Rider’s Lens: Talking Photography with James Joiner

Photos by James Joiner (@jjamesjoiner)

With the deadline for our new Rider’s Lens Grant just a week away (find all the details at the bottom of this post), we figured it’s only fitting to share a selection of work from James Joiner, the photographer who helped make the whole thing possible and will soon be stepping in to review applications and provide mentorship to our winners. James has lived several lives throughout his career as a writer, director, photographer, and editor, during which he’s covered an incredibly broad range of topics and had work appear everywhere from National Geographic to Rolling Stone to The New York Times.

James’ passions for protecting our planet and his love of bicycles shine through in much of his personal and professional work, and we’re excited to be able to share some of his unique perspective through the selection of images presented here today. We recently caught up with him while he was traveling across the United States on a tour bus with Modest Mouse to hear more of his story and learn a little about what bikes and photography mean to him. Find our interview below.

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Who are you? Share a few sentences about yourself to start us off.

My name is James Joiner, and I’m a writer, photographer, and bike guy. I like long rides on the beach, steel bikes, fly fishing, and too many glasses of wine. Also, dogs. And film. And corduroy hats. And skateboards.

Can you briefly describe your background in photography and journey to becoming a full-time professional?

I started shooting photos around 2004. I’ve always written and drawn, and at the time, I was the editor of an alt-weekly on Cape Cod. We needed some photos of something and didn’t have an available photographer, so the photo editor of our parent newspaper handed me a camera and basically said, “good luck.” Thanks to a background in art, I had a basic grasp of composition. And, being a writer, I understood storytelling, so it just sort of worked out.

Soon, the photo editor was asking me to shoot, and it developed from there, no pun intended. Over the coming years, I’d own a couple of magazines and go on to write and shoot for larger and larger publications, eventually becoming a writer and editor at Esquire and then the Daily Beast. I wish I could say I had some sort of career path or advice to offer, but in all absolute honesty, I just sort of followed my gut and whims and did what I wanted, and somehow won the life lottery of having it all work out.

What kinds of stories and projects do you most enjoy working on?

It changes all the time! If I’m writing and shooting, I love profiles and adventure yarns—the opportunity to inspire people to go outside and do stuff. If I’m just shooting, I’m pretty much down for anything. Right now, I’m on tour with a friend’s band, and after this, I’m shooting a bunch of editorial work for a wine brand and then doing some fashion-centric commercial stuff. I’m an ADHD poster child, so having a wide variety of ever-changing stuff to work on is right up my alley. I also try to make sure I’m doing a lot to support the photographic community around me, and try to do workshops or mentorships regularly. Right now, besides the Rider’s Lens Grant, I’m also working with a camera shop near me in California to do a class on using alternative development techniques.

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How have bicycles impacted your work—and your life, more broadly?

Well, I grew up at USCF races with a semi-pro cyclist mom, so bikes have always been a part of my life. Discovering mountain biking in the late 80s was huge. I loved the freedom of it. Though, to be honest, I was more into skateboarding from like 14 to 35. I still liked bikes, but if I had time to go outside, it was gonna be throwing myself at a curb or something.

Eventually, I realized that even though I love skating, I’ve never been very good and had the punished knees to show for it. At some point, I found myself riding mountain bikes every day. That evolved into a passion for bike adventures, bikepacking, and ultimately got me to where I am now. I’ve always tried to shoehorn being able to make some kind of living doing what I love, or at least to work what I love into what I do for a living, so getting to be a full-time storytelling type really pairs well with bikes. Plus, being on the road a lot is way more fun with a bike along, whether that’s the primary form of transportation or just on the back of the truck or tour bus.

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Who or what inspires you these days?

I’m constantly inspired to shoot photos just walking or riding down the street. It doesn’t take much to get me going. Thanks to social media, there’s an overwhelming supply of amazing folks who are making images, but I find friends way more inspiring than people I don’t know. These include Jeff Johnson, Ronnie Romance, Olivia Bee, Robin Laananen, Dana Scheffler, Alyssa Stone, Adam Goldberg, Nick Lavecchia, Taylor Rees, Zofia Crosby, Greta Rybus… it’s a never-ending, always-changing list. Plus, artist pals like Lauren West, Ty Williams, and Nathaniel Russell.

As far as established famous photographer types, I love Alec Soth, Dennis Hopper, Autumn DeWilde, Ed Templeton, and William Eggleston. Also Roger Deakins’ photo book Byways blew my mind. And if you haven’t seen the Rough-Stuff Fellowship books… well, go get ‘em! Pure vintage adventure bike action right there. Thomas Campbell’s surf and skate films are also a recurring source of rad.

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What are you working on now?

Right at this moment, I’m on a tour bus in a rainstorm headed across Missouri with Modest Mouse. Founder and singer Isaac is one of my best friends, and I’ve been lucky enough to get to collaborate with him on stuff for years. He’s also a great photographer! I love how hyper-creative people can just apply that magic energy to various mediums. After this, I’m headed back to my new home in Northern California to work on some stuff for a winery, make a cool zine thing for Kona, shoot a few commercial projects, and get some writing done. Plus, as always, I’m hosting and producing the Kona Bikes podcast, which you can get wherever you cop your pods. I also have a project in the works with Tanglefoot Cycles. More on that soon.

Tell us about cameras and lenses you’re using to create that work.

This varies from gig to gig, but for bikepacking and adventure stuff, I’m a huge fan of the Fujifilm X-T4 with a 23 1.4, 56 1.2, and 16 1.4, as well as the fixed lens Fujifilm X100V. I also still shoot about 40 or 50% analog, even professionally, so I always have a film camera along. The Olympus XA (the original one with the rangefinder focus) is an all-time favorite point and shoot. But, honestly, the best camera for any sort of outdoor adventure is the Nikon FM2. It’s fully mechanical (meaning it doesn’t need a battery to work, minus the light meter), it’s tough as hell, you can get one pretty cheap, and with a Voigtlander 40mm f2 pancake lens, you’re in business.

For film, I like Lomography’s Color 400 for its multi-purpose ISO and punchy colors and especially Kodak Tri-X 400 black and white because you can push it as far as you need to and develop it fireside with instant coffee or even beer. For more formal shooting, I’m really into the Fujifilm GFX system. I have a GFX 100s that usually has the 80 1.7 on it and a GFX 50R that I shoot with adapted vintage 35mm and medium format glass.

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And how do you carry your photography gear on the bike?

All this is packed (okay, as James from Tanglefoot would no doubt point out immediately upon reading this, overpacked) in a bar bag, usually one of Ron’s Bikes’ wonderful models. The point and shoot will go in my Makeshifter Snackhole, and the body with a lens on it would be slung across me on a Peak Designs strap ready for action. Gotta always be ready for action, you know?

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Looking toward the future, where do you hope your photography will take you?

Ha, well, I’ve been on tour a bunch and moved cross country so far this year, so I’m kinda hoping it brings me closer to home soon! Just kidding, kind of. I admit I don’t think a lot about the future, but I ultimately hope I get to keep making a living doing what I love and collaborating with friends. Is it pretentious or presumptuous to feel like I’m already where I want to be? Just more of this is great with me. I’d love to be able to help more people get into photography, and more photographers get to where they want to be with their careers. The artsy world can be pretty dog-eat-dog, and one of the things I really love about working with Fujifilm is they hold mentorship as a top priority.

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On that note, do you have any general advice for new photographers—even those without professional ambitions?

The very best piece of advice I’ve ever gotten, photography-centric or otherwise, is, “Be yourself, unless you’re an asshole. Never be an asshole.” I think so many of the world’s problems would be solved if everyone just stopped being assholes to each other. Don’t take yourself too seriously, and try to get around that overinflated ego.

Preachy life advice aside: just keep shooting! Don’t let yourself get swept up in trying to make stuff you think other people will like. Focus on what you like and folks will come around or you’ll find your people. Also, take the camera off full auto and play with manual settings. And shoot some film. I know the topic of analog photography and bikepacking has been discussed to death, but they really are a perfect pairing. Oh, and go sign up for our Rider’s Lens Grant!

Lastly, what else do you want readers to know?

I just want to say that I’m stoked we made this happen, and I love what BIKEPACKING.com has built itself into. Community counts, especially in this day and age. Enough about me, go ride bikes! And if anyone is riding around NorCal this summer, let’s go shoot some photos.

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