Had I been told --say, 8 or more years ago that something I had always treated as mostly a hobby would become my "bread & butter", and on top of that, find me setting foot in cities and locations across the U.S. map -- I probably would've had a tough time believing it.
But there came a point for me, partially because of the economy, partially due to loss, that somehow I found the path that brought me here. It did take some time, effort, and an overall leap of faith, but I can honestly say I'm more content now than I ever was being on someone else's payroll or schedule.
If you or anyone you know has ever done a full "180" with their lives, or a process of reinvention, you can probably relate.
So these days, I often find myself looking through a lens (or staring at an LCD) and the variety of what's on the other side may include -- a baseball diamond, a football field, a dance floor, a home for sale, or a business reaching out to new clients....just to name a few.
Here's a good cross-section of some of what keeps me busy:
McLeanGardensBallroom from I4video on Vimeo.
XOS & BaseballFactory reel from I4video on Vimeo.
Home Tour from I4video on Vimeo.
FRAICHE on 192448196 from I4video on Vimeo.
Dance & Cheer Reel 1 WEB from I4video on Vimeo.
You can find these plus more of my samples at :
https://vimeo.com/user16055932
Video can all at once be a challenge and a breeze. Easy in the sense that following sports action is rather straightforward and nothing you do can affect what's taking place, but at it's most challenging on the creative end -- editing a produced piece and being torn over what stays and what goes. I can attest that in editing, you can lose all sense of time-- think you've sat there for 2 hours when it's actually been 4.
For me, it traces back to my teens, and what was a passion for still photography over time morphed into one for moving images... So much so that for a while, while I worked regular jobs full time, I still made time to shoot and produce pieces for local cable access and even work a shift now and then doing programming playback (well before things went automated). On the plus side, even doing what some might think was mundane did have its advantages; a chance to briefly interview Walter Cronkite, and produce a live graduation that turned out to be JFK Jr.'s last public appearance... all in the space of a year.
Thanks to you if you've read this far, but being that I'm in the visual business, it would make much more sense to round this out with less talk, and more visual. So look on...
LIFE AT 30,000 FEET
I spend a decent share of time looking down on clouds, given what I do. Flown more in the last 5 years than my entire life before that. Not having a window seat makes me think I'll miss something, and when I do have the chance, I've captured scenes like these....
Left: That shadow of the plane you see projected on the cloud is not unusual, but the ring around it is. If you're lucky enough to see this effect, it's caused by the water vapor in the cloud, similar to how rainbows work. All you need is your flight to be directly between the sun and a cloud deck.
Right: A screen capture from a video -- thunderstorm several miles away, but producing some awesome moments.
"WORKPLACES":
Top Left: Rooftop of the pressbox at Naval Academy stadium in Annapolis, during a game (2012)
Top Right: This is the image from the top of the blog-- Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall (2009)
Middle Left: High school in Washington,DC - Fall football (2013)
Center & Right: Baseball evaluation events in Albany,NY (2014) and Palm Beach, FL (2012)
Bottom : After a commercial shoot in Northern Virginia (2014)
EYES OF HISTORY:
This past fall, while in the DC area, I dropped by the Newseum on Pennsylvania Avenue; as it turned out, two separate exhibits happened to overlap -- bringing two of the most important imaging devices in history under the same roof for the first time...
......
.Left: The RCA video camera that sat on the surface of the Moon the night of July 20,1969 and beamed images back home of astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin taking the first steps on another world.
Right: The Bell & Howell 8mm film camera once owned by Abraham Zapruder of Dallas, TX. The first and last time it was operated: During President Kennedy's visit on November 22, 1963.
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