Dave jackson grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, before heading off to New York City in 1994 to follow his dreams of being a professional photographer. He quickly gained a reputation as having a knack for photographing naked men, shooting sexy pictures for SHOUT ny, HX and Next magazines back when magazines were still a thing. “It was one of those stories where it’s almost surreal. I hadn’t really done anything with my photography yet. A friend of mine from the gym said they had been hired as art director for a new magazine,” says jackson, who publishes under the name jackson Photografix. “The publisher said, ‘Book him to shoot the cover for the Pride issue,’ and it went from there.”
Meanwhile, his fine art photography has been exhibited in galleries throughout North America and featured in art books. After 10 years in New York, jackson moved back to Canada, living in Vancouver, British Columbia, for a while before moving about three years ago to Royston, a city of about 2,700 people on the east coast of Vancouver Island.
Wander+Lust talked to jackson about moving from Canada to the U.S., then back again, and what he loves about living on Vancouver Island.
You lived in New York City from 1994 to 2004.
Yeah, I was there through 9/11. There was also a lot going on culturally—it was the place to be if you were into the arts.
And now you’re on Vancouver Island. What made you leave?
Truthfully, I was watching the politics, and the country was on the verge of voting in George W. Bush for a second term. Laughingly, I said to people, “You vote him in again. I’m gonna pack up and move back to Canada.” People were like, “You’re very funny.” They did vote him in, and so I packed up my stuff and relocated back to Canada. In many ways, people looked at Canada as following America’s lead on everything. If they got a cold, we sneezed. But I think Canada started pulling forward with LGBTQ2S+ rights. I think we’re now the one in the lead and they’re paying attention to what we’re doing.
What was it like living in such a big gay city and then moving to such a small one?
My partner was living here when I was in Vancouver, and we decided it was easier living here. We bought a house. I was in the process of gearing down, going from New York to Vancouver and now to the island. It’s definitely a step down as far as sheer energy levels. The sexy guys to shoot are few and far between. But I do manage to come across some people who are exciting to photograph. People do travel through. I have a fair number of models that I like to work with, out of Vancouver, who will make the trek over. It depends on whether I’ve got a client that wants something shot—those shoots tend to be more specific, tailored to what kind of model they want, what they’re looking for. On the flip side, when I’m creating my own work, I don’t have a specific type I go for. There’s sexy in a lot of different ways.
Your neighbours must wonder about all these handsome men visiting you.
A few of the neighbours have had an eyeball full, I’m sure. I’ve got a studio here, but we’ve got an acre, so I have done a fair number of shoots out on the property. It’s fun to take people outside. And I did 10 years of shoots, shooting full nudes, in Vancouver’s Stanley Park at different times of day, in different types of weather. I’ve got quite an extensive body of work. There’s a portion of the park called Lee’s Trail, which has been infamous for outdoor sex for probably as long as gays have lived in Vancouver. When I first started shooting there, I travelled along Lee’s Trail and then cut into that part of the park to do my photos. It’s always funny when people walk through with their dogs—“Oh, hello!”
Your photos can be pretty hot. Do the shoots get hot?
I keep it professional. I mean, I’ve shot everything. I’ve shot for Michael Lucas, who is a porn producer out of New York. When he did his Fire Island series, he brought me out as their still photographer, so there were definitely things going on during that shoot. You’re sitting there, watching them go through the same scene several times. You’re looking at people having sex and not thinking much about it. It’s like, “Oh, I’ll wait till they get the lighting right, then I’ll start taking pictures.” It becomes quite commonplace. As far as the actual creation of images, I wouldn’t want people to think that’s why I’m doing it. I want to keep the intent of creation pure. “I’m asking you not because I’m interested in you sexually, but interested in you visually.”
What’s the funniest thing that’s happened during a photo shoot?
I was shooting somebody in a snowbank. He’s standing in the snow with nothing but a jockstrap on. People were walking by thinking we’d lost our minds. My hands were freezing just trying to adjust the focus or take the photo, but the model was completely fine. He was enjoying himself.
As a traveller, are you always thinking of good locations for a shoot?
I’ve spent a number of years going down to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, which is a wonderful place to shoot. You’ve got to be a little bit sensitive to the fact that it is still very Catholic, even though there is a section of the city, Zona Romántica, that’s quite gay. You usually have to get off the beaten track. I’ve shot in the Vallarta Botanical Gardens (Carretera Puerto Vallarta, a Barra de Navidad Km. 24, Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco). It was almost closing time, and it was one of those things where they knew what we were coming in to do and they were fine with it. If we’re shooting full nudity, we’re always on the lookout so that we’re not upsetting anybody with families or whatever. It used to be that models were quite sensitive when we shot on the beach. But now, with there being a whole section of Playa Los Muertos that is gay, it doesn’t seem to matter what you’re doing there. I’ve done full nudes on the beach. It’s just a matter of timing and watching who’s around.
What’s your favourite place to stay in Puerto Vallarta?
I used to stay quite a bit at Hotel Belmar Galeria (Insurgentes 161, Zona Romántica, Puerto Vallarta), but now I move all over the place, trying to find Airbnbs and hotels that are like mini locations for me to do shoots in. That’s something I do all over. When I was shooting in Paris, I found an incredible hotel, Hôtel Crayon (25 Rue du Bouloi, Paris). Each of their rooms had a completely different colour scheme. In the matter of a week, I changed rooms three times just to be able to shoot different people with different looks.
Tell me what it’s like to live on Vancouver Island, close to all that nature.
We live on the outskirts of a town, Royston, which is right on the Strait of Georgia. It’s in the Comox Valley, which has three main communities: Comox, Courtney and Cumberland. We fit in amazingly well as a gay couple. It’s a very liberal mindset out here. I don’t know whether it’s because initially the hippies and the more liberal people made their way out to the island, or whether it’s just that everybody accepts whatever else is around them here. We have Comox Valley Pride (August 23, 2025, in Lewis Park in Courtenay, British Columbia). Queer Culture is an organization that puts on dances and events that bring people out. It’s a small community, but there are definitely things going on.
Where do you go to commune with nature?
Cathedral Grove (in MacMillan Park, Port Alberni) is near me. It’s quite remarkable to photograph, even without male models in there. Then you go to the west side of the Island and there are the communities of Tofino and Ucluelet. Tons of people make their way there to watch the storms coming off the ocean.
And for a bite to eat?
My personal faves around here? Ocean 7 (in Kingfisher Pacific Resort and Spa, 4330 Island Hwy. S., Courtenay) is fabulous.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
