About Me
photo by Brooke Mayo Photography
About Me.
That’s a loaded topic and could fill volumes. So, I’m trying to figure out the best way to make this interesting. There’s the professional me, there’s the creative me, there’s the eclectic me, there’s the wandering me. Which ‘About’ is the most relevant and which ‘About’ won’t bore you to tears?
We’ll start with the mundane and maybe evolve into something more interesting.
I’m a photographer. A documentary photography to be exact. I’m also a writer, a multimedia producer, a blog developer and a social media consultant. My first camera was given to me as a gift when I was 10 and proclaimed my desires to become a photographer. I still have the camera, still shoot with it and feel that photography is more a definition of ‘who I am’ not necessarily ‘what I do.’ This also presents a conflict of commerce, but I’ll rant about that in a blog post.
I studied fine art photography at Radford University in addition to Outdoor Recreation. Yes, that’s actually a degree- though I remain a few credits shy of that BS.
I returned to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill at the age of 30 to obtain the illusive undergraduate degree. The shiny version of my studies are a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Communications with a concentration in Photojournalism from the School of Journalism and Mass Communications and an outside concentration in Peace War and Defense. I am two, count em- TWO- Italian classes shy of my degree (had to re-enter the working world to pay the bills) and am hoping to complete the course work in some exotic Italian village sometime soon.
I am a national award winning multimedia producer, storyteller and love the art of editing and working with music and visual imagery. I recently completed a documentary commercial narrative for Nissan North America and am hoping to continue generating commercial multimedia projects to fund my documentary work. In the process of production, I learned a great deal about social media and how to build a few Flash and WordPress websites. I also use this work to fund my travels and am currently seeking more clients- come on, you know you need a website/blog.
On Assigment in Egypt~ photo by Ellen Penninger
I am striving to construct my ever-changing career (or the money making aspects of it) to be completely location independent. See this entry to learn more- its also an area of focus for this blog. I am a wanderer and love a little adventure. I need travel like other people need vitamins. I need the unknown like other people need minerals.
My politics are off the charts and I’d rather not talk about them in this arena. I’ll go there over coffee if anyone is interested, but there is a reading list required prior to engaging in this dialogue. While I am open to opposing perspectives- I only ask that you harbor independent thoughts and opinions and if talking points enter the dialogue, I reserve the right to end the conversation politely before I pull out the daggers and gouge out your eyeballs with a spoon.
My current reading list entails; Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein, Society of the Spectacle, by Guy Debord (recommended by a dear friend-though I’m struggling a little with this one- I find the perspectives fascinating) and End Game by Derrick Jensen (also recommended by a dear friend who is planning the revolution). Granted, the list is actually much longer and usually sprinkled with the occasional Zinn, Chomsky, Hunter S. Thompson, Steinbeck, etc. I usually start my day with Al-Jazeera English and the NY Times. I compare the coverage of the days headlines, then I migrate to the Op/Eds of the Times.
Then I curl up in the fetal position and debate the merits of obtaining dual citizenship in Ireland or Canada.
My Ladybug
I have a wonderful hound dog mutt, who is currently on “vacation” with her grandmother at the beach on the East Coast. She’s a wonderful companion and very understanding of my idiosyncrasies. I truly hope that my first home purchase involves an Airstream Flying Cloud and a shiny truck to pull it to the next homestead when my restlessness sets in. I have many friends, whose relationships I treasure and I hope to spend more time with as my walkabouts increase. I value community and the third place and am a coffeeshop dweller (though I’m trying to cut back on my espresso intake these days).
I love to just walk. My iPod, my walking shoes and a loose destination. Walking keeps me sane and shows me parts of the world I wouldn’t have time to see zooming by in a car. I like to get lost while I’m wandering- I find the more interesting fabrics of a community when I’m a little lost.
Well, this is turning into a novella of dribble, so hopefully you’ve learned more about my ‘Abouts.’ If not, here’s my resume ; here’s my portfolio; here are a few videos I’ve produced recently and here’s my HIRE ME! page.
Thanks for reading, if you’re still here.
