How did I get here?

Since I picked up my first 35mm still camera in 1983, to now using my 6K Digital Cinema Camera, I have always had a talent for capturing compelling images. I am a storyteller, producing a vast number of photos and videos that I can seamlessly pair with impactful writing. Today, I can shoot in 4K, color grade the footage, and extract high-resolution JPG images from the video. The advancements in technology are mind-boggling and fuel my enthusiasm for digital imaging.

I've had an amazing career to this point. I got my start as a stills photographer on the Olympus World Rally Championship in 1986, and was given the opportunity to try out a broadcast video camera. I was hooked! The following year, I started Talisman Broadcast, and my new business partner and I began traveling the US and Europe shooting racing. I've met and interviewed many of the racing heroes I only read about growing up, such as Parnelli Jones, Carroll Shelby, Jacky Ickx, Dan Gurney, and Sterling Moss. Worked extensively with corporate clients such as Mazda, Dodge, BG Goodrich, Pirelli Tires, Satchi & Satchi, and the SCCA. Been to 45 of 50 States, and traveled most of Western Europe.

I've filmed at over 11,000 feet at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, and filmed in temperatures from -65 in the Yukon to 110+ in the Mojave Desert. Crawled through claustrophobia-inducing caves to shoot endangered spiders, hiked miles in the wilderness of Trail, British Columbia to film grizzly bears, climbed treacherously steep cliffs at Hopper Mountain Refuge to film the first wild-born condor chick north of Los Angeles, and hung precariously out the side of a helicopter to film wolf releases and elk captures. I've been to Salton Sea Refuge three times for endangered species issues and traveled to film an endangered run of salmon outside Chico, California, packing in 100 lbs of gear, while walking on a three-foot wide flume, 200 feet above the river. Did I mention it was on 9/11? Getting home was a whole other story.....

You could say I've done a few things.

I left motorsports in 1990 when the market dropped from under us folks who made a living off the table scraps of the NY/LA advertising agencies. I went to work for the Washington Department of Social & Health Services operating a fledgling video production department. Within a year, we had enough contract work with other agencies to update the entire studio and camera to broadcast Betacam SP. I've interviewed two Governors, the State Attorney General, and multiple agency Secretaries, for various projects.

Several years later, some life changes determined that I needed to be closer to home, so I went to work for US Fish & Wildlife Service, Western Washington Office on an inter-agency agreement. As luck would have it, the State downsized, and my position was cut. As it turned out, USFWS saw the value in professional video, and they created a position and then hired me for it. The irony was I had to watch a video on "Reduction In Force" that I had just finished producing for the State not 90 days prior!

I spent 11 years with USFWS, and my position not only grew in importance to the Region, but also nationally. Much of what I shot was for stories we promoted locally to local TV stations. Soon, we began shooting for stories that would go nationwide on the three main networks, as well as CNN, FOX, and MSNBC. I was constantly being flown all over the United States to shoot material of regional and national importance. During that period, I also was tasked with creating and editing press releases and briefing documents. Eventually, my duties included becoming the office webmaster, developing and designing a format that would be used by the entire region. Every time I was given a new duty, I invariably had to learn new software to accomplish it.

I was honored to have interviewed and filmed several Secretaries of Interior, as well as the Director of the USFWS National Forensics Lab, Ken Goddard. One of my most significant projects to me, was having the once in a lifetime opportunity to film and interview environmentalist and Nisqually Tribal member, Bill Frank Jr. It was a very special moment, and I feel blessed to have been given the opportunity.

In 2006, USFWS was going through some "belt-tightening" and I decided to take an early out and try something new, as I was burning out and needed a change. I eventually left and started a microbrewery/restaurant. I took a sabbatical and assisted my dad's transition from brain cancer. Opened and closed a 40-handle taproom, and nearly died from Covid. While I recovered in 2019/2020, I decided that it was time to get back to what really drives me, and jumped feet-first into digital cinematography. It was a steep learning curve from video to digital cinematography, but yet an easy transition into Davinci Resolves edit software.

Although I've been away from the communications field for a while, I still have the knowledge and skills to excel and now bring a well-rounded toolkit, including expertise in social media marketing. I am seeking an employer who recognizes the institutional knowledge I bring to the table and provides an opportunity for me to contribute to an organizations success.

Thus begins a new chapter.