I’m a Northern New Jersey based photographer whose work mixes travel, outdoor culture, street, and documentary-style storytelling. My style is rooted in capturing real, unstaged moments, whether that’s fly fishing in remote Appalachian streams, a hunting trip in the Northeast, or the city streets.

My experiences traveling across the U.S. From the mountains of Montana and Wyoming to the streets of New York, shaped the way I see light, people, and place. I aim for simplicity and authenticity, creating images that require little editing and let the moment speak for itself. Currently, I work with local magazines and editors to produce imagery that captures the viewer’s eye, providing a new, fresh look to editorials through photo essays.

Karen Fucito, the Editor at Lake Hopatcong News, contacted me to shoot local boat races, and I took the opportunity as my first assignment, an excerpt from the Editor’s Note Reads

“Enter Jack Ponzoni, a 20-year-old student at County College of Morris.

Back in February, I was invited to speak with journalism students at CCM, and Jack was one of those in attendance. Apparently, he liked what he heard and later reached out through email, sharing some of his work and inquiring about any photo assignments I might have for him. He was persistent, which I appreciated, because even though I was not able to offer him any work, he pitched me ideas, even shooting photo stories on his own in the hopes one would resonate with me. I offered him both weekends of the boat races.

His creative eye is quite different than mine. His viewpoints are different, and he mostly uses a wide-angle lens to document a story, believing that the 16mm lens on his Sony A7IV is the "best storytelling lens."

He's also not afraid of black and white photos. "I'm a fan of black and white photography. It gives photos a unique look," he told me recently.

For the record, the black and whites you'll see in his photo essay on pages 14 and 15 are the first non-historical black and whites to run in the magazine while l've been editor. It's a nice change. And it's nice to see something new and fresh in the magazine. I'm a fan of his unique style, which I know will get refined the more he shoots.

I remember the pride I felt as a young photographer working at the Daily Record when Stan Godlewski—a fellow staff shooter whom I admired immensely—declared he was starting to see my style emerging. He said he could pick out a photo from a pile of photos and know it was mine.

When I asked Jack to shoot the boat races-the Lake Hopatcong Powerboat Championships and Governor's Cup at Hopatcong State Park on September 13 and 14 and the Grand Prix the following weekend—he jumped at the chance, then ran with it.

Armed with only the names of one or two contact people at both venues, Jack showed his resourcefulness, gaining access to behind-the-scenes areas usually off limits to the public and sometimes even the press. My instructions to him were simple: shoot whatever you see.”

Karen, if you’re reading, hope you are well!