I’m also happy to have recently celebrated 3 years of the full-time operation of Cotton Field Communications. In 2010, I was thrilled and amazed (not to mention incredibly thankful) when I made it to the 6-month mark. It has been a wonderful 3 years. Many thanks to all of my clients, project partners, friends and family for their support. Let’s keep using video to tell your stories! Email vcap@cottonfieldonline.com for more info or to start talking about your new video.

About 2 months ago, I spent a day shooting down near the Port of Baltimore. My client, ICETEC Energy Services, wants to begin using video to tell their clients’ stories of energy use, procurement and load management. MTC Logistics—a cold storage and shipping company—was the first to tell their story. Their story, of course, included a bit about how they have benefitted substantially from their relationship with ICETEC.

You can check these new videos out by visiting www.cottonfieldonline.com/Watch. And stay tuned to hear about my 8 days shooting in Virginia/North Carolina and the 5 videos I’m now editing for Fresh Expressions US.

What story do you want to tell? Contact me today and we’ll figure it out together.

At its core, ONLY GOD CAN JUDGE ME will tell a story of family life in the heart of urban Guatemala City—both the dysfunctional reality of many kids and the family found on the streets. Most of the story will occur in Guatemala City’s La Limonada, the largest urban slum in Central America. It is here where poverty combines with addiction and abuse, forcing many kids to fend for themselves, often leading to a connection with gangs—the ones who help show young needy kids how to get food and clothes…and survive.

During my first trip to Guatemala in June of 2010, I was fortunate to shoot a 90-minute interview with a ghetto resident and community leader. It was clear, by his statements, that there was a greater story to be told. Near the end of my second trip in April of 2011, I visited a former gang member in prison. This powerful experience has remained with me since that day and, while listening to this man’s story, I knew that this was the specific story I needed to tell.

As OGCJM explores the home and street life of various youth, we will get to know current gang members, former gang members and parents, community leaders trying to provide the path to a better life, and even elected officials.

This film is fiscally sponsored by the International Documentary Association and all donations that go through the IDA are tax deductible as the law allows. Contact me for more information.

Quite often on trips like this, in the moment, I am emotionally shielded a bit by being behind my camera. It is not intentional, though at times I do have to literally bite my lip to hold back my tears and continue doing the work for which I am there. But it is important for me to reconnect with those emotions when my work is done, which is usually after I return home. It is natural to feel tremendously blessed by all that I have, from a protective home to good schools for my children to an abundance of food. And that list, too, goes on and on. But each of these experiences is also an opportunity for healthy change and I have to let myself be impacted by the experience–by the names, the faces, the stories, the homes of these wonderful people who are more like me than I typically understand on a daily basis. With knowledge comes responsibility and I keep learning more and more each time I have the opportunity to experience a new land, a new culture, a new group of people. How do I continue traveling what I believe to be the right path in life while adding this knowledge and responsibility? That is what I will continue to process. If you’d like to dialogue over coffee sometime or simply see some cool photos and compelling video, let me know. I’d love to pass some knowledge on.

Shifting gears in a huge way, last week was another first for Cotton Field Communications. I had the opportunity to shoot orthopaedic surgical procedures being performed on cadavers. It was amazing to watch achilles tendon repair surgery done on part of a leg. Our bodies are so complex! I couldn’t help thinking, though, that there was so much more story kept from us–who was this person who donated their body (in parts) to science? What kind of life had they lived?

I love the varied opportunities for visual storytelling!

Next up is my Africa trip. Very early on the day after Thanksgiving, I was blessed to be able to travel to Ndola, Zambia, with my colleagues and friends from Access Services. It was an amazing experience and we learned a lot. I shot hours of footage, including home visits, interviews and general b-roll around the community. I’ll begin to share more specific info in my next post. Stay tuned…and happy holidays!

Last week, Beej and I spent the week out in Wyoming, while I had the pleasure of shooting video for Ring Lake Ranch, a spiritual retreat center in the Wind River Valley. It was an amazing week of hiking, horseback riding, canoeing, absorbing the beauty of creation, meeting great people…oh, and working, too. Stay tuned for what video stories emerge from my time at the Ranch. For more info, you can check them out at www.ringlake.org.

What story do you want to tell? Contact me, and we’ll figure it out together!