He began his career as a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union before devoting himself to photography after studying under Charles Harbutt.
His other stated and implicit influences include André Kertész, Charles Harbutt, Mark Rothko, Danny Lyons, Weegee, postmodernist Ralph Steadman, the Depression-era photojournalist Dorothea Lange, and Odilon Redon.
While most of these images were taken during his magazine assignments, they present a more lyrical, internal reaction to the events of the deaths of his parents, returning to live on the East coast, and the startling moment the Twin Towers burn behind a bronze statue depicting the horror of the Katyn Forest massacre.
[3] "The Last Roll" embodies the maturation of Jacobson's work, further abstracting his vision of the world, while his medium of Kodachrome film ceased production, shortly after he is diagnosed and treated for cancer.
After viewing the world first from the windows of his home, he re-entered it again with fresh eyes, focussed now on the images that move him and give him strength.