We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Robert Jones. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Robert below.

Alright, Robert thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you walk us through some of the key steps that allowed you move beyond an idea and actually launch?

As a small-business owner and creative professional I’ve always found that being a professional photographer is a challenging profession. From running the day-to-day business operations, to the marketing and finally the creative process there’s always something to do to keep the business moving forward. Through perseverance, dedication to my craft and self-belief I’ve been able to have a fun and rewarding career and have been able to find clients that are loyal and supportive. I truly love being a professional photographer and am lucky to have the opportunity to do this work. It has not been the easiest journey but it has been worth all of the effort.

Robert, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am an award-winning commercial advertising and editorial photographer and the founder and managing principal of Robert D. Jones Photography, a freelance photography studio based in Boulder, CO.

I have over 25 years of experience working in the studio and on location, and I am renowned for my ability to capture the essence of a brand. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Photojournalism and Photo Design from the University of Georgia.

My portrait work has also won wide acclaim, and I was honored to be included in the two Bike Art Shows at The Dairy Arts Center in Boulder, Colorado, in 2012 and 2013. My portrait photography evokes a strong sense of emotion which reveals something about the subject’s inner being in a relaxed and unguarded manner.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

My Artist’s Statement best sums up why I do what I do. Photography is not just my career but it’s part of me.

I make photographs to create, to share, and to sell. I make them because I have to and because I truly see them everywhere. Photography is my art. Cameras are my artistic tools. It’s how I see and how I share what I see with the world. What I saw is now what you see. I believe there’s a difference between taking a picture and making a photograph but I don’t think the type of camera matters. It’s highly subjective by nature as I purposely include or exclude items in the frame. I make the image, not the camera.

I believe in photography for art, advertising, journalism, and as an agent for change, and things I haven’t thought of yet. I’m for photographs that speak. I’m for photographs that shut up. I’m for photographs of no words. I’m for photographs of a million words. I’m for photography that speaks for people who can’t speak and I’m for photography for people who shouldn’t speak.

I’m for photography that you can’t look at and I’m for photography that you can’t stop looking at. I’m for photography that pisses me off. I’m for photography that pisses you off. I am for photography that is sexy, sensual, and seductive, and I’m for photography that is ugly, disgusting, and disturbing. I’m for photography that touches all emotions… maybe even at once.

I’m for photographs that are shown to the world, and I’m for photographs no one else sees. I’m for photographs that sit in drawers and smell dusty when you look at them, and I’m for family albums and shoe boxes full of photos of people you don’t know.

I’m for photography that is honest. I’m for photography that lies. I’m for photography that I understand and I’m for photography I don’t get. I am for photography that sells stuff and I am for photography that sells nothing.

My name is Robert D. Jones, and I am a photographer!

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

A few years ago I was interested in producing some calendars featuring fine art photographs and I decided to create The Dérailleur Project. The Dérailleur Project was inspired by my love and fascination for bicycles and their simple yet complicated design.

I created studio photographs of vintage bicycle rear dérailleurs that I had in my personal collection and borrowed from my cycling friends. This lead me to create another project titled The Crankset Project. I produced three calendars, a book and fine art prints. Both projects have been very well received and have been featured in several blogs along with cycling and photography publications.

So far I’ve sold over 500 calendars and over 100 books. It’s been a fun and rewarding project and I’m extremely happy that I took a chance on myself by creating these personal projects and putting them out into the world.

Here are the links to The Dérailleur Project…

The Dérailleur Project Fine Art Prints – https://rdjonesphoto.com/the-derailleur-project

The Dérailleur Project Book – https://rdjonesphoto.com/the-derailleur-project-book/p/the-drailleur-project-book-1

Here’s a link to The Crankset Project…

https://rdjonesphoto.com/the-crankset-project

And here’s a link to the Cycling photographs in my Shop –

https://rdjonesphoto.com/cycling-1

Contact Info:

• Website: https://rdjonesphoto.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rdjonesphoto/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rdjonesphoto
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rdjonesphoto

Image Credits

© Robert D. Jones 2024