INTERVIEW WITH JOEL ROBISON
Joel is an amazing and very kind person who you will love once you get to know him and his work!
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?I’m a 29 year old conceptual photographer based out of Cranbrook, British Columbia Canada. I like to create stories and visuals in my work that lead the viewer to create a story in their mind. My background is in education and I recently started pursuing photography full-time and I’ve been travelling for the last 4 months as part of the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour, as the lead photographer. I’m also part of a workshop teaching team that travels across the United States, teaching workshops based around conceptual photography and editing..
That must have been so exciting to be a lead photographer for FIFA. So when and why did you start photographing?I’ve always been a visual person and I’ve always been the type of person to express myself through art. As a kid I was always drawing and creating with pencils and crayons but when I was a teenager those things slowly fell away from me. After I finished college I started realizing that I didn’t have a creative outlet so I started exploring different mediums like sculpture and painting but nothing really fit. I came across flickr.com and I really liked the portraits and fine art that was being created and it inspired me to buy my first dslr and try my own ideas in photography. I’ve been pursuing photography since then, about 5 years ago.
As a creative person, what’s something you know you do differently than other photographers?
I think for me, one of the elements that I try to infuse into my work is a theme of positivity or positive thinking. I truly believe that positive thinking and genuine peacefulness can change your life and I think that I try to add that into my work through whimsy, through stories and through the visuals in my work.
It shows Joel. Your photos always leave positive thoughts. Can you show us a picture which has a lot of meaning to you and tell us why?
It shows Joel. Your photos always leave positive thoughts. Can you show us a picture which has a lot of meaning to you and tell us why?
That one for me has a lot of personal meaning. For me it’s a visual of breaking free from depression. As a teenager and early in my 20’s I was quite depressed and had a very hard time see goodness or colour in the world. Everything felt very dark and very unhappy. This last year I’ve been working hard internally on my mindset and my outlook on life and trying to let go of anything that might be holding me down. This was a visual of breaking free from the dark thoughts and letting the good thoughts lift me up.
The photo describes your story well. I wonder if you can tell us a funny photography related story since positivity is so important in your life?
Haha, I have lots of those! I tend to shoot in a nice open field area near my house and it’s not uncommon for people to walk through my photoshoots. There have been a few times where people have stood and watched me shoot or ask if they can help me, even though I try to explain that I don’t need any help. There have been a few wild animals that have stomped through my setups, a moose and black bear within a few weeks of each other.
Oh my that must be scary, what did you do when the wild animals were there?
(Laughs) Well it's not too scary. I've always lived near nature and spend a lot of time running, hiking and mountain biking in the mountains so I've a lot of close encounters with all sorts of animals. I usually just make a lot of noise and make sure I always know where they're going so they don't sneak up on me!
Haha you impress me! The moment I will take a roadtrip through america I will ask you for advice. So I noticed you make a lot of tiny Joel's in your pictures. Where did you get the inspiration?I started taking these photos when I was taking photos of a toy Wall-E figure that I had and I started thinking of ideas I could use for those photos, when I thought that if I could come up with stories for a toy, maybe I could make myself the same size and have a brand new perspective. After a few photos I realized that I really liked the viewpoint of someone really small and the new world’s and ideas that you could create with this new perspective. Suddenly objects have new purposes and functions and it’s fun!
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That one for me has a lot of personal meaning. For me it’s a visual of breaking free from depression. As a teenager and early in my 20’s I was quite depressed and had a very hard time see goodness or colour in the world. Everything felt very dark and very unhappy. This last year I’ve been working hard internally on my mindset and my outlook on life and trying to let go of anything that might be holding me down. This was a visual of breaking free from the dark thoughts and letting the good thoughts lift me up.
The photo describes your story well. I wonder if you can tell us a funny photography related story since positivity is so important in your life?
Haha, I have lots of those! I tend to shoot in a nice open field area near my house and it’s not uncommon for people to walk through my photoshoots. There have been a few times where people have stood and watched me shoot or ask if they can help me, even though I try to explain that I don’t need any help. There have been a few wild animals that have stomped through my setups, a moose and black bear within a few weeks of each other.
Oh my that must be scary, what did you do when the wild animals were there?
(Laughs) Well it's not too scary. I've always lived near nature and spend a lot of time running, hiking and mountain biking in the mountains so I've a lot of close encounters with all sorts of animals. I usually just make a lot of noise and make sure I always know where they're going so they don't sneak up on me!
Haha you impress me! The moment I will take a roadtrip through america I will ask you for advice. So I noticed you make a lot of tiny Joel's in your pictures. Where did you get the inspiration?I started taking these photos when I was taking photos of a toy Wall-E figure that I had and I started thinking of ideas I could use for those photos, when I thought that if I could come up with stories for a toy, maybe I could make myself the same size and have a brand new perspective. After a few photos I realized that I really liked the viewpoint of someone really small and the new world’s and ideas that you could create with this new perspective. Suddenly objects have new purposes and functions and it’s fun!
I really love these shots Joel.Could you give people who want to give this a try advice about making tiny selfs?
I’d suggest they visit my tutorial on joelrobison.com where I give a step by step breakdown of shooting and editing these types of photos :)
Thank you so much. Whats the number one advice you can give aspiring photographers?
My advice would be to shoot photos of everything. Constantly take photos and you’ll gradulally fall into the theme or style that fits you. Don’t be afraid of new ideas, of new editing styles or new methods, it’s all part of the process and it’s how to set yourself apart!
I really love these shots Joel.Could you give people who want to give this a try advice about making tiny selfs?
I’d suggest they visit my tutorial on joelrobison.com where I give a step by step breakdown of shooting and editing these types of photos :)
Thank you so much. Whats the number one advice you can give aspiring photographers?
My advice would be to shoot photos of everything. Constantly take photos and you’ll gradulally fall into the theme or style that fits you. Don’t be afraid of new ideas, of new editing styles or new methods, it’s all part of the process and it’s how to set yourself apart!
A random question for you: What is the one thing you’d most like to change about the world?
I think the world can be a very isolating place, people live in little bubbles and quite often they don't often think too much about their neighbor or their fellow person and I think that's sad. We can all take a few minutes out of our day to do one small thing to help someone, it can be as simple as saying hello to someone, holding a door open, or just letting people know how much they mean to you. I think if I could change one thing it would be for people to have more compassion for one another, kindness goes a long way!
A random question for you: What is the one thing you’d most like to change about the world?
I think the world can be a very isolating place, people live in little bubbles and quite often they don't often think too much about their neighbor or their fellow person and I think that's sad. We can all take a few minutes out of our day to do one small thing to help someone, it can be as simple as saying hello to someone, holding a door open, or just letting people know how much they mean to you. I think if I could change one thing it would be for people to have more compassion for one another, kindness goes a long way!
Thank you Joel! You are amazing. Keep up the good work.
Thank you Joel! You are amazing. Keep up the good work.
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