Now that I am producing both still imagery and video, I am trying to find the right word or title that I can call myself. I’m not just a photographer anymore, yet I really hate the word videographer. I’ve come up with a couple of words like “hybrid” and “visionographer” but still can’t quite find that right word.
And then I realized who I am. I’m a storyteller. I tell the story through visuals and sound and motion. Storyteller – a simple name for a person who has played that role since human beings began telling their story by painting on cave walls.
I love the story – beyond anything else – beyond the toys and the tools. It’s in my blood – it’s what has always motivated me and inspired. It’s why I became a photographer. It’s why I needed to learn video. Both were essential in telling my stories.
I must say that almost every magazine story I ever shot, what I loved most was connecting with people and listening to their stories. Perhaps I should have been a writer but I was more comfortable with my visual ideas and always felt a loss for the right words to express them.
When I think of all the movies that I’ve seen, the ones that really stay with me, have one thing in common – they tell a good story. A film can have all the special effects in the world but if it doesn’t have a good tale – it’s nothing beyond the packaging and fizz.
So the next time someone asks me what I do – I know what I will say – I’m a storyteller.
Journeys of a Hybrid 