Yale Joel
*1919

Yale Joel began his career
as a professional photographer when he was 19 years old, served as a combat
photographer during World War II, and several years later became a member of the
famous LIFE magazine photography staff. Working out of the LIFE bureaus in
Washington, Paris, Boston and New York, he established an early reputation as a
photographer of the "impossible," with his ability to create camera
perspectives the ordinary eye normally cannot see. At the same time, his rapport
with people and the capacity to capture them on film, earned him an equally
distinguished reputation.
As
photographer of events and people, Joel's work appeared on LIFE covers, in news
stories and in many memorable photo essays. He pioneered in the exploration of
extreme wide angle photography and the early use of strobe lighting, creating
special effects and carefully orchestrated set-ups to illustrate or communicate
the essence of a subject. He has won the esteemed "Magazine Photographer of
The Year" award two years in a row from the University of Missouri, plus
numerous honors in various categories throughout his career. A contributor to
the LIFE Library of Photography series, he has several sections to his credit,
notably "Images Created in the Darkroom, What the Camera Never Saw" in
the book "The Print." He has also illustrated and produced several
children's books. The New York Times, reviewing his one-man show at The Overseas
Press Club, New York noted: "Whatever the topic for the photographer,
whether taken flat-on or with flashy technique, Mr. Joel says something."
Well
known as a lecturer and teacher, Mr. Joel has been an adjunct professor at
Hunter College and New York University. He has also taught at the International
Center of Photography, New York. Most recently, he has converted his "How-to"
series of photo cards "Creative Camera Techniques," originally
published by Random House, into an effective teaching site on the web (www.photoknowhow.com)
in which he shares a vast range of knowledge to help the amateur photographer
handle many photo subjects and situations.
A
native New Yorker, Joel lives in Manhattan with Shirley, his wife of 52 years.
They have three children, a daughter and two sons, both of whom are successful
photographers in their own right.
© by Galerie Stephen Hoffman