Windy, cold, rainy, wet, muddy. That’s what made this photo. 
Tag Archives: Desert
Thanks for Watching
It seems that filmmaking and self-promotion often go hand in hand, and I don’t like this. Making films is not about popularity, but rather providing people with something they can enjoy. The only problem is that in order to allow others to see your product, you often have to fight your way through a swamp of other content. Everyone is making movies about everything these days. It’s getting harder and harder to get your material seen. Is this a bad thing though? If I said it was bad, it would be hypocritical because I just said that my goal is for the audience to see pictures that they enjoy. So what if these pictures aren’t mine? At the end of the day, I love being a part of the experience of film, whether it’s making the movies or watching them.
One of the benefits of the saturated modern film atmosphere is the amount of incredible films being made. There was a time when only certain people could create media. With computer and camera prices dropping and the quality rising, it’s easier than ever to shoot and edit a film. Now more than ever, filmmaking is accessible to a huge number of people, and this is great. There’s something unexplainable about the power of a great film that transcends the filmmaker behind it. The only time I would ever want one of my films to be seen over another is if it has that indefinable power to captivate the audience and allow them to experience something. I would never make a film just because I enjoy it. I would always make a film that I believe has the potential to offer something to others that they don’t already have.
Self-promotion can easily fall into the question of, “what can I get from these people?” My question is, “what can I give these people?’, and that’s what’s important to me. As soon as I have nothing more to offer my audience, I will stop making films. A film is more than moving pictures of a screen. You can’t separate the audience’s experience from the art of film.
The reason I am writing today is to tell everyone thanks for being an audience, and I hope to continue giving you what you want in a film. The future is a very uncertain place for a filmmaker, but as long as I have an audience that cares, I’ll still be here making movies. The short film “Western Wandering” is doing very well in the Wyoming Short Film Contest, which is due to each one of you. There are some amazing films in the contest this year and it’s been a privilege to compete at the same level as them. At the time of writing this, there is still one more week to vote. Thank you so much for all of your comments, votes, and support. If you haven’t seen any of the films, you’re in for a treat. And as far as the motive behind the competition, it couldn’t be better. The $25,000 must be put towards making another film in Wyoming. It seems like a win-win for film gurus. You get to see all of the amazing competition films and then the best of the best gets the opportunity to make another film for us to enjoy. Click here to watch and vote for this years entries.
From the desert to the runway
From the desert to the runway. I tried to think of a witty quote to open with but this is all that came out. Last week I traveled with Burning Torch Productions from the high altitudes of the Colorado Rocky Mountains to the debts of Canyonlands National Park in Utah and to the 2012 Runway Show in southwestern Wyoming. Looking over the pictures, I’m realizing just how diverse the week really was. When you put snow next to sunbaked desert soil, the snow feels colder than ever and the soil seems that much hotter. When you wander through the most desolate wilderness in the lower 48 and then go to a fashion show, the solitude of the wilderness is the purest you’ve ever felt and the people of the fashion show are the most inspiring. The power of film is in the tool of juxtaposition. 
Placing diverse images side by side brings a sense of power that can’t be experienced any other way. Capturing and compiling these images is my passion. The diversity of everyday life is one of the only true beauties we can experience. Everything else slowly fades and becomes average.
I would characterize myself as an adventure filmmaker. It has taken me to the far corners of the earth to capture some of the most obscure and intense moments. Balancing “getting the shot” and my safety is more or less a common equation in my daily life. One might ask, how could the excitement of this ever fade? It doesn’t fade. It just loses perspective. Sometimes you have to juxtapose experiences in your own life rather than just watching them on the screen. My method to bring back perspective into my daily life is by diversifying how I can experience my passion. Shooting extreme sports isn’t my passion. Shooting life is my passion. This past weekend I shot a fashion show. The excitement and energy surrounding the event was incredible. Shooting high fashion and glamour has always been part of my excitement towards filmmaking, but juxtaposing it with shooting the loneliness of the desert or the risk of extreme sports makes it one of the most exciting things on earth. Here’s short clip to give you an idea of what it was like.
Burning Torch Productions 