Welcome
I am an amateur photographer who mostly enjoys landscape and astrophotography shots. You can see different categories of my works listed here in reverse chronological order, including both photography and digital art pieces. Additionally, I post some of the pieces in my instagram (@jasonwu_21↗) and art (@jwu_arts↗) accounts, so feel free to give them a follow if you are interested in seeing more or full-resolution versions of my works.
Photography
Landscapes and architecture photography let me explore how human history and nature intersect, framing stories through the textures of old cities and sweeping views of timeless scenes.
I started out with a Nikon D750 DSLR camera, paired with a 50-year-old 35mm manual-focused lens. Unless otherwise stated, all photos taken with said camera will be this configuration. Throughout the years, I've also used other cameras like Canon's EOS R7, Sony's A7, Fijifilm, CCDs – but Nikon's pairing remained my favorite for its versatility, vintage-feel, anc accurate color configuration.
2025
果子沟大桥 (Guozigou Bridge)
Landscapes & Architecture
- › Against a backdrop of rugged green mountains and snow-capped peaks, cables rise like a modern monument in an ancient landscape.
- › The Guozigou Bridge is a marvel of engineering on the Lianhuo Expressway, which runs across the entirety of China. Countless shipping trucks soar through this bridge every day carrying goods from Kazakhstan to the Pacific.
Bend of 百里画廊 (Hundred-Mile Gallery)
Landscapes
- › A river carves its way through rolling meadows and pine forests, framed by the distant peaks of the Tianshan.
- › The gentle curve of the water captures the balance of stillness and motion that defines this storied valley.
Haystack with mountains of Xinjiang
Landscapes
- › A lone haystack stands in the foreground, while waves of hills, grassland, and jagged ridges recede into the misty distance.
- › I adore Xinjiang’s geographic richness, reflected in this layered composition — each horizon holds a new story in texture and light.
Elm Trees, Petrified Forest National Park
Landscapes
- › Ancient wood turned to stone lies scattered across painted earth, while new life emerges from the buried.
Snow-Capped Grand Canyon
Landscapes
- › The canyon’s vast cliffs wear a crown of snow, where silence and grandeur meet in winter’s embrace.
Horseshoe Canyon
Landscapes
- › A river bends in a perfect curve through sheer red cliffs, carving a sculpture out of desert stone.
Las Vegas Palms
Landscapes
- › Palm silhouettes rise against the desert sky, a reminder of resilience and contrast in a city of neon and mirage.
2024
UChicago Campus
Landscapes & Architecture
- › The Ida Noyes Hall of the University of Chicago, with its classic architecture, red-and-white bricks, and duo-colored ivies.
Venice Waterway
Landscapes & Architecture
- › The venetian city layout opens its way to many stunning, picturesque compositions. I especially appreciate the interminglement of water and traditional architectures.
Jungfrau, top of Europe
Landscapes & Nature
- › This photo was taken atop Jungfrau of the Swiss alps. The two houses in the foreground contrast with the expansive, rolling landscape of the back. It makes me imagine the details of its residents' daily lives.
Fog at Neuschwanstein Castle
Landscapes & Architecture
- › We visited the Neuschwanstein castles in a misty day – conditions quite typical for a central European summer. At one point the fog obscured our view completely. Just as we were heading down the mountains, the cloud cleared up, revealing the original inspiration behind Walt Disney's castle.
Schloss Heidelberg
Landscapes & Architecture
- › This is the quintessential German experience – the misty clouds, green hills, dense trees, pointy castles, red roofs, white walls, and a winding road leading up to the Schloss Heidelberg.
Rome at Sunset
Landscapes & Architecture
- › Timeless elegance carved in the stones and shadows of Rome.
- › Photo shows the Ponte Sisto, arching gracefully across the Tiber. One of the most famous renaissance bridges, its worn stones carries centuries of footsteps, whispers, and sunsets over the Eternal City.
- › Landscapes and architecture photography let me explore how human history and nature intersect, framing stories through the textures of old cities and sweeping views of timeless scenes.
Sunset in Amsterdam
Landscapes & Architecture
- › Perhaps inspired by viewing "The Night Watch" at the National Museum of Netherland, I composed this photo with a similar motif of showing people of different walks of life gathered at the dusk of the city, gilded by the wanning light.
The Ismaning Town Hall
Landscapes & Architecture
- › I briefly stayed at the town of Ismaning, south of Garching bei München where I interned at the Max Planck Institute for summer of 2024. The town's relaxed atmosphere made it perfect for me to wind down after an intense academic year.
- › This photo reflects this moment of tranquility: I had just arrived at a foreign country and taken the train to an unfamiliar town. The solemn ringings of the bell tower halted me on my journey to the hotel. Here, I reclaimed a slowness to life which I've lost for a long time.
Salzburg
Landscapes & Architecture
- › With my friend visiting me in Munich, we took a trip to Salzburg, Austria. The city can be descrabed by a brush of green and blue, decorated with the traditional architectures of churches and castles.
- › Ascending to the top of the mountains, we are able to see down onto the vast flatlands, rolling into the Austrian alps down South. It was a view I won't ever forget.
Lamp Post and Blossoms
Stills
- › A lamp post by the UChicago book store juxtaposes with the vibrant cherry blossoms in the background.
Isla Gaviota de Chile
Landscapes
- › Red, yellow, and blue – the tricolors of Chile mixes with the light and shadows of the south Pacific coast.
- › We took a glimpse of this small island on our visit to the Reserva Nacional Pinguino de Humboldt.
Observatorio Interamericano del Cerro Tololo
Landscapes
- › These collection of observatories atop Cerro Tololo stand out from the stretching deserts behind. The composition is so simple yet so effective – it shows a sense of expanding scale from the multiple layers in the image.
The Milky Way atop Chile
Astrophotography
- › A long exposure under the pristine skies of Atacama Desert, where the Milky Way unveils its brilliant tapestry of light and time.
- › I am naturally drawn to Astrophotography as it reveals the hidden splendor of the night sky otherwise invisible to the naked eye.
2023
Fireworks at Disney
Landscapes & Architecture
- › Taken at the Orlando Disney World, this was a splendid fireworks display, lighting up the entire sky and forming nebulae-like structures with the pastel red and green colors.
The Golden Gate Bridge
Landscapes & Architecture
- › The classic composition with the Golden Gate, taken on the south side of the San Francisco Bay on my visit to friends in California.
The Blazing Maple Leaf v.3
Stills
- › A sheet of maple leaf on the Northwestern Evanston campus.
The Blazing Maple Leaf v.2
Stills
- › A sheet of maple leaf on the Northwestern Evanston campus.
The Blazing Maple Leaf v.1
Stills
- › Maple leafs on the Northwestern Evanston campus.
Cobb Gate, University of Chicago
Landscapes & Architecture
- › The Cobb gate of the University of Chicago campus.
- › Some say you should not cross the gate before commencement of your first year, lest you would not graduate.
Bunny and Leaf
Portrait
- › This photo was taken at a cat café in the Nanluogu Valley of Beijing. It was difficult to capture this moment with this active little creature. Yet here it is eyeing a piece of leaf for lunch, with its fur gently careessed by the sunlight.
Sempre caro mi fu quest'ermo colle
Landscapes & Architecture
- › A small house in the middle of a field, in the Fermilab Batavia campus.
- › I had a lot of Italian influences from my time at Fermilab in the summer of 2023. This poem "L'infinito" came to mind when taking this photo.
Wilson Hall, Fermilab
Landscapes & Architecture
- › The Wilson Hall where I went to work everyday at Fermilab. It was such a towering figure in the middle of an essentially empty flatland, and thus it stands out especially among the architectures I've done science in.
Biking After Rain
Stills
- › Biking around the ring was one of my most fond memories at Fermilab. That day was going to be no different, but my passions were curbed by a sudden thunderstorm, which forced me into hiding.
- › I had just came out from a window sill, where I took shelter through the thunderstorm – the sun had done the same, it seemed, generously casting its rays onto the bike and the grass nearby.
Fireflies
Landscape
- › I saw fireflies for the first time at Fermilab, where it was dark and unpolluted enough for them to exist naturally. Those fleeting green dots captured my interests for quite a few days.
- › This photo was ontained from stacking together multiple 10.0s exposure shots. This was done to show the fireflies more clearly while not overblowing the background with a single exposure.
University of Pittsburgh
Landscapes & Architecture
- › This photo was accidentally obtained when adjusting the lighting on a not-so-ideal exposure. It captures the brooding prescence of the clouds. The architecture below is ignited by the rays that managed to escape the heavens.
Locks on Schenley Bridge
Stills
- › The Schenley Park, being one of my favorite localities in Pittsburgh, also hosts a bridge with locks on top. Many people come here to wish for a successful relationship, while I simply appreciated the intricate lock designs when I visited.
Happy Birthday!
Stills
- › A happy birthday message, taken of me drawing a light painting with my moon globe, and sent to someone special :).
Flowers by the Regenstein Library
Stills
- › The white blossoms grow from bottom right to top left, rising against the beams of sunlight, which illuminates the edges of its young leaves. I believe this sufficiently showcases the beauty of nature and still lifes.
The Moon
Astrophotography
- › The moon, taken from my camera looking through the telescope atop the Ryerson Observatory at UChicago. The phase is wanning, and the photo shows in detail the transition between light and shadow on our planet's only satellite.
Cherry Blossoms
Stills
- › The cherry blossoms bloom in spring, capturing fleeting moments of beauty at the University of Chicago campus.
- › I love stills with narrow field-of-view compositions, because they capture the quiet elegance of a single moment, preserving the beauty and fragility of life in perfect detail.
Digital Art
Pixel art is easily my favorite style. I believe its minimalism is key for inspiring creativity and universality in the digital age. Similarly, vector art allows me to fuse my appreciation for technology into artistic expressions.
2023
Tuoba the Cat
Pixel
- › This piece is my attempt at drawing Tuoba the cat, who has endlessly pestered me during my stay at my friend's place.
2022
r/place
Pixel
- › This is a section of Reddit's r/place 2023 – except I tried recreating some of my iconic pieces with the limited palette available to the project.
Fairwick Side Characters
Pixel, Game Design
- › A selection from the cast of side characters from Fairwick School of Wichery, the game I was helping develop.
Clouds
Pixel
- › A puff of nebulous cloud. It is my experiment on making more complicated landscape pieces.
Minecraft
Pixel
- › My imitation of one of Minecraft's anniversary celebration books, available only in paperback form.
Clouds
Pixel, Game Design
- › A demo of the hallway of the Fairwick School of Witchery, including some characters and furnitures.
Magical Forest
Pixel, Game Design
- › A demo of the forest outside the Fairwick School of Witchery, including the main character and some decorations.
- › The forest would be the first level of the game, where you gather potion ingredients from defeating monsters and collecting loot.
Vintage Cameras
Pixel
- › Two vintage Leica cameras in pixel art style. I am a big fan of its simplicity.
2021
Solar system
Vector
- › The vastness of the solar system is represented through clean, scalable lines. I strive to bring science and art together in a modern, striking way.
Portraiture
Pixel
- › Portrait of a friend of mine I drew, based on a pixelated projection at Boston's Quincy Market.
Halloween Imagery
Pixel
- › Some Halloween-themed imageries.
Apple
Pixel
- › This piece, a hand-drawn apple, represents how small details in lighting can create recognizable imagery.
Rocks
Pixel
- › Some rocks, as a practice of lighting and shading on different surfaces, as well as shapes and outlines.
Cherry Blossom
Pixel
- › A cherry blossom twisting and turning as it extends upward.
2020
Truss Icon
Pixel, Game Design
- › Some wooden truss, as an icon for my physics game "Truss Issues". This was the first game project I've worked on.
Turkey
Pixel
- › My first ever pixel art of a turkey, as I was fascinated with them around that time. This was also my first dive into making art.
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