Allow me to share with you his journey from his blog entry: Beginnings and Endings (June 2013)
One of the questions I get asked quite frequently is “how did you start in Photography?
I’ve always been interested in “art”. I use the term loosely because as a child, “art” typically lends itself to colouring books and creations with play-dough and lego. But even with those mediums, I loved creating. I loved drawing and making books of my own drawings and I enjoyed most of all making things out of whatever we happened to have around the house. I remember my bedroom as a kid was a treasure trove of odds and ends that I could use for making things. I was also inspired endlessly by Walt Disney and animated Disney films. We had an entire drawer full of Disney movies and when I was about 8 years old I knew that I was going to try to be an animator for Disney. Little did I know that I would actually have to be a pretty decent artist to do that, but it was all I could think of myself doing.
It wasn’t until my early twenties that I started to notice something. I lacked passion. I didn’t really have any hobbies or interests that I felt truly passionate about. It had been years since I had painted a picture or drawn anything more than a doodle and I didn’t really see myself doing anything with any kind of art. Then, thankfully, I stumbled across Flickr.com. I don’t exactly know how it happened but I found a group of photographers who were taking photos each day based around a certain theme and it looked like a lot of fun. I hadn’t really seen anything like it before, people collaborating online and not taking themselves too seriously about it. I joined the group and started taking photos with my rather crappy point and shoot camera. And slowly, after a few weeks of playing along with the goofy themes I started to get more excited about coming up with photo ideas. After the first couple months I bought a dslr and began to actually plan my photos out and began editing them on a free editing program. It was like I had hopped on a train, without really knowing where it was going but I was excited to be on it.
By the time I finished my first 365 project I knew that I was hooked, I enjoyed the process as a whole. I loved coming up with concepts, shooting them and editing them and sharing them with other people. I suddenly felt like a room in my mind that had been locked for so long suddenly opened up and I could see passion and hope and interest and satisfaction inside.
I’ve been thinking a lot about beginnings and my own beginning on this journey a lot lately. The proverbial train ride is picking up steam and I still don’t know the destination but I’m just as excited about the journey. And just as I’m thinking about beginnings I’m thinking about endings as well. Today was my final day at a job that I’ve had for about 6 years, working as an educational assistant within the school system supporting students with learning disabilities. I’m about to make a jump from hobbyist photographer to full-time photographer, supporting myself with my work, my drive and my passion. It’s a little scary to leave comfortable things behind, to say goodbye to a positive working environment with stability and security and trade it in for unknown, but I also know that it’s time for me to try this route and see where it takes me.
“What could be better than curling up with a book and a hot cup of tea?”
Reminds me of the quote by C.S. Lewis: “You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.”
A repost of an older image that I want to dedicate to anyone struggling to break through depression, darkness, turmoil or sadness. The world needs you, you are not alone and we are here to help you break through. (from Facebook)
“Inspired by the minds of Walt Disney, Dr. Seuss, Jim Henson and many more he enjoys putting whimsical elements inspired by these role models into his work. His goal: tell a story within each photograph that allows the viewer to experience an emotion, create their own story, or experience a glimpse into his own ideas and dreams. Recently he was hired by Coca-Cola to participate as the lead photographer in the 2014 FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour, capturing happiness in 90 countries over a 9 month period.”
You can find him here:
Blog: http://joelrobison.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JoelRobisonPhotography?fref=photo
Instagram: http://instagram.com/joelrobison?modal=true
Flicker: https://www.flickr.com/people/joel_r/
Etsy shop: www.etsy.com/shop/boywonder
- Write a poem or prose poem, inspired by theme or work of Joel Robison.
- Post it on your blog, and if you are using Joel’s image, link back to his site and give him credit for the image.
- Click on the Mr. Linky button, insert your name and direct URL to your poem (not your blog).
- If you use social media, use the tag #dversepoets or @dversepoets so we can find you and help with promotion.
- Visit others that have taken the challenge as well.
Grace said:
Welcome to Poetics everyone ~ I will look forward to reading your poems inspired by Joel’s photography ~
charliezero1.wordpress.com said:
Question: Do we have to use his art photos and turn it into a poem? or could we use other photos? Just curious.
brian miller said:
hey charlie….
either use on of his photos
or
Our challenge is to be inspired by the creative & adventure spirit of Joel Robison. You can also play with the idea of “creating whimsical worlds where size, scale, movement and function don’t play by the rules that we know.”
Mary said:
Hi Grace! That was really a good prompt. I really enjoyed the photos. Joel really has a unique style. Looking forward to reading a lot of interesting poems.
Grace said:
So creative and vibrant ~ I wish I traveled the world much earlier on like he did ~ Thanks Mary ~
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
Hi everyone.. a little bit of autumn here in Sweden.. Today I got my copies of “recipes for hemlock” — they look great 🙂
Grace said:
Cooler here too Bjorn ~ Hey, I got my copy too 🙂
brian miller said:
nice….have not got mine…just ordered actually….had to wait for pay day…smiles.
thanks for fixing that link bjorn…could not get to it from school…
Sherry Blue Sky said:
Grace, thank you for introducing this talented artist to us. I hadnt heard about him till now and he is a “neighbor” (in the same province, hee hee). Joel, your art is magical. Your description of your entry into the online world of creative folk reminds me of my own….the train picks up speed and before one knows it, there is a considerable body of work that has occurred. Yay!
Grace said:
I am proud to feature a Canadian artist today ~ Good to see you Sherry ~
Gabriella said:
The photos are beautiful and unique. Great inspirations for poetry as they are so atmospheric. Thank you, Graxe, for introducing us to Joel’s photos.
Gabriella said:
Of course, I meant Grace.
Grace said:
I agree, beautiful and unique ~ Good to see you Gabriella ~
katiemiafrederick said:
Hmm..may be it is a symptom of writing too much..but invariably..intermittently it seems i just write something that fits in quite well with these..prompts..at least i think they do..smiles..i’m looking forward to the imagination of others..so much now..:)so i think i will visit them now..:)Ynot i’ve got time….
Grace said:
Looking forward to reading yours, smiles ~ I’m on my way home now so will be checking back for comments & poems ~
brian miller said:
grace….absolutely love the art…there are so many of the pictures that I could write to…I may end up popping a few others out over the next week…maybe even use it for oln….thanks for the intro…really enjoyed visiting his site…
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
I felt the same.. it actually took me longer to chose one than writing the poem
brian miller said:
mine jumped at me pretty quick…but the one of the teacup that is so big also latched on to me….and the guy with the balloons coming out of his briefcase….so many stories to tell…ha….
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
I liked the dark bird picture – and that smoky Beast coming up from the cauldron
brian miller said:
i need to go find the smokey beast…i must have missed that one…
Grace said:
It took me some time too to browse over his portfolio ~ Definitely going to use another of his work for my future poems ~
charliezero1.wordpress.com said:
Do we have to use his art photos and turn it into a poem? or could we use other photos? Just curious.
Mary said:
The prompt is to use Joel Robison’s art photos as inspiration & to write a poem about it.
brian miller said:
see my reply above charlie…grace did include a theme as well…
MarinaSofia said:
Wild, wacky and charming photography – will have to take time to go through the portfolio and see which inspires me. But now it’s bedtime for me, good night! Look forward to checking out what you’ve all written tomorrow.
Grace said:
I like the wild and wacky ones, smiles ~ See you tomorrow Marina ~
Myrna said:
Thanks Grace, for exposing us to this talented and creative photographer. I enjoyed his photos.
Grace said:
Good to see you here Myrna ~ Happy to see it inspired you to write ~
Truedessa said:
Grace, I really enjoyed this prompt. There were so many amazing photo’s it was hard to choose just one.
Grace said:
I know ….I like your selection very much Truedessa ~ It was one of those photos that stood out for me too ~
Grace said:
I enjoyed the poems so much that I might even write for another one like what Mary did ~ Have a good night everyone ~
brian miller said:
i did.
smiles.
Mary said:
Really, possibilities are endless. The photos really grow on me, and they really ARE poetically inspiring.
brian miller said:
i def might have to do another for oln
mishunderstood said:
So many interesting images, so little time……I hope to do one more attempt. Thanks for introducing this amazing photographer.
Very inspiring prompt!
Grace said:
I am always running out of time too ~ I am still editing my second one ~ Good to see you here ~
Susan said:
I promise that I’ll be back to read … it’s my day over at PU, but I had to finish this poem before I could write that one. In revision, I would make this more magicAL–like the illustration–less preachy. So weary the leaning of the figure in this one.
Grace said:
I am catching up myself Susan ~ Good to see you ~
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
Late home tonight.. I was part of a 5x5K relay.. lots of fun. and better than I expected I have added a second poem
Grace said:
That is a challenge Bjorn ~ My daughter will be part of the Mud Run this Saturday ~ I enjoyed your second helping ~
Raivenne said:
This was a delightful prompt Grace! Glad I was able to partake of the whimsy, now off to do some reading.
Grace said:
Whimsy is fine with me ~ I’m off to check out the poems in a bit ~
shanyns said:
Love Joel’s work, and have a Cranbrook connection so it makes it even cooler. Will see what I can come up with. These images are AWESOME!
Grace said:
Hi Shanyns ~ Looking forward to it ~ If you are still late, we have OLN next week ~
mishunderstood said:
And a second attempt……;)
Grace said:
Checking it out ~ Thanks ~
Grace said:
Wanted to share this message from Joel:
Hi Grace,
Thank you SO much!
I checked in on some of the poems last night but I wanted to wait until I had the proper amount of time to sit and read them all. They are beautiful and I’m so honored to have had this chance.
Thank you again so much!
~Joel
markwindham said:
Yes, I am a day late…story of life lately. Excellent work Joel, each one crying out for a poem. Thank you for allowing us to use them.
Grace said:
Not too late ~ Love your reflections Mark ~