Jeff Lipsky
By Suzanne Cheavens

Jeff Lipsky calls Venice Beach, California, his home now, but the former Tellurider’s heart remains in these mountains. The decade Lipsky spent in town was one, he says, of personal growth and of honing in on his dreams of becoming a professional photographer.

For many who arrive in the valley in their twenties—Lipsky was 22 when he came from Baltimore in the summer of 1988—the prospect of living in a resort town is like stumbling into heaven on earth. Lipsky waited tables, taught snowboarding and guided flyfishing trips, all the while reveling in the laid-back lifestyle and stunning natural beauty of his new home. It’s what he thinks about most often when he reflects on Telluride. “The people and the beauty are what I miss most,” he says. “The same reasons everyone loves Telluride. It’s the carefree lifestyle. Goggles or sunglasses?”

Now an in-demand portrait and fashion photographer who has captured the countenances of such luminaries as Ewan McGregor, Lindsay Lohan, Kelly Slater, Katie Holmes, William H. Macy and Daryl Hannah for Esquire, Men’s Journal, Outside, Vogue and others, Lipsky credits his years as a waiter to the success he enjoys as a photographer. “I love meeting people,” he says. “Being a waiter was the best preparation for being a photographer. It was my most memorable experience.”

Lipsky plied his trade at The Senate, Howie Stern’s Floradora, and 221 South Oak, where his engaging smile and cheerful demeanor endeared him to customers. The best wait people also serve as ambassadors to this tourist-dependent town, and Lipsky reigned supreme tableside. In the winter, questions about his ever-present goggle tan invariably led to a report on a phenomenal day on the mountain, and in the summer, a description of the fish special would evoke an afternoon spent flicking dry flies over the San Miguel River.

A snowboard instructor who not only taught skills to neophyte riders but also conveyed his profound enthusiasm for the sport, Lipsky’s recent heli-skiing shoot in Alaska’s Chugach Mountains with skateboard guru and entrepreneur Tony Hawk made him recall his days carving in Telluride. “All those days on Chair 9 finally came into use,” Lipsky says.

Today, Lipsky splits his time between New York and Los Angeles, often traveling 100,000 miles per year on assignment. But his home in Venice Beach is a community he chose for its similarities to his former home in Telluride. “I try to make my life in L.A. as close to Telluride as possible. I can walk everywhere,” he says. “I fill my car up maybe once a month. The beach is nearby. And there are former Telluriders here that I stay in close touch with. No matter where you go, they’re around.”

Whether waiting tables or guiding anglers, Lipsky never stopped harboring his dream of being a photographer. He bought his first camera from photographer Ace Kvale and counts Kvale and other Telluriders, Doug Berry and the late T. R. Youngstrom, as his earliest influences. He worked in the Ah Haa School’s darkroom whenever he had a chance, perfecting the basics that would form the foundation for his prodigious skills today. He capped his final year in Telluride by earning money with his camera, shooting for the Telluride Daily Planet. Eventually, his dream took him to the big city, where he worked for nearly three years as a photographer’s assistant for L.A.’s most prominent shooters. “I worked on every Rolling Stone cover,” he says of his first apprentice years in L.A. “My first real assignment as a photographer was a Banana Republic campaign, which was an amazing first job. In this business it’s about timing, tenacity and talent.” Clearly in possession of all three, Lipsky’s specialty is the intimate portrait. Perusing his impressive online portfolio and remembering his easy manner with diners and clients, it’s evident his subjects are relaxed and trusting before his lens. The life of a professional, busy photographer takes him around the globe, face to face with celebrities and to locations both mundane and exotic. Lipsky might travel many hours and miles to a small, dusty town in Texas to shoot cycling great Lance Armstrong. The next time he packs up his camera and lights, it could be for a fashion story or a new hair product campaign in Hawaii.

Currently, he is represented by a top New York photographers’ agency, Edge Reps, an outfit Lipsky says is “a good fit” for him. “They’re really taking me places,” he says. “I’m very well represented.”

For Lipsky, none of his career success would have been possible without his time spent in Telluride. “I grew up there,” he says. “I’m so grateful for that time in my life. I would never have become the person I am today if not for Telluride.” He tries to visit as often as his busy schedule will allow him. Does he ever think about returning more permanently? “All the time. There’s always a part of Telluride in you. It’s hard to live without it.”