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

[VLOG] EP: 04

"Mouthful of Cheek"

[VLOG] EP: 03

"Blood Suckers Suck!"

[VLOG] EP: 02

"Sequels Suck!"

Feel free to leave comments below! If you want to ask me a question, or request that I film something in particular just let me know!

First ever Video Log... VLOG like thing!

I dare you to watch this!

World Champion Solo Canoe Race

Hey everyone, I wanted to share this video with all of you. It's incredible what these guys do! The competitors paddle their canoes for 4 to 5 hours straight! This footage was shot by the talented Devin Graham and handed to me to edit. Devin was responsible for the sound design and direction. I hope you enjoy it!

Also, make sure you watch it in HD! You can do this by selecting the resolution located in the bottom right hand corner area. :)

Another day at the office

In the middle of the Pacific Ocean is a place called Kualoa Ranch. It's 4,000 acres of awesomeness. It sits on the island of Oahu and has been family owned for 6 generations. I recently had the opportunity to experience this location for an entire day. I was helping to shoot a commercial for the location and in doing so got to do some really cool things!

Perfect spot for a Wal-Mart! Everyday low prices.

This place was used during World War II to spot oncoming attacks. They built some huge bunkers to hold munitions and such. Deeper into the valley are many film locations used for TV shows and Movies. Jurassic Park, Godzilla, LOST, and Pearl Harbor are just some of the projects that were shot here. Up until seeing this place I had only experienced the coastal area of Oahu which, don't get me wrong is absolutely amazing! However, I'm so glad I got to go inland and explore areas that feel preserved and hidden from the world. It's absolutely breathtaking to experience such a place.

This is the log from Jurassic Park... yes there is a specific log. It was used by the actors to hide from annoying dinosaurs. If I remember correctly the dinosaurs ate them all and the movie ended.

Basically Kualoa Ranch has lots of activities that visitors can partake of. I spent the day filming these activities with Devin Graham. The morning started off with a horseback ride through the valley. Devin and I followed in a sweet van getting shots of the ride as it progressed along the trail and eventually back to the ranch.

Horses swam to the island back in the late 1800's during the great horse depression. This is fact.

Afterwords we took a boat tour across a giant Hawaiian fish pond that was built by hand using lava rock. Basically they built it so that small fish would swim in, but would then grow too large to ever get out. On the other side of this pond the boat we were on docked on the edge of what is referred to as "the secret island beach". It is a private island that visitors can pay to spend time on.

This is the same pond used for all the submarine shots from the show LOST.

We walked across the island where we boarded a "catamaran" which is a specific type of boat. The catamaran took us out into the ocean traveling full steam ahead directly into the waves. This was extremely fun because the boat feels like it's catching air as it slams through the waves. With every wave the front of the boat would rise high into the air and then slam down causing lots of water to splash over the edge. It was ridiculously fun. However, I quickly found out that it's difficult to keep your balance and film at the same time. I did my best, but I was almost thrown overboard on several occasions.  Normally they don't let people film on the lower portion of the boat, but they made an exception for Devin and I. It was scary to take my uninsured camera down there with nothing but my rookie sea legs underneath me, although I somehow was able to get some rad shots. Also I didn't throw up, and that's always a solid victory. 

One of my roommates James Choi. This dude can cook up a storm!

This is what a Catamaran looks like.

Upon returning from our Ocean Voyage, we took to the land in some crazy military cargo vehicle that blasted us into the jungle, taking us to the top of one of the peaks. On top you can look out and see both sides of the island, I wish I could explain how amazing it was up there, but alas I lack the writing ability to do so. It was "neat".

This is what "neat" looks like.

Sadly by the end of this jungle excursion I had plowed through all three of my batteries and my camera turned into nothing more than an expensive paper weight. I was bummed out because we still had two more trips to take. That's the problem with being so passionate about film and photography. Sometimes it's hard to enjoy what's around me if i'm not capturing it in some way. I'm sure lots of friends hate going places with me because I'm constantly taking photos or shooting video. What else am I supposed to do!? Anyway, I forced myself to just relax and enjoy my surroundings. I'm in Hawaii for crying out loud!


What followed was a bus tour through the valley that shows off all the TV and Film locations, stopping occasionally to let the passengers exit the bus to check things out. After this we finished up the day riding Four Wheelers around. It was an incredible day that I was lucky to have experienced. I will try and get some video uploaded as soon as I get some time to edit it together! Thanks to everyone for reading, I hope you enjoy the blog!