Background

I come from the small Northwestern Indiana town of Valparaiso. It lies about 40 minutes southeast of Chicago at the southern end of Lake Michigan. It's location provided me with an unusually diverse set of influences; from the wide open farm fields of the Midwest to the heavy industry of the Steel Belt, the tranquil peace of Amish country to the hustle of the Windy City.

At 19 I joined the US Navy and began a 6 year tour of most of the World's least developed countries. In addition to broadening my view of the wider world, it left me with a deep seated, life long, appreciation for the American way of life.

Professional Influences

Though I can't begin to tell you when I first picked up a camera, I distinctly remember the feeling of fascination I had every time I managed to get my hands on my parents Kodak Instamatic with the Magicube flash.

At 13, I was introduced into what purists would consider “true photography” by my older brother. He was a dedicated hobbyist and, remains to this day, the most naturally gifted photographer I've ever known. He has always had a knack for capturing the essence of his subject and making it look effortless. He was, at that time, shooting with an Olympus OM-1n and had purchased an identical model for our mother. Because she was uncomfortable with the camera and its lack of automatic features, she gave it to me. I never looked back.

By the time I reached high school, I had discovered the work of legendary photographers such as C.S. Bull, Edward Weston, Ansel Adams, and George Hurrell. Having had no formal training, I was baffled by how they had produced images with such impact. As a result, I began to experiment with photographic filters trying to duplicate the feeling. At the time my school offered only a very basic course covering black and white camera and darkroom techniques. Thankfully, I was very fortunate in the teacher assigned to teach the course. This teacher, Kurt Anderson, had a background in photography and was willing to show me techniques not normally addressed in the curriculum. He taught me the fundamentals of push processing, dodging and burning and the use of photographic filters when printing, all of which would prove invaluable years later with the advent of Photoshop. More importantly though, he gave me the freedom to experiment. His dedication was a huge influence on my development, whetting my appetite for what was possible.

After finishing my military service, I relocated to Atlanta, Georgia and began freelancing. However, it wasn't until I met and began apprenticing for well know fashion and entertainment photographer Guy D'Alema that my professional growth really took off. Guy is, without a doubt, the moving force behind my professional development. He took the experiences and skills I had acquired and honed them. Guy expressed to me his strong belief in the need to pass knowledge along, having himself developed professionally through a similar path of real world experience and by being mentored by other well known photographers including long time Hollywood great Gene Trindl. His influence is clearly evident in the “Fashion Style” of many of the images displayed here.

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Thanks for visiting!

Joel