Home: San Francisco, Calif.

Studio: Petaluma, Calif.

Gear: To Erickson, photo equipment only gets better with age. Along with an old, well-worn Canon F1, he normally uses standard lenses, preferably made before 1960, that...

Known mostly for commercial photography, Jim Erickson is now showing his more artistic side with two new books based on potraits of people near his San Francisco Home.

"I love pictures that touch the human spirit," says photographer Jim Erickson, quietly. He returns to this theme again and again. "I like landscapes, but I truly love pictures about people and who they are—pictures that capture what they’re feeling."

Erickson provides the photography world with a positive role model, combining talent, passion, style, heart and mind. He has created a successful business while at the same time unleashing timeless art forms that speak to our inner human commonality.

"Artists are caretakers of the soul," he says...