What drives me is a passion of for documenting society, meeting people of differing upbringings, faiths and educating myself of the nuances in our land and abroad. The pull of meeting strangers, showing life around my hometown of Tucson, Arizona USA or in far off lands has been nurturing, rewarding and ultimately enriching. Influenced by great "street and documentary" photographers, photojournalists and giants such as W. Eugene Smith, Danny Lyon, Sebastiao Salgado, Alex Webb and a host of predecessors and history add to my process.
My execution is straight forward, watching and striving to create meaningful moments some humorous, some historically placing society at this juncture and often looking to show the land, the world in my own way.
Home base is Tucson, Arizona USA a magical place deep in the heart of the Sonoran desert, culturally diverse, with a thriving creative community, quickly street scenes and a mix of Latin American and other ethnicities.
Photography has been my life, the only profession I've known, starting with images being published in my teens. Newspaper, magazine assignments, advertising campaigns and documentary projects have taken me to the whole of the USA and 40 countries in the world.
joe patronite
Tucson, Arizona USA
This page. Muscle Beach, Venice, California (Los Angeles) USA. Annual Mr./Ms. Muscle Beach competition held annually on July 4th. (2017)