Phillips area photographer honored to be recognized for doing something he loves
Phillips farmer and racing photographer Jerry Jacobs was recently inducted into the Nebraska Auto Racing Hall of Fame.
After 40 years of race photography and spending countless nights at race tracks across central Nebraska, Jacobs is being honored for his work and dedication to his craft.
Jacobs first found a passion for photography as a kid.
“I was always trying to take pictures,” he said. “My grandpa, he had these little Kodak Instamatic and I think that’s how I got started.”
He was hooked. By middle school, he got his own camera and the shots followed.
“I bought my first camera when I was probably in junior high. “It was a fairly nice 35 millimeter film camera.”
While helping on a neighbor’s farm, Jacobs was first exposed to racing and was quickly hooked by the fast-paced competition.
“I had a neighbor that raced so I hung out in their garage and then pretty soon I was on their pit crew,” he said. “I did that until they decided it was too expensive and quit. So then I wanted a reason to go back in the pits.”
Simply being an observer didn’t do it for Jacobs -- he needed more.
“I tried sitting in the stands one night and that didn’t work. I wanted to know what was going on out there,” he said.
Jacobs’ first few years of racing photography were spent figuring it all out, he said.
“The first three or four or five years I kind of really probably didn’t know what I was doing. It took another 10 years to get it figured out,” he chuckled.
As he was learning the ropes, Jacobs decided to start selling his photographs on the side. Before and after every race, he’d be there with his pictures.
“I would sell the pictures out of the back of my pickup,” he said. “I would start my little table trying to get there at five or 6 o’clock before the races started and sit there at 10 or 12 at night when the races were over and the little kids (would) all come out of the stands running up with their dollar to buy a picture.”
He traveled across Nebraska taking photos at different tracks. He spent time at circuits in Doniphan, Hastings, Lexington, Columbus, Albion, David City, Red Cloud, McCool Junction, and many more.
In his earlier years, Jacobs also traveled to different states doing outdoor photography.
“I did a lot of landscape and wildlife stuff. I still kind of do some of that around here,” he said. “But there are many years where we went to Utah, out in the canyonlands, went to Wyoming quite a bit (too).”
Jacobs enjoyed the peace of doing outdoor photography.
“I like Wyoming -- it was less populated -- and Black Hills and stuff like that. Even western Nebraska was kind of fun to go out and run around,” he said.
Jacobs’ racing photos were featured on many websites and social media accounts across the web. Additionally, Jacobs’ photos were featured in Open Wheel Magazine, Hawkeye Racing Journal, Dirt Modified Magazine and Midget Magazine.
Jacobs feels honored that he’s been inducted into the Nebraska Auto Racing Hall of Fame, even though he feels there are others that deserve it, too.
“Drivers are mostly what gets inducted but there’s car owners and stuff like that, too,” he said. It’s a very neat group because it’s drag racing, it’s dirt racing, it’s pavement racing. It’s all different classes, all kinds of things….so I mean, it’s a big honor I think. I feel there’s probably like hundreds of other people that should be in long before I am.”
Though Jacobs retired in 2014, he will always be remembered as one of Nebraska’s greatest race photographers.