1940
Born in Breslau

1944
Escape from Silesia

1945–1951
Childhood in Horsten (East Frisia)

1951–1958
Leibnizschule Hannover and secondary school certificate at the Werner-von-Siemens-Schule 

1958–1961
Apprenticeship as photographer at the Photo-Studio Klaus Berger in Hanover

1961–1966
Photojournalist at the Hannoversche Presse

1965
Meisterbrief im Fotografenhandwerk (master craftsman certificate in photography)

1966
Founding of the studio Photographie Joachim Giesel: Apprenticing company from 1969 to 1996

1970–1989
Series Der Mensch in der Gruppe (The Man in the Group)

1971
Appointment to the Gesellschaft Deutscher Lichtbildner (Society of German Photographers)

1972
Founding member of the spectrum Photogalerie in Hanover

1972–1991
Curator at the spectrum Photogalerie

1973
Appointment member of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Photographie (German Society for Photography)

1978–1988
Documentation Grenzland–Niemandsland (Borderland–No Man’s Land)

1979–1999
Photographer at the Niedersächsische Staatstheater Hannover (Lower Saxony State Theatres Hanover)

1980
Diploma in Design for Photography at the Fachhochschule Dortmund (University of Applied Sciences Dortmund) with the work Vorstädte (Suburbs)

1980–2003
Teaching positions at universities in Dortmund, Bielefeld, Hildesheim and Wuppertal; master classes at the Handwerkskammern Düsseldorf (Chamber of Crafts Düsseldorf) and Stuttgart (Chamber of Crafts Stuttgart) as well as at the Bundesfachschule für Photographie (Federal School for Photography) in Hamburg

1981–1987
First chairman of the Centralverband Deutscher Berufsfotografen (Central Association of German Professional Photographers), the Bundesinnung des Fotografenhandwerks (Federal Guild of Photographic Crafts)

1985
Niedersächsischer Staatspreis für das gestaltende Handwerk (Lower Saxony State Prize for Applied Crafts)

1992
KODAK European Gold Award (Kodak European Gold Award) as European portrait photographer of the year

1998–2003
Series Verrückt nach Ilten (Crazy about Ilten)

2022
Founding of the Joachim Giesel Archiv in Leipzig under the direction of Rickie Lynne Giesel

2025
Relocation of the Joachim Giesel Archiv to Hanover