In the summer of 2009, I joined the artist Seal as his tour photographer for the European SOUL tour. We were on the road for six weeks, where he performed 24 shows in 23 cities in ten countries. I was there to photograph every single one, plus a kick-off show in New York City at the Radio City Music Hall.

Mmm, food. I love food. Outside of photography, I suppose you could say my only "hobby" is cooking. I love to cook, I love to eat, and naturally I'll document this along the way. Some photographs here are commissioned shots for restaurants, while others are casual photographs of food and ingredients along the way.

Studio, location, environmental — there's so much story that can be told in a single portrait. Which is precisely the challenge I enjoy so much in making a portrait for an individual, couple, or group. Looking for a way to tell their story in a single image is rarely easy, but an adventure I always welcome.

I am a traveler. I can't sit still for long, and the call to new lands is ever buzzing in my ear. I'm constantly amazed by the natural beauty of the human race, the smiles and warm welcomes that can be felt the world over. The more I see, the more I realize how little I've seen. Documenting travel may well be my favorite type of photography.

I've been fortunate enough to photograph a variety of musical artists of various levels of fame. Much of this came from my work with Apple's GarageBand project and with Seal, and I always enjoy the work.

Who doesn't love a pretty sunrise, a soothing sunset, the colors of fall or the intense clouds of a wicked storm? There's natural beauty to be found all over the world, and as a photographer I can't resist capturing it.

In 2008 and 2009, I photographed a series of famous musicians for Apple's GarageBand "Artist Lessons" product. Customers could purchase individual lessons of the artist teaching them how to play one of their popular songs. These photographs were used for marketing, and these are some of my favorites.

While weddings are not my primary business, I do shoot them on occasion. What I enjoy most about shooting a wedding is that there is a beautiful story to tell of the day, from dawn to dusk. From the bride getting ready to the nuptials to the final dance, and all the adventure in-between, a wedding is a lovely, lovely photographic story to tell.

It's funny; I've never been a fan of watching sports. Baseball, football, basketball… they never held much interest for me. I don't follow any teams, I've never sat through a Super Bowl (well, maybe for the commercials!), and other than the Olympics and the occasional FIFA World Cup match, you'll never find me in front of the TV watching a game. Yet… I love shooting sports. Looking for that singular moment, that expression, that insane athletic maneuver… I love it. Sports offer a dynamic opportunity in photography; unrepeatable and often unpredictable moments unmatched by most photographic opportunities, and I have immense respect for the lauded sports shooters of our time. So when the opportunity is there, I'll jump on it — because I know I'll have a blast and come away with some amazing photos.

I have a particular passion for black and white photography. In fact, I have a little website dedicated to it, theBWphoto.com (if you love B&W photography, check it out!). The tools we have today are light years beyond what our film and darkroom predecessors used, and I know someone like Ansel would just love the abilities today's technology offers. Every digital B&W you see started life as a color RGB image (with the exception of photos from the Leica M-Monochrome, the world's only true digital B&W camera — and no, I don't have one!), so the techniques used to convert those RGB files into B&W masterpieces are all done in the computer. And then, printing those to large-format, gallery-worthy hangings is a true joy to see.

I live in an area where deer and bears regularly traipse through my yard, have visited animal preserves in Kenya, toured a wildlife safari in Oregon, have set up a makeshift studio around a terrifying arachnid, and stalked tiny turtles and frogs as they made their way across a South Carolina lawn. Large and small, animals always make for dynamic, challenging and amusing photographic subjects!

In 2006, I was asked to join an aid organization in Kenya, to photograph their efforts so they could raise awareness, and therefore funding, for their cause. It was, as you may imagine, a life-changing event.

My iPhone has become the most indispensable camera I carry. I have posted well over 1,000 photos to Instagram @PhotoJoseph from my iPhone, nearly all shot on the device itself. Recently I've taken to posting images shot on other cameras as well, transferred to the iPhone for immediate sharing in the field, therefore gaining the same "in the now" experience as those shot on the iPhone itself.

I regularly refresh this gallery with a recent trip, and in this case it's a trip to Portland and then down the Oregon coast. For more photos going back several years, visit the complete instagram gallery.

In my home town of Ashland, Oregon, I enjoy working with small, local businesses. The projects may not be as glamorous as some of the other work I've had the privilege to shoot, but I always give these clients the same attention as I would any other. Here are a few recent projects in town.

Mercedes-Benz hired me to shoot for their social media program, posting photos to their Instagram account @mercedesbenz from New York and Los Angeles. These are some of my personal favorites, and the most popular from the series.