Meet Jonas Wheeler

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonas Wheeler.

Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I was born in El Paso, TX and spent my early childhood in Las Cruces, NM before moving to Phoenix. Growing up, I was always interested in two things: art and basketball. Before my love for photography, I had a knack for drawing.

I never had the opportunity to travel and see the world due to my family’s financial situation. In 2015, I took my first road trip to California with a group of friends. My friend, Geek, brought along his GoPro and I fell in love with the idea of documenting our adventures. That was the spark that lit the fire in me.

A year later, I met my now fiancée, Mary. We both share a love for the great outdoors and traveling, and she just so happened to own a Canon T3i Rebel at the time. We decided to create a blog for our travels so that we could document our adventures. From that, I began to venture out and started finding other things that inspired me.

Please tell us about your art.
I love to create landscape, lifestyle, and macro photography. I usually find myself out in nature and get inspired from large aspects such as vast landscapes to smaller details like the petals on a flower. My escape is being out in the middle of nowhere away from all the madness; to be able to be in my own element and get creative. It’s what keeps me grounded.

My passion is exploration and living every moment to its fullest and that’s what I want my photography to portray. I want my artwork to reflect the beauty and sense of peacefulness that can be found in the world. Essentially, I want it to reflect how I view the world and life itself. I enjoy life when things are happening, whether good or bad, as long as we are feeling something it means that we are alive.

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing artists today?
You just have to get out there. As much as I would love to be able to focus on my photography full-time, I currently am not. I am a 22 year-old full-time ASU student and a shift supervisor at Starbucks – the struggle is real. However, I never let my busy schedule stop me from making my art. My motivation comes from one of my favorite photographers, Evan Ranft. He has inspired me to go out, shoot, and try to come back with at least one picture that I am satisfied with.

More so, never let your financial situation make you feel as though you aren’t good enough. As cliché as it sounds, it doesn’t matter about your gear, what matters is who you are as a photographer. Your vision and the time you are willing to put into your craft will show in your work. This is all coming from the guy that was using a 7 year-old camera. Utilize your resources as well, editing tools such as Lightroom and Photoshop will become your best friend.

And lastly, get out, go shoot, and have fun.

How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
I frequently post my work onto my Instagram and I am currently working on my first website where my prints will available for purchase soon. Keep checking my Instagram for updates, my website is almost done and I couldn’t be more excited.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonasxwheeler/

Contact Info:

• Phone: 623-377-108
• Email: jwheeler2911@hotmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonasxwheeler/

Image Credit:
Jonas Wheeler

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