Speaking [of] Opportunity

So this is cool: I have been invited to speak to a group of filmmakers, writers, actors, and otherwise creative people in DC. I’m approaching it kind of like Show and Tell in which I’ll be sharing my recent work along with lessons learned and a bit of my personal story as well. I’m quite excited about it!

…and if I’m being honest I’m extremely nervous about it.

It’s not so much the public speaking that scares me, but rather the fact that I have no answers to the questions that keep flooding my head: What can these people actually learn from me? Do I have anything worthwhile or interesting to say? Is it even going to be relevant? etc. All the while suppressing feelings of inadequacy and impostor syndrome…

Great.

I will be sharing an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at my trip to South Africa as well as other recent projects. My goal is to share what I’ve learned from a decade of freelancing, and my hope is to inspire others to make good art.

We would love to see you there! You can find details below:

November 2nd from 2:00 – 4:30 PM at Convergence (1819 N. Quaker Lane, Alexandria, VA)

Networking 2:00-2:30 – Presentations 2:30-4:00

No cost to get in. Free high fives for all attendees!

Day Nine: Johannesburg to London

In the same way this journey began I find myself once again on a flight somewhere over Africa. What was once anticipation and curiosity is now a collection of memories, photographs, and scribbles in my Moleskine. Acquaintances are now friends, and my bucket list is evidence of the adventures I found in South Africa. It’s quite bittersweet to see this chapter come to a close, and honestly I don’t feel like I’ve spent enough time processing it yet.

Day Eight: Johannesburg

Today felt more like work than a new experience. I’m not sure if that means I’ve become accustomed to the environment or what. In any case, we had another four shoots today, and all of them went well. …or maybe I should say, we got good pictures of all four ladies we shot.

Day Seven: Johannesburg

Perspective. The word for the day is perspective.

Day Six: Durban to Johannesburg

Pretty much any time your day begins at 4:30 AM you’re already waking up with a deficit in quality of life. Somewhere between the lack of sleep, minimal creative contribution, and an absence of normalcy I started to come undone today.

Day Five: Durban

Over 19 hours ago my alarm signaled the start of our day. None of us just how how busy the day would be, but now that it’s over it’s hard to believe everything that happened, much less that it all went so smoothly.

Day Four: Cape Town to Durban

I’m a big believer in the Sabbath. Even when it seems like there aren’t enough hours in the day I do my best to take a day of rest. Though I had no involvement in planning my schedule for this trip, today was naturally a day off because most businesses in Cape Town are closed on Sunday. There were no stories to capture or places we had to be, so instead the Schroy’s (my hosts) planned a fun day for us all in wine country.

Day Three, Cape Town

Before I agreed to come on this trip I made a list of a few adventurous things I wanted to do if time permitted. At the top of that list was “Swim with sharks.”

Cape Town, Day Two

Boy did I ever get a taste of the diversity of this place! We started the morning with another visit to the slums to collect some location and landscape photos. Sunrise was a little splotchy, but I feel like we got some decent shots. I was particularly struck by the uniformed kids walking to school in this setting every day.

Cape Town Day One

The phrase “baptism by fire” comes to mind after my first full day here. The good news is that I haven’t felt particularly jet lagged. Sure I was tired when the alarm went off at 7 AM, but those two conditions are not mutually exclusive.