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Hi everyone ~  I am excited to bring you the amazing surreal world of Joel Robison. He is a 30 year old conceptual portrait photographer from Cranbrook, British Columbia.   He has been pursuing photography for the last 6 years but only recently decided to try and make it a full-time focus.   He is also the co-founder of The Wild Ones.  
Choose your own Adventure
“I enjoy creating whimsical worlds where size, scale, movement and function don’t play by the rules that we know.”

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.

In addition to books, Robinson utilizes coffee mugs and teacups brilliantly. Whether indoors or outdoors, there is a homey presence that is associated with books and hot beverages. In a most impressive way, Robison manages to translate that cozy appeal with surreal imagery. The photographer’s vivid imagination shines through his images that seem to be heavily influenced by fictional tales. (If you look through the entirety of his portfolio, there are a number of visuals that are clearly inspired by Harry Potter.) Robinson plays with size ratio and brings fantasy to life. Even in his series of works that don’t feature books or cups, there is a welcoming amalgamation of dreams and magic.
A Novel Idea

“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.”

“Breaking Away”

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

I read in his latest blog entry that he is moving to England by the end of September.   We wish him luck in this exciting new chapter.  Thanks Joel for generously sharing with us your work.
 
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.” Joel has given us permission to choose from among his photographs as inspiration for our words.   If you decide to use his image/s in your blog, kindly provide credit and link back to his blog, Joel Robison Photography.
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If you’re here for the first time, here’s how to participate:
  • 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.
Happy adventure writing everyone ~  Grace