Joel graduated from the University of Arizona in 1984 with a BFA in Photography and soon established a commercial studio in Denver, Colorado. Over the past ten years Joel served as one of Canon's exclusive Explorer Of Light photographers and now has been awarded a prestigious Canon Legend.   Joel is also a Westcott Top Pro Elite photographer, and Adobe has also designated him as one of their Photoshop Feature Artists.  

For over 40 years, Joel's assignments have taken him to every state across the USA and over fifty countries around the globe, working for many of the top advertising agencies and corporations. 

In 1990 Joel created his first coffee table book, 'Navajo, Portrait of a Nation' which received several photographic and design awards and produced an eighteen-month solo exhibit at the Smithsonian American History Museum. 

Driven by the creative process, Joel views himself as an illusionist, creating portraits larger than life. "There is no face on the planet that is the same, and my vision as an artist is to capture that individual uniqueness through the creative photographic process." 

Joel is also an ambassador for this process by teaching workshops and lectures worldwide. "I feel that by being an open book with my process, I have an opportunity to inspire others to follow their dreams and passions to create."  

Joel goes back and forth between his photo studio in the Arts District in Los Angeles and his home in Wickenburg, Arizona.