Joe’s primary motivation in life, as well as in photography, is curiosity. It is curiosity that compels him to create pictures, to explain and convey the world around him.
Born and bred in Sydney’s west Joe has instinctively photographed the world around him his whole life. Led by his insatiable curiosity, his philosophy on life is to try his best to have a great story to tell when it’s all done. This has led to a unique and rich life.
At 19 he moved from Sydney to the small outback town of St. George, to experience what life was like in rural Australia. He ended up staying close to four years, completing much of an apprenticeship as an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer while there. From there to Brisbane, a new city with new experiences, before heading overseas for “maybe two years… tops”.
He left Australia on a one way ticket and no more plan than to trek to EBC the ‘old fashioned way’ (without flying), travel from Hong Kong to St. Petersburg by land only and spend some time in Europe. After two years, living and working in England and travelling Europe the next adventure called, this time Africa. It required a career change from aviation maintenance to tour guiding but the opportunity for adventure outweighed any career ambitions.
For nearly three years Joe called a yellow Scania truck home, leading unsuspecting punters from Kenya to Cape Town. In what little down time he had he could be found at his home away from home in Harare, Zimbabwe or on adventures of his own in Ethiopia, or Kenya. Joe’s final year in Africa saw him tackle one of the greatest travel challenges on the planet, the Trans Africa. Over 288 days Joe guided an eclectic group, from all corners of the globe, from London to Cairo via Cape Town, threading the needle between Ebola and a civil war in Mali, negotiating his way across closed borders in Nigeria, reluctantly paying “fines” to corrupt officials who held his passport hostage in Congo, even getting one of his group out in jail in Botswana. Not to mention navigating the ever moving goalposts needed to secure the visas for his group to successfully move through 28 countries.
The thought of a career in photography was not to be entertained until a chance meeting with a professional photographer while travelling in Turkey. The idea would percolate for a few years though only really began to grow after returning to Sydney, soon after completing a Certificate IV in Photo Imaging at TAFE NSW, Ultimo.
Today, Joe works as a freelance photographer workings across several disciplines including fashion, auto and architecture, as well as shooting his own projects, documenting people, places and cultural events his curiosity draws him to. He occasionally also turns his attentions to writing, contributing to We Are Explorers and writing a feature on the Goodwood Festival of Speed for Australian Motorcycle News. He is a dedicated, passionate, diligent and enthusiastic individual that is easy to work with. His depth of work and life experience outside of photography makes him a versatile asset for any job.
If you are looking for an affordable photographer for any purpose Joe is keen to talk!
Photo by Cara O’Dowd