty. Shot for

I had the immense pleaaure of spending a little bit of with the Avi Loeb last month for . Loeb is a Harvard theoretical physicist who studies astrophysics and cosmology and has been outspoken about the very real possibilty of extraterrestrial life with the science to back it up. A recent underwater expedition led by Loeb off the coast of Papua New Guinea led to the finding of at least 50 spherules made with some materials if unknown origin but are believed to have come from an interstellar meteor that fell in the area back in 2014. I enjoyed chatting with Avi about this subject and the intersection between extraterrestrial conjecture and actual proof of life outside our planet.

I ran into this woman while she was walking her dog to class the other day while I was doing a portrait project for Tufts unrelated to this picture. She's a professor at the school and brings her dog to class often.

Back in December I spent an hour with Harvard Public Health Physician, David Eisenberg at his home. He is the founder of The Teaching Kitchen Collaborative, taking his passion for cooking and teaching other physicians as well as school age children how to cook while promoting wellness and prevent disease. Eisenberg's goal is to install these teaching kitchens thoroughout the country. Shot for Food Technology Magazine

Late last year I photographed Nicolette Bugher for MIT News Magazine. Bugher is part of an MIT Supefund research program studying poisons lurking in our environment. Thanks to for the call on this one.

Over the summer I got a call from the London Telegraph to photograph a woman who was writing a first person story on post pandamic intergenerational travel. Glenda who was already in Boston working at project at Boston University invited her two daughters and mother to visit Boston and Provincetown over week- and-a-half. I spent a couple of days with them as they navigated through P-Town and Boston, visiting Harvard, Paul Revere's house and of course Target.

I met this woman waiting for her bus while I was searching for the infamous Abbey Rd crossing on a day off from my work shooting schedule. I only had about a minute to make this portrait before her bus arrived, but she was kind enough to let me photograph her. I wish I had met her 5 min earlier to get her story or at least her name.

I have covered the Boston University JROTC Pass In Review in recent years under harsh late morning sun, but this time I needed to begin coverage earlier than usual to shoot a breakfast with the cadets. I also thought it would be a great time to get some photos of the formation rehearsal while the golden early morning light was low.

Earlier this month I covered the gallery opening for BU Today of Jaina Cipriano's new show, "Dreams," combining her beautiful surrealistic portraits and self portraits with funhouse like installations. Tremendous work from this artist.

After a 2 year hiatus due to Covid. Breakthrough Boston resumed their in person summer classes again. The program gives low income city students a chance at college by preparing them academically over a period of 6 years beginning in 7th grade and ending after graduation from high school. After my day of coverage of classes over the summer I had the chance to make some quick portraits of the program's rising seniors who will complete the program next year.

Last month I did a cover shoot for Food Technology Magazine of Sarah Bleich who is the director of food nutrition and health equity for the USDA.

I was feeling for this kid. Summer school in a stifling hot classroom with a barely functioning air conditioner during a heat wave last week.

I documented quite a few graduations over the last couple of months, but coming to Massachusetts Maritime Academy to make these pictures was by far my favorite commencement ceremony this year. Everyone always looks great in a uniform.

It's been ages since I've posted anything. I've begun going over images for a website update and found these pictures from a shoot I did of Ibuki Iwasaki for an MIT News profile shoot over the winter.

I was going over my archives this morning and came across portraits I did with economist Daren Acemoglu for the print edition of MIT News just as Covid was beginning to rear it's ugly head in early 2020. Ironically the article was on the future of work.

Last month I photographed MIT senior David Darrow for MIT News.

I grabbed a couple of pictures of Merv to test out my lights before I photographed his friend for an assignment I was working on for Tufts University over the summer. Merv was training for an MMA fight at the gym we were photographing at and was happy to stand in for 5 minutes. I was happy to share this photo with him and hope to photograph him again for my ongoing neighbors project since he lives in the same neighborhood as me.

I photographed Donald Reynolds, a retired banker for AARP Bulletin last month. He's been helping seniors with the free tax aide program at the Mashpee Senior Center which is just one of the 20 Tax-Aide Sites on the Cape and Islands he travels to albeit Mashpee being one of the larger. He says it was often a struggle during the pandemic when he would have to meet with clients in the parking lots of senior centers when buildings were closed due to the pandemic.

Over the summer I had the immense pleasure of photographing associate Boston University professor of art, Lucy Kim who is creating screen prints with lab grown melanin using E. coli. Melanin, a natural pigment that gives color to a person's hair and skin. This was my favorite assignment of 2021 and it was absolutely fascinating to see the process involved with this lab based art. Happy New Year everyone!

Over the summer I had the immense pleasure of photographing associate Boston University professor of art, Lucy Kim who is creating screen prints with lab grown melanin. Melanin, a natural pigment that gives color to a person's hair and skin. This assignment was absolutely fascinating to see the process involved with this lab based art and I'm looking forward to sharing some other pictures from the rest of this assignment.

I stumbled upon this scene during general graduation coverage for Boston University a couple of months ago.

Here are a couple of outtakes from a small fashion shoot last month with .emanga.n for , a super cool consignment shop here in Jamaica Plain. Nothing pleases me more when I can work with local businesses that help contribute to the fashion/art scene here in Boston.

I had a recent assignment for I&I Magazine. I was covering a large water and sewerage rehabilitation project in Shrewsbury, MA.

I recently photographed part-time substitute teacher, Peter Vangsness, 70, for AARP Bulletin for a story about retirement planning. After meeting with seeking the guidance of a financial advisor early in his career and stepping away from teaching to work in private industry, Peter and his wife were able to downsize and move closer to their five grandchildren. After almost 40 years Peter could go back to teaching. Thanks to for the photo assist.