Community Highlights: Meet Joel Bull

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joel Bull.

Hi Joel, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I started shooting photos when I was in elementary school. I’ve always loved looking at photographs. Portrait and street photography are my favorite to shoot. A few years ago I got serious about shooting photos. When my son Jackson turned two and started school, I bought a Nikon F2 35mm film camera and started taking black and white pictures with tri-x 400 film. I knew the basics but I was so green and didn’t really know how to use a camera without a light meter. I dove headfirst into the film camera game and I haven’t come up for air yet. I soaked up as much information that I could, and I still do. I listened to everyone that would talk to me about taking photographs, young people, older people, new shooters, etc. I engaged with people that I admired and I talked to them about their craft and bought their photos or books or just showed them my appreciation for what they have done or what they are doing. For me, inspiration comes easy. Living in Southern California gives me the opportunity to shoot so many different things. I’m really drawn to graffiti and trash and how things really are in Los Angeles. It’s pretty sad to be caught up in the homelessness of LA. I feel for those people. And I try to document the environment as best I can and not in a negative, exposing way. There are real issues a lot of us face every day. Taking photos of what’s happening right now in 2023 documents these times. That’s what I love doing and that’s what I will continue to do for as long as I can.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I think the only thing that really frustrates me sometimes is social media and how it can have an influence on my photographs. I found myself shooting laundromats and basketball hoops and things I wouldn’t necessarily shoot just so I could get likes on IG. It was a real mind-game and it messed with me for a while. I would see people blow up so fast on IG and I wondered how they were doing it. Then I came to realize some of that was paid for which didn’t really help my frustration. I had to take a step back and realize that social media doesn’t equate to what I’m doing. I have friends who are incredible artists and they have a couple of thousand followers. So for me to take a step back from that mindset was a game changer. Another thing is being involved with the right people and getting into group shows or shows where the right people will see my work. At the end of last year (2022) I had a photo show with my good friend Tim Hendricks. We both showed our photography at a place called The Socialist in Long Beach. It was a real treat for me to see how it all worked, setting up a show, getting photos framed, running out of supplies to hang photos and having to improvise. Tim helped me out so much. He’s a super smart dude and we’ve been friends for about 30 years. That photo show with Tim Hendricks opened up some new doors for me which is really exciting. That was also the launch of my portraits book, “Urban Struggle”, a 244 page soft cover book with over 250 portraits. (Available on my website) Exposure is always the challenge in my opinion. Not everyone will embrace my work, and that’s okay. I grew up playing music so I’m used to rejection, not that I like it, it’s just part of the struggle and the journey.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
When I’m not shooting photos, I’m helping to grow brands and fulfilling orders with my merch company, 247 Merch. I’ve been in the silk screening and apparel industry since I was 17. It started out in Costa Mesa screen printing Maui & Sons shirts and moved into making our own shirts when me and my friends were young punk rockers. In the early 80’s punk scene, it was commonplace to make your own shirts, dye your jeans with bleach, and forge your own style. I take that creativeness and infuse it into my workplace to help brands and companies with their merchandise needs. We provide large-volume production out of our Vernon facility, and some of the smaller orders are done at our Santa Ana location. We recently printed 20,000 shirts for Bad Bunny. The timelines and rush orders with some of our customers is challenging, but we’re used to it and we don’t commit to jobs we can’t make happen within the customer’s timeline. I worked for Linkin Park in the early days of their music career. I helped Don Delson create bandmerch.com and also helped Linkin Park keep their merchandise rights. It was a huge endeavor and a big commitment. I was on the road with them for almost three straight years.

I have a family now, two young kids, so touring for me isn’t going to happen anymore which is the reason I started 247 Merch. We provide embroidery, silk screening, and anything that has to do with promotions. Banners, stickers, etc. Most of the people who are our customers want to deal with someone they can relate to, someone who is personable and gets it. That’s what separates me from a lot of other companies. People know they can trust me and that’s a big deal. I’m grateful for everyone that trusts me with their work.

What does success mean to you?
I listen to podcasts, and I try to stay aware of what’s going on in the world of business. I think that most people define success by having lots of money and nice things. I love nice things and money is freedom, but it can also be a curse. For me, success is doing what you love and being able to make money doing it. Also, I’ve been a stay at home dad since my children were born. I know everyone can’t do that and I feel for you. I was fortunate enough to work from home from the time my children were born. To me, that’s success. Being here for my kids is a big deal. I don’t want to be a slave to my work at the expense of the relationships with my children. When I sold my first photograph I changed my status on Instagram to “Photographer”. Selling that first photo was a big deal for me. I felt like I was legit once that happened. Then publishing my first portrait book was also a huge success for me. If you wait around for someone to publish you, it may never happen. I come from the DIY ethos of punk rock and hardcore. We did everything ourselves and marketed our band by putting stickers on every stop sign we saw. That made people aware of our name, the music followed. Jay-Z put out his first record on his own. I have to make it happen if I want to be successful. I think that’s when people start to notice what you’re doing and they might want a piece of that and may offer you some kind of deal or want you to work for them.

Contact Info:

• Website: 247merch.com
• Instagram: @joelbullphoto
• Other: joelbullphoto.com