We recently connected with Joel Bull and have shared our conversation below.
Joel, sincerely appreciate your selflessness in agreeing to discuss your mental health journey and how you overcame and persisted despite the challenges. Please share with our readers how you overcame. For readers, please note this is not medical advice, we are not doctors, you should always consult professionals for advice and that this is merely one person sharing their story and experience.
In 2017 I was diagnosed with depression and began taking medication for it. I’ve been taking those meds since then and they’ve helped tremendously. Being a father of two kids has it’s own challenges but they’re old enough now that I can take them on spray painting adventures, photoshoots, and events. Photography literally saved my life when it came to creating art. Along with writing, I’ve managed to stay busy and stay focused and rise above some of the mental health issues I’ve had to deal with my entire life.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I played music earlier in life. I wrote all the lyrics and we put out a handful of albums. I published my own book of journal entires in 2005 and played in another band right before the pandemic. We recorded one album and it’s music I’m the most proud of. Recently I published a book of portraits titled, “Urban Struggle”. The book 
 has over 250 portraits and is available online. All of this adds up to being an artist. I’ve always been drawn to artists, the dark side of life, drugs, grit, grime, the dirty streets. I’m also a recovering drug addict and this April 14th I will be 24 years sober. I recently realized I’m an Agnostic so I’ve been studying Buddhism and it’s something that I believe in and a path I feel is right for me. This past December (2023) I started working in treatment as a group facilitator where I lead various mental health, processing, coping skills, and psycho education groups. It’s been very rewarding and it’s part of the dharma path. The past few years I’ve been in various photo shows around the Los Angeles area along with a few photo books that were published. This part of my life has given me a real purpose and drive to become a better photographer; to make better photographs, and to document what’s happening in the Los Angeles and Southern California area. I’m motivated by my children, other photographers, my amazing wife who is very supportive, and the area where I live. There’s always something to photograph, just drive down the street, it’s all right here.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I loved shooting photos from the time I was 14 years old. I loved looking at photographs in fashion magazines. I’m not a fashion photographer, but when I was a kid those were the magazines I was looking at, along with surfer and surfing. Having the opportunities that I’ve had along the way have been the most impactful. The relationships that I’ve cultivated throughout my lifetime is the exact thing that gives me the opportunities to make photographs and meet new people. It’s all about relationships and word of mouth. It’s so easy to learn things these days with youtube and social media. I was raised in a time before social media, when making flyers on a copy machine with scissors and a glue stick was the norm. We would cut words from the newspaper and make flyers for our upcoming punk shows. We would make stickers and plaster them on every stop sign we would see. We did it grassroots and real DIY style. It was all on the streets walking and moving, not behind a keyboard with an algorithm. But I’ve learned to lean into what’s new and it’s a very young game these days. People want to see perfection in people and photos and everything tends to look fresh and happy and relaxing and wonderful. Reality is far from that and that’s what I try to capture with my photographs. Life can be dangerous, bad situations can present themselves in a moments notice, the consequences for your actions these days are barely a slap on the wrist, so why wouldn’t people do whatever they want? That’s a tuff place to be in when you have young children you’re trying to be an example for; when you have to feed your kids and pay your bills, and do art without making much money doing it, literally making it happen for the actual true love of the craft of photography/art, etc. There are risks, there is danger, time doesn’t last forever. Doors start to close, other ones open, times change, people die, life marches on with or without you. Being older all of these things start to make you think about the end game and what I want to leave behind in this world. What is my legacy? How did I treat people? I know I haven’t been perfect or anywhere close to it, I’ve made mistakes, I’ve done damage, I’ve lost friendships over stupid shit, and I’ve stayed true to myself knowing that most of that shit had nothing to do with me, just an excuse for someone to take their unresolved issues out upon me and that’s okay. I can’t change anyone except myself and I refuse to be molded to someone else’s ideas of what they think I should be. Some things that have happened in my life I didn’t want to happen, but I can’t change those things, I can only improve what I can and move on. I know who is who and that’s a big deal, but some times you get tricked by a fake smile which doesn’t happen often in my life. Fairweathedred friends are just that, fair. I have the capacity to forgive and amend, some people don’t. And when that happens, I get to move on. Having grown up in Huntington Beach, California, I’ve seen my share of stupidity and ignorance. I’ve been moving away from those kind of people since I was a teenager. I’m grateful for my past, there were mistakes, hardships, poverty, and it all made me who I am today; I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m right where I’m supposed to be.
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
My parents divorced when I was seven years old. I was devastated. Meeting my stepmom was like meeting a witch. I forgave her for all of the things she did and the way she treated me. I always tried to minimize the damage that was done and one time in a therapy session it was pointed out to me that I try to make things that were harmful not that big of a deal when in fact those things were the cause of serious trauma. My father was an alcoholic and never home. I was left with a bunch of step brothers and sisters and it didn’t turn out well. So as far as what my parents did for me, they taught me how to steal, and lie, and cheat. My real mom was a christian hence my agnosticism. So the things that I learned didn’t serve me well but made me who I am. I had to relearn a lot and it wasn’t easy, still isn’t. But I did love my father and I made amends for the things I did wrong, I cleaned my side of the street. My parents and step mom are all deceased now, just faded memories of some other life that seems so distant and make-believe…
Contact Info:
- Website:Â https://linktr.ee/joelbullphoto
- Instagram:Â @joelbullphoto
