Daily Inspiration: Meet Joshua Hays

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joshua Hays.

Hi Joshua, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Joshua Si’emon Hays Jr. I’m a writer and photographer. I’ve always searched for light and stories, been interested in people’s ideas, and what makes them spark. I was an only child growing up, so I always had time to create worlds of wonder in my head. Imagine stories with characters I would see in cartoons or movies. I even started to write my own once I was in school. Between my parents forcing me to read everyday and the movies we would watch weekly, I learned the value of art and finding ways to express the things you couldn’t say yourself yet. When I was in high school some amazing families at a church my father preached at gave me an amazing opportunity to film their weddings, words cannot express how grateful and blessed I am by these opportunities. By the time I put a camera in my hand the mission was ignited. While working with a video Marketing company through highschool I learned the power of “why” people do what they do and it became my mission to show why God put people on the planet. I write stories and take portraits that highlight the passions and purpose of the creators and artists I have the pleasure of taking photos of. I began my photography and media business to create worlds and stories that clients can pass down for generations or impact the world of those who hear it. If it’s a family-owned restaurant like Moffetts in Arcadia, CA bringing home-cooked meals for 50 years or a couple who are building a family and crafting a loving home, the story and people are the main point. I always wrote all my life but in 2020 I began working on my book A Voyage on the Sea of Thought, a poetry and short story anthology that will be released this November. The book is a culmination of feelings and experiences I’ve watched through my life. My prayer is that it helps people see the world through a different perspective and help them grow in empathy and kindness. As the great James Baldwin said “the world is truly only held together by the love of a very small number of people.” If I get to catch a glimpse of it through a story or photo, maybe life’s worth living a little longer.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The Road has been anything but smooth. Possibly my own mind being the biggest culprit of the chaos. Lack of focus on one project and time management just adding fuel to the fire. As an artist, I feel you will never find the completeness you want in your own work. Maybe the moment I do will be the time I lose touch. Hopefully that day never comes. A famous poet once said poems are never finished, just abandoned, and I truly resonated with that. Most of my work has no definitive answers because life has no answers for them, so my writing reflects this open story waiting to find a resolution. Life has a way of pulling you every which way and you have to sort through what you will pursue. So many let go of their dreams because of circumstance or comfort and that has always been one of my biggest struggles. Am I playing my cards right or just playing them safe? I’ve worked a lot of jobs and so many of them have been just for the money, sacrificing the art and the calling just to find my soul revolting. Causing a depression or angst that ends up bleeding all over my work. So, finding peace and balance has always been a struggle. In my most recent occupation I find so much freedom in working with students with Autism it forces you to look at the world differently. It’s definitely not a job for everyone but it has been illuminating! It shows the value of empathy and expression, something most artists breathe daily. As the writer and Philosopher Albert Camus would say, “Imagine Sisyphus happy.” Fighting to just keep pushing the boulder up the hill and taking one day at a time, creating and building until your soul is satisfied by what you’ve built. Then you keep building until you can’t anymore.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a writer and photographer that owns a photography and media company called Si’emon Studios Media. I create websites, take portrait and event photos and write blogs. I even have my first book coming out this year. While that might sound like a lot of juggling, the purpose is to control the narrative completely and tell clients stories the way they want to tell them! I’m most proud of my ability to network and connect with people, understand what makes them tick, what motivates and inspires them. Photos and stories go hand in hand; they are a collection of moments that resonate in our souls when we touch them. Some of my most favorite moments come from working with an amazing artist like Chris Perkins who’s an amazing artist whose music galvanizes people to create and explore and expand on their belief of what they’re capable of. Or doing an event with another one of our partners Kandi’s Crafti Kreations who create memories out of these celebrations that will last lifetimes. I’m very aware that some of the stories I write are tough to take, they deal with a lot of emotions and sometimes tough subject matter but I truly believe that is the purpose of art, to express those feelings we are afraid to express and face those things that we want to run from. In one of my stories you can find on my blog titled “What Grows in the Garden of Gethsemane” a couple in love explores their hearts and find something they weren’t expecting. A poem I wrote called forgotten in the Flash recalls a camera’s perspective of someone who fails to cherish a very important moment in his life. These stories are the bases of the human condition, a topic which I love to explore in my work.

Can you share something surprising about yourself?
When I first started taking my art seriously, I was hellbent on being a filmmaker. I used a DSLR Canon Camera to film music videos and short films and would get asked all the time if I was a photographer. I would be all defensive and annoying and say no, I’m a filmmaker. I know nothing about photography. Now it is 80% of what I do. Being a filmmaker is on the back burner. Life has a way of being ironic sometimes.

Pricing:

• Family/ Portrait Sessions Starting at $250
• Events/Weddings Starting at $750
• Lifestyle/ Corporate Photos Starting at $400

Contact Info:

• Website: https://siemonstudiosmedia.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siemonstudiosphotography/#
• Other: https://medium.com/@jr.hays15

Image Credits
Jesse Lopez