About me
I am a storyteller, photographer, producer, director, editor, and writer with over 25 years of experience. Throughout my career I have had the opportunity to interview and produce stories about some of the most innovative thinkers, entertainers, musicians, athletes, artists and idea-makers of my time. People often ask me who my favorite interview was with, or what my favorite assignment was. I have never truly been able to answer this. I love sitting down and chatting with anyone. I think humans can learn so much from each other, no matter what you call yourself.
A kid with a camera
In the mid 90’s I got my first real camera and I would wander around the streets of Daytona Beach, Florida pretending I was Henri Cartier-Bresson. It was during this time that I gained an appreciation for trying to capture “Decisive Moments”. I was also working as a freelance photographer for several different newspapers around Florida and trying to figure out how I could turn photography into a career. With the help of some pretty cool assignments, I was able to move to the next level and ended up moving to Atlanta, Georgia to start a new career in television at a little news network called CNN.
Video gave me more layers to tell stories
In early 2000 I was introduced to the world of video production and began my career with CNN. I fell in love with storytelling and using anything and everything to produce stories. I was told by one of my favorite CNN cameramen that I should learn how to edit. I taught myself how to edit and realized that this additional skill now gave me control over every aspect of telling a story.
Rock bands opened doors for me
In 2001 I began to interview bands as a field producer for a 30-minute weekly music show on CNN called World Beat. This not only gave me interesting stories to produce but also helped me build confidence in my interviewing and storytelling skills. I was able to sit across from some of the most legendary rock bands and singers of all time and have conversations about their lives, music, history and many other interesting topics that would come up.
Sports let me wear different hats
Years of producing feature content in the field for music festivals and concerts opened the door to a new challenge of producing content in the world of sports. This introduced me to live television and learning to produce stories in the field as they happened along side with sideline reporters and athletes in the moment.
Travel broadened my technical ability
I have always loved to work on large productions with full camera crews and editors, but sometimes budgets and logistics don’t offer the luxury of traveling with large teams. I have learned to adapt and have traveled around the world producing content on my own from start to finish. I find that sometimes I get the most intimate feel by it being just myself, a camera, and a story.
Innovation is the key to the future
In my opinion, rock bands, athletes, and celebrities are cool, but they very rarely have the answers to real problems. Over the past few years I have really been interested in innovative ideas and how the good ones can help save the planet we live on. I have been able to work up close and personal with some world-renowned innovators and document some of the most important projects of my lifetime.
Photography is my pen and paper
For me, I can look at one of my photographs and remember everything that was going on at that moment. The sounds, the smell, the temperature, and everything else I was feeling at that exact fraction of a second. A camera has always been my journal throughout life. Documenting most moments only for my own memory. This is why I always carry my camera everywhere I go.