Meet Joel Clouse | Photographer, Business Owner, Adventurer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Joel Clouse and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Joel, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I’m an active, independent, hard charging guy. I’m a US Army vet. I spent some years a firefighter. I had an early career in the land surveying industry, both as a land surveyor and then on to be part owner of a survey equipment dealership. Immersed in high precision tech, I became the expert in imaging and scanning systems for my clients. Even though I was making a fantastic living and enjoyed what I was doing, there was something boiling inside of me, a pull in a completely different direction. I had to get back to the mountains. I had to start working for myself. Growing up on the front range of Colorado gave me the opportunity to experience the best of the high country, enough to motivate me to completely change my life when the right door opened. The pandemic provided that perfect circumstance to recreate how I made my living. I picked up an old hobby, found some online courses to get me up to speed, incorporated my tech background with a passion I didn’t know the extent of and started taking pictures.
Real estate photography has the main focus since the inception of Grand Mountain Photography. It is also giving me the freedom to explore my artistic passions, setting gallery goals and working on projects that bring joy to me, but also to those who view what I capture.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Nelson Mandela said “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” I believe it. I’ve fallen hard a number of times. I’ve been homeless and lived in my truck. I had ended one career to start another, things didn’t work the way I expected. I found myself with nothing, but discovered I had everything. Being without in those months simplified my life in so many ways. I had the freedom to dream and craft how I wanted my life to be, I started asking myself what I wanted the rest of my life to look like. Little by little things fell into place and a business that works for me was the fruit. Grand Mountain Photography came to be and taking great images for my real estate clients quickly became fulfilling and motivating work. I made the decision to work to live, to incorporate all the things which bring me joy into my life and to make them profitable. As I began to get comfortable in my business, I felt a creative switch flip and a drive to master my camera and lens started to take over. I stared filming as a drone pilot in the adventure industry and opportunities to succeed began to present themselves. Working for myself has taken on a whole new meaning. As I get older, my time becomes more valuable. The things I want to accomplish become more clear. My experience tells me falling just means I get to rise again, each time higher and higher.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Living in Southwest Colorado is a dream I chased for many years. I’m an outdoorsman, an adventurer, and I love to explore. This is the place to do it all, and I do it on a motorcycle. With the Alpine Loop as my backyard in Ouray, there’s no excuse to not be out ripping up and over Engineer or Imogene Pass on a moto, carrying everything I need to stay out as long as I have gas in my tank. With a fly rod and camera, setting out on the bike without a destination is the standard. Finding a stretch of water with an out of the way campsite is not a hard task, and I’m always looking for a good soak in the hot springs after a day on the moto. Fortunately there’s a place to soak in about any direction I head off in, advertised or not. Stopping in at the Brown Dog for wings and a beverage in Telluride is always cool, or maybe Blondie’s Diner in Naturita for a great cheeseburger, if we decide to head west towards Moab. If I had a friend without a bike, Altitude Adventures or Jeep Ouray have toys to rent, or I may concede and hoof it, sticking to the many hiking trails in the area. From alpine tundra to high desert, Southwest Colorado is truly a coveted adventure destination.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
It’s hard to pick just one entity that’s helped me along the way. I tend to categorize areas of my life and those who stand out as being influential in any particular chapter. From all those who come to mind, the one who has never failed me, who always is a phone call away, is my Mama. She’s my biggest fan and a really tough critic. She’s the one who I can spill my guts to and the one who is always cheering me on. She tells me the hardest day of her life was the day the Army recruiter picked me up before the dawn and sent me off to Ft. Benning, Georgia. Her support helped me through those toughest of days, and so many since. It’s a privilege and honor to be loved so well, a lesson I hope to pass on through my work and example.

Website: grandmountainphotography.com

Instagram: @elconquistador00 @grandmtnphoto

Facebook: Grand Mountain Real Estate Photography

Image Credits
Grand Mountain Photography