Sam Dates Show

Sam Dates.

What to say about Sam Dates?

I randomly found the Kickstarter campaign for this web series and saw that filming was taking place in Washington DC. . . which is where I happened to be at the time. One fine day (about a week into the campaign) I contact the person who’s name I found listed. A person I did not know . . named JJ Blake. This person was the co-producer and co-writer of the series and I offered my services as a “Behind the Scenes Photographer”.  After asking me a few questions about my background (mulitipe advanced degrees in theatre and film) she said she’s be thrilled to have me around.

LIttle did I know that volunteering to show up on shoot days would be one of those turning points in my life. I instantly fell in love with the cast and crew and had one of the best experiences of my professional experience. It took me a few shoot days to realize everyone involved was about 15 years younger than I was but their zest for making a cool web series was so refreshing that I kept coming back, shoot after shoot, for about four months.

I am quite proud of all the photos that I took and am looking forward to every moment I get to spend with them going forward. 

It is also amazing that this is one of the few projects I have ever worked on that have met their Kickstarter goals. Prior to this I had had a wonderful interview with Marcus Williams, of Tuskegee Airmen, about his successful campaign and, at that point, he was the first person I had ever spoken to who had accomplished their goal- they KILLED their goal. . . by the way!!! 

One of the things that I loved about this project was the locations. Most of the money raised went to the cast and crew and most of the location were free or were acquired by being genuinely cool people. As the photographer, I signed a large breath of relief every time I walked on set and the production design was amazing. There’s nothing we fear more than walking into a shoot and seeing bland walls, bland costumes, bland lighting, or bland characters.

There were some beautiful sets and all that credit goes to the producers and the crew for finding wonderful places that were welcoming to a film crew.

Working on this project was an honor and a privilege and I can’t wait for Season 2.