Jim DeForrest has been in the grocery business for 37 years, and in the photography business for a decade.
Jim moved to Whidbey in 2008. He had been looking at listings on Whidbey Island and found a house on Lagoon Point. He originally thought he would just come up to the island in the summer. But he became a full-time employee at Payless and is now selling his photos at Payless, Kingfisher Books, and Wild Birds Unlimited.
Jim enjoys talking with people and helping them find what they want in the produce department of Payless Foods in Freeland. He says, “I’ve been with produce all my life…and I like helping people” and his job at Payless allows him to do both of these things.
When you go into Payless to shop, you can also find a rack with many of Jim’s greeting cards featuring pictures of birds and other animals on Whidbey Island. He he began pursuing his interest in photography in 2016 when a co-worker who had a camera showed him pictures he had taken. Jim looked at the pictures and decided he wanted to do that too.
He had never used a camera before, so he watched videos on You-Tube to learn how to take photos. He chose a Nikon because of the variety of lenses that were available to go with the camera. While he was on vacation at the Grand Canyon, he used his new camera to take a picture of a buzzard being bothered by a raven. That’s all it took for Jim to get hooked: “I got the bug” he says.
He focused on bird photography because of the many opportunities on Whidbey Island. He also enjoyed learning about wildlife photography. He says, “There was a lot to learn, but it really called to me.” He took video courses from National Geographic photographers and watched videos by professional photographers who posted information on You Tube.
Jim enjoys meeting people and helping them find what they need in the store. He also appreciates showing his photos to people and seeing how they react to his wildlife pictures. He currently has an exhibition of his photos at the Useless Bay Country Club that will be up until March.
