From an early age Joel Grimes had a fascination with drawing, painting and sculpting. “I was always drawing or building some kind of art project. My parents really didn’t know what to do with me”. But it wasn’t until his freshman year in high school that he was first introduced to photography. “From the very beginning it was a perfect match, Joel recalls”. By the time he began college, his passion for the photographic process was all consuming. In 1984 Joel graduated from the University of Arizona with a BFA in Photography and soon established a commercial studio working out of Denver Colorado.

For over 26 years Joel has worked for many of the top advertising agencies across the globe for clients such as AARP, Abbott Labs, Arizona Office of Tourism, AT&T, Febreze, Goldman Sachs, Hewlett Packard, Hyatt, Qwest, Sony, Sturm Ruger & Co, Visa, Volvo, and most recently Red Bull. Over the years his assignments have taken him to every state across the USA and to over fifty countries around the globe.

In 1990 Joel produced his first coffee table book, ‘Navajo, Portrait of a Nation’ which received a number of photographic and design awards and produce 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 it is my vision to capture that individual uniqueness through the creative photographic process.”

Joel is also an ambassador for this process by teaching workshops and lectures across the country. “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”.

Currently, Joel resides between Tucson and Los Angeles with his wife and their four children.