s a photographer/videographer over the last 3 years I have sat a lot of people in front of the camera. In fact in that 3 years I haven’t had anyone (other than my wife and Jacob Boyd) turn down being in front of the camera. Most Americans can’t wait for the chance to be in the spot light. Ghana, on the other hand is completely different and one of the hardest place I have taken my camera.

This picture was taken after spending 2 days with this group of fishermen.  After writing about the hardships of shooting in Ghana I decided I want to earn every photograph no more clicking the shutter just  because something looks nice.

So friday we headed to Yeji to spend time with a group of fisherboys (Full story from Thomas here )  The first day we went to their house, met the family, and spent time having fun with them.  They showed us their boat and told us what their typical day looks like.  The next morning we woke up at 1:30am to film them fishing.  We filmed for a while and then put down the camera’s and audio gear to help them fish and earn $3.57 for their family.  After they finished at 6am we napped and then picked them up for cokes and candy while they told us their dreams and what they want to be when they grow up.  After a day of relaxing and getting a sugar high they took us on their boat to a Island for the photo shoot.  I was amazed at their patients as I set up the shot and moved lights around.  This will truly be one of my favorite moments as a photographer and I will cherish this photograph for many years to come.

I get this question a lot from people just starting out.  So here it is.  I just grabbed whatever camera I could find and started filming things that were happening.  From family trips to highlight video’s for my church and behind the scenes video’s of backpacking trips.  There wasn’t really a method in the early days just to try to find an interesting story that people would want to follow.  I decided to dig up one of the first films I made.  About 5 years ago I grabbed my wife’s 3 mp still camera that had a video function and headed into the woods for 3 days.  No Zeiss lenses, no dolly, and no lighting.  Just a small camera and a story. Over the years I have upgraded my gear and learned new techniques but the structure remains the same.  Find a story that is engaging and bring it to life.  So here it is one of the first film JAFilm ever produced.  It’s crazy to look back and see where you started.  Enjoy

We will see how this system actually works in the field but I really think it is going to be a huge help.

I’m pretty tired this morning as we spent the last 2 mornings getting up at 3:30am to go fishing with a Compassion child who has an amazing story. I haven’t been this tired since late nights in college.

After spending the last 2 days hustling from airport to airport and running from terminal to terminal we finally landed in Honk Kong for a couple of hours to walk off some jet lag.

We’re getting some amazing footage here in Bangladesh. One thing we notice is how many different forms of transit they have to get around. From rickshaws to energy bikes and human power to gas powered

This morning began with a 4:45am wakeup call grabbing gear and heading to begin filming. We were covering an amazing story of a Compassion sponsored College student. She gets up every Sunday morning to sell food in the market. It’s a pretty interesting process