Joe Coleman, 23, refused to introduce himself in Spanish. With a life seemingly suspended in endless summers, he captures his world in photographs that evoke a palpable sense of adventure. Looking through them is like being in the back of a car, with the windows rolled down, the wind rushing uncontrollably to your face as the late summer sun casts tangerine glows on the open road.
Joe only shoots film, so all of the pictures you see below are devoid of any kind of Photoshop magic. Any effects you see are simply the result of light leaks and old cameras. His talent is undeniable, but what I appreciate most about his work is it’s unpretentiousness. I spend a lot of time on Flickr looking for inspiration and it always saddens me when I come across someone whose photography is obviously formulaic and overthought. There is something about “following the rules” of photography that strips the life out of an image. Joe’s photos are bursting with life. You never get the impression that he is trying to tell a particular story. Rather he lets the story tell itself through his images.
