Living Through a Viewfinder

It's not a secret. I love photography and film. In fact they are what fuel my daily life. I'm passionate about the process of using imagery to convey emotions, and ideas. It can be frustrating when you see the world in ways that you can't describe to people in words, but with a camera I feel like I am able to show them.

Growing up I loved movies. I made short stop motion films using my dads High 8 video camera. My actors consisted of Lego's and Action Figures. Later I made flip-books using post-its. I never really thought making movies was a viable aspiration in life though. I looked at it the same way I looked at the chances of making it to the NBA. It just didn't seem very realistic to me.

When I got into my teenage years I became more interested in photography, but never really pursued it. I was intimidated by it. There seemed to be so much to think about when taking a photograph. Lighting, exposure, position. Not to mention all the jargon. Aperture, ISO, shutter speed, light metering, flash controls. Was I really going to be able to learn how to harness these elements? Needless to say it was enough to keep me from pursuing photography. So I spent my high school years focused on sports and my girlfriend.

After graduating high school I had the opportunity to go to California and be part of a music video for a band called Yellowcard. This was my first "on set" experience with anything being filmed. It reignited my love for making movies. It was here that I realized there were many outlets to tell stories using film. Whether it be movies, tv shows, music videos, commercials, short films, documentaries, the list goes on. Not to mention by this time the world around me had exploded into the digital age where everything became more accessible and a lot cheaper. Suddenly I could buy an HD camera for $2,000 as opposed to $200,000+.

So now it was time to put up or shut up. After getting my Associates degree at the College of Eastern Utah, I transferred to Utah Valley University in Orem where I got my Bachelors Degree in Digital Media and Film. Since then I have worked on films, tv shows, marketing campaigns, viral videos, and currently I'm working on a Documentary. It's hard work, and long hours, but it's what I love. It will never feel like "work" to me.

We all have things inside us that make us tick. What are your passions? More importantly what are you doing about it? Sometimes the world keeps things out of reach, other times we have to sacrifice one passion for another. I don't think it's important to get everything we desire in life, but I do feel like it's vital to do our best to go after what we believe will make us happy. I think life, in its most simplest form is learning today what we can apply to tomorrow that causes our quality of life increase.

An interest in photography is what started it all for me, yet it took years for me to finally pick up a camera for photographic purposes. Would I be a much better photographer had I started when I was younger? Yes, I certainly would be. That's not the tragedy here though. The thought of never taking the chance to pick up a camera to see what I could do, now that's tragic. I'm very new to photography having only been doing it for less than 2 years. It's become one of the primary outlets for me to express myself. That to me, is priceless.

I have started a new blog to post my photos on. It's more of a sample portfolio of the different types of photos I take. A gallery, more than a blog. Anyone who wants to follow, please do :)

www.tasteofjace.blogspot.com