Joel Broida – Perspectives

Capturing Motion, Emotion and Connection

Each picture tells a story.  It is a look into a moment, a life or life’s circumstance that is open to interpretation.  The magic is in the mystery that fascinates the curious observer.

Joel Broida didn’t go to school to study photography.  As a young man it was a passion that combined his technical prowess with a natural ability to capture moments through the eye of his camera lens.  While in graduate school, Joel somehow stumbled across photographing motorcycle races and skateboard competitions.  It was a hobby he was naturally good at and he had a passion for.  He soon became the principle photographer for the Yamaha factory motocross and road race teams in the Western U.S.  To convey a sense of speed and motion, he invented and patented rear, or second curtain sync, now widely used to freeze a subject at the end of a motion blur trail when the shutter speed is slow enough to create some ambient motion blur.

After taking an extended break from photography to pursue his career and raise a family, Joel returned to his passion in 2009, diving back first into sports photography.  His interest however was to travel to the back reaches of countries yet untouched by modern civilization.  His travels have so far brought him to the far reaches of the world.

“As I travel, photographing people in far reaches of the world, it is difficult to describe the feeling I get when I communicate without words to the  young and old in environments foreign to most in the civilized world. My photos are a visual collection of these experiences and emotions,” Broida explains. “ I seek to connect with them in a way that conveys the emotions they are experiencing. And capturing the intensity and emotion of athletes as they strive to go beyond their physical limits, I am struck by their passion, speed and agility.”

Joel Broida’s photos are a visual collection of his travel and experiences.  He is adept at capturing motion, emotion and connection to people who have little in common with those he interacts with in his daily life.  His warm nature disarms those who fear this stranger in their midst, and his photos reflect a humanness that must be interpreted through the unique lens of one’s own life and experiences.