ABOUT JOAKIM LEROY
A true artist Joakim Leroy was born in Paris, France in 1973 to a Parisian father and a Swedish mother. Joakim Leroy has been accustomed to traveling between France and Sweden and other European locations. His early travelling has developed a deep sense of curiosity in learning new languages and cultures. His father was a printer, with a small enterprise in Paris XVIIth arrondissement. As a young boy Joakim became familiar with typography on a printing press. He continued learning the printing environment, especially with the old reproduction equipment on negative film and preparing layouts. This set the groundwork for a career in Graphic Arts.
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
With basic printing knowledge acquired at early age, he joined the famous school of Les Gobelins – CCIP University of Image in Paris for 5 years. At that time the printing and design industries were facing a revolutionary change. The advent of new technology and Apple’s first Mac computer radically changed the entire industry. Gone were the days of using films, scissors and cutters to create pages. Layouts were now designed on computer screens with revolutionary new software such as Photoshop, Quark Xpress and Illustrator to name a few. It was a time for learning new skills and adapting to these future trends.
In 1994, after successfully graduating with two diplomas at ‘Les Gobelins’, Joakim crossed the Channel to reach the London Institute, where he joined the London School of Printing and Design. While in London, he continued his studies in the English language, Graphic Design and Publishing. After two years, he graduated with a Higher National Diploma (HND) and new skills. He quickly found work in London as a designer with several well-known large companies including The Economist newspaper and TM Group.
Joakim Leroy’s passion for photography and travel became truly apparent when in 2000 his life completely changed. He decided to move from the ancient European continent to the vibrant South East Asian region by following a friend to Bali. With a Nikon camera and a few rolls of slides in his bag he set foot in Bali. Joakim was amazed by the beauty of Bali, a deep-rooted Hindu culture with wonderful people. The Balinese experience inspired Joakim to shift fully to photography with an open eye to this new vibrant external environment.
EXPERIENCE IN ASIA
From Bali, he improved his photographic skills. His pictures still captured on film at that time discovered the entire region including Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, The Philippines, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Laos. His moto was discovery and perseverance in photography. Many times, Joakim had to push his limits, like a roll of film, to capture as many good pictures with the least amount of waste. That was a time of perseverance and inspiration.
Joakim eventually was based out of Bangkok, Thailand for a decade between 2004 – 2013. During that time, he published several books such as ‘Urban Bangkok – Contemporary Reflections’ a Black and White ‘Ilford’ film (not digital) coffee table book; he participated also in the travel book collection of Azu Editions, by covering several locations of the region, such as Phnom Penh, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. Apart from documentary and travel photography, Joakim also started at to focus on commercial photography for some local and international companies. And in the meantime he joined several photo agencies online, such as Istockphoto and Getty Images.
Since 2013, he has come back to his first spiritual experience, Bali and the wonders of Indonesia. He still travels for work and pleasure, mostly to Europe and Asian countries. He dedicates most of his time in Bali with its wonderful people, inspiring his landscape and conceptual photography. Bali attracts wonderful people and finding appropriate skilled models for the creation of conceptual images is not a difficult task.
Joakim Leroy is currently using a Canon 5D Mark IV, several pro lenses, and Elinchrome light strobes, for studio, indoor and outdoor photography. He can be contacted via his contact page on this website by simply filling in the form.
“Light control is what it’s all about, sometimes you need strong harsh sunlight to produce amazing landscapes and sometimes you dream of cloudy conditions for other purposes.”
