A historical week in U.S. Politics

This week I had the opportunity to watch political history unfold as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted from his leadership role. Rep. Matt Gaetz led the movement along with a small group of Republicans. My first day covering the hill started at a press conference where Speaker McCarthy ensured reporters there wouldn’t be a shutdown and he was correct. That outcome ultimately led to his removal as House Speaker.

Here are some images I made during this historical week in Washington D.C.

Documentary in the making.....

Making a music documentary is an insane undertaking. INSANE. My dad approached me 8 years ago and said “We are making a documentary”. He didn’t ask, he just excitedly informed me of what we would be doing. Well, here we are still making a music documentary. We’ve done 3 or 4 edits only to find you need to do 3 or 4 more interviews and that should be enough, right? We have two more interviews we are lining up and this thing is being bagged. Maybe.

And I can’t wait to share it with music enthusiasts and especially my fellow nerdy musicians who remember meeting your buddies on the sewer (IYKYK) to stumble through classic rock songs or maybe summer days riding in the car while your parents turned up all the classics from the 1970s and 1980s. You music lovers will love it too.

As a kid, I laid on the floor staring at the meter bounce up and down with a speaker on each side of my head. I set the volume low enough not to wake anyone in the house. I knew I would be a full-time musician one day. There was no other option or Plan B.

I thought I failed in life when I didn’t end up living most of my days on a tour bus and/or long nights in the studio.

I vividly remember the day my dream job working at a record label ended in 2008 due to the recession. Back to retail jobs and scrambling to figure out how to do something I love. It wasn’t long before I picked up a camera and started snapping away. I fell in love immediately and worked my ass off day after day to be the best shooter I could be.

As my career grew, I attended a few photojournalism seminars and everyone started saying “if you want to make it in this business, flip that camera to video mode. You are all multimedia professionals now.”

Once I flipped that camera into video mode, everything changed. My love of audio production, art, people, music, photography, story telling, could all live and exist in this one medium. It all made sense when I showed up to Rodney Mills (Just google him) birthday party. Everything I knew and loved in life intersected when I ran over to him to start recording his story about how he and .38 Special snuck into the studio to use Stillwater guitarists Rob Walker’s voice box for their record.

I was listening to the man who sat behind the board during “Sweet Home Alabama”, tell stories no one has ever heard. This is it. All my experience, my passions, my success and failures make sense.

This past weekend, we drove to Maryville, TN to sit down with the Grammy Award winning band The Kentucky Headhunters. I shot my interviews and then switched that camera back to photo mode and documented away.

Greg Martin of The Kentucky Headhunters sits for an interview in Maryville, Kentucky.

Knoxville based band The Dirty Diciples didn’t disappoint as an opener. I watched as a young enthusiastic guitarist wandered around backstage anxiously awaiting the start of the show. With his guitar in hand, he came back in frustrated cause they pushed the start time 15 minutes. I remember the good nervous energy right before you walk out to perform.

I loved being around that energy again.

Filmmaker(and my dad) interviews Greg Martin from The Kentucky Headhunters.

Ivanka Trump: Campaigning in Georgia

Ivanka Trump, daughter and adviser to President Donald Trump, visited Georgia during a week of campaign stops. She made a stop at Pizza by Fusco’s in downtown Acworth, Georgia and then joined Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., for a campaign event at Cowan Historic mill.

U.S. Rep. John Lewis

U.S. Rep. John Lewis helped pack meals with over 5,000 other volunteers at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. After giving a speech to volunteers, he met with media to give interviews. This is when I get to hunt for images. Surrounded by cameras, microphones and one light on him, I crawled around looking for the best angle with the best light.

U.S. Rep. John Lewis during an interview, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2019, in Atlanta. Branden Camp for AJC

U.S. Rep. John Lewis helps volunteers pack meals, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2019, in Atlanta. Branden Camp for AJC

Democratic U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath Holds Town Hall

I had the honor of interviewing Rep. Lucy McBath for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) long before she ran against Karen Handel for the 6th District seat. I can honestly say she is one of the most authentic people I’ve ever engaged with. I recently covered her town hall meeting at Dunwoody High School for AJC.