SLO LIFE Magazine Jun/Jul 2020

pennies on the dollar. Those retainers don’t pay much, but that was
when, I think, that I felt like I had landed somewhere, that there was
a future in this line of work. I still contribute to them once in a while,
but I also have much different clients now and I am in more of a
commercial space where I’m shooting campaigns and advertising work
for larger tech companies, and stuff like that. So, the work has evolved
and changed over the years.
And, so, what is a typical job for you now? I would say, there’s
nothing really typical about anything I do, first of all. It’s always
complicated. There’s always sort of something different. I would say
that the one takeaway that I have is that every job forces me to bring
something different to the table. Some of them force me to bring my
experience as a water photographer or action sports. Some of them
require me to shoot with a large crew and strobes. And sometimes
you’re not even touching a camera; instead you’re just directing
commercial TV spots or something like that. So, in the world of
commercial advertising, it’s always changing. And I love that; I love
the fact that it’s always changing, and it’s always challenging me and
forcing me to try something new and different.
What do you mean by that exactly? I try to bring a lot of inspiration
into it. By that, I mean the things that really motivate me and move
me and inspire me. I still try to bring that to the table. So, most of
the jobs I’m doing are rooted in the outdoor space, or they’re rooted
in wilderness and landscapes and things like that. But that hasn’t
always been the case. I remember being on the beach in Mexico, and
just basically having a sixty-person crew lighting up this tiny Corona
bottle. I remember thinking, “This is so weird.” It’s not necessarily a
moment that I’m proud of. It’s just like, “Whoa. This has taken me so
far from being this young kid, going to the beach, taking photos of my
friends.” It’s definitely taken me to some weird places. That’s for sure.
Where else has it taken you? I think I’ve, in many ways, come
full circle. I’ve gone all the way to doing these crazy, big, massive
production shoots to realizing, “Wow. That doesn’t fulfill me.” Now,
I’m coming back to a place of working on stuff that does keep me
inspired and excited and moved, I guess you could say. And so much
of that is accepting the fact that, even though you can do jobs that
will pay you more money to fill your bank account, you have to be
conscious of the fact that, if it’s not fulfilling you internally and it’s >>
34 | SLO LIFE MAGAZINE | JUN/JUL 2020