There wasn’t a single moment where I decided to get back into video. It was more gradual than that. I picked up the camera again, started filming, and realized it still felt familiar.
When I first started, most of the platforms were print. Magazines were where the stories lived, so I gravitated toward photography. It made sense for the time and the space I was in. But even then, I was drawn to video.
I worked on video in high school through a video production class, while also taking photography. I used that access to the teacher to film and edit a piece designed to show other students how fun photography classes could be, and how much space there was to express yourself and be creative. It was all video, edited for timing, where to hold, where to cut, where to add voice-overs, and how those choices set people up for a punchline and a moment. I built in moments intentionally to make people laugh, and they landed. It showed me how small decisions could shape how something is received.
I had forgotten about the award until I came across it recently, and the memories came back. It was a reminder that I’ve always been drawn to video.
For a long time, I focused on other work. I was still connected to storytelling, but not in the same way. Video felt like something I had done before, not something I was actively building.
That shifted this year.
My first project this year came together quickly. I filmed and edited it in a day. There wasn’t a lot of overthinking. I just followed what was in front of me and moved through it. After that, it became easier to keep going.
What stood out wasn’t just that I could still do it. It was how natural it felt to step back into it. The process hadn’t gone away. It had just been sitting there, waiting for me to return to it.
Filming Angela for Mamala Surf was another turning point. I had her sit in a space that already felt like her—her chair, her dog, the place where she spends time thinking. There wasn’t much direction beyond that. The story started to take shape on its own.
That’s when it clicked that this wasn’t something new. It was something I had always been doing. Coming back to it felt familiar, but also raised the question of why I hadn’t been focusing on it sooner. I dusted off my YouTube channel and started paying attention to what was in front of me again. I still shoot stills, but video feels like the next chapter.
Getting back into video hasn’t felt like starting over. It feels like continuing something that’s been there the whole time, just in a different form.
