Resumé

Education

Auburn Senior High School:

Graduated in 1991 top 10, 3.8 GPA, President Senior class, Vice-President Alpha Beta Gamma Math & Science Club, Student Advisory Board, Golf, Instrumental Music, Computer Programming Team, Yearbook Photographer/Printer.

Peru State College:

(While in High School) Computer Programming I, Pre-calculus.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln:

Graduated 1996, 3.3 GPA, B.A. in Art with emphasis in photography, minors in psychology and English, President Beta Theta Pi pledge class, House Corresponding Secretary, Outstanding Pledge Scholarship. I also took many courses in the Journalism College including Photo Journalism, Typography and News Writing and Reporting.

Work History

1994-1996 Harman’s Camera Center:

I was in sales and service. Responsibilities included helping customers with general photography questions, selling cameras and accessories. Upon leaving, I was managing the Clocktower location. This position included all of the above duties in addition to ordering, photographic printing, lab management, quality control and customer relations.

1995 (summer) Apartments Just for You:

AJ4U was an Omaha magazine that showcased luxury apartments in Lincoln and Omaha. I was the staff photographer for this magazine over the summer. Duties included lighting and photographing interiors and exteriors of luxury apartments for advertising purposes. I arranged talent, locations and props for shoots all over Omaha and Lincoln.

1994-1996 Freelance:

While working for Harman’s and finishing school, I rented a studio in the Burkholder Project and shot weddings, portraits, etc. I also contracted with CIP to put landscape photos in the corporate suites of an apartment complex that was built in south Lincoln.

1997 Ferderbar Studios:

I was a photography assistant for four photographers
at this large Milwaukee, Wisconsin studio. Duties included prepping and
maintenance of equipment, set building, client relations, lighting,
warehouse management, studio maintenance, location assisting, prop
hunting, etc.

1997-1998 BW Studios:

I was hired as an associate photographer at BW Studios to work on catalog shoots, studio and location shoots and client relations for the studio. BW Studios is a high-end photography studio based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

1998-1999 Time Warner Cable:

I was a producer for the Lincoln, Nebraska cable provider’s Ad production department. As a producer, I oversaw all elements of production of television commercials. Duties included client relations, scripting, shooting, graphics and editing of commercials for air on cable networks.

1999-2001 Senior Technologies, Inc:

I was a media specialist II at this $20 million producer of healthcare aids. I had a very diverse set of responsibilities. Duties included production of long form sales and promotional videos for its products, photography for advertising, catalogs, brochures and instruction manuals, trade show booth design, ad concepts and support for my supervisor. I was included in marketing strategy meetings with product line managers and creative strategy meetings with the CEO on a regular basis.

1999-2001 Freelance:

While at Senior Technologies, I consistently ran camera at NETV for live remotes, studio broadcasts, etc. Also, I would freelance grip and AC for film shoots for Clark Creative in Omaha for clients such as InfoUSA, Harrah’s Casino and Mannheim Steamroller.

2001-5/2005 Snitily Carr:

I was employed as a producer/photographer for this Lincoln-based advertising agency. Duties included overseeing all aspects in production of large-budget long-form videos, television commercials, radio commercials and DVD authoring. I was also the photographer for the company. As photographer I co-ordinated and shot all the photography for a staff of six print artists. I provided color-corrected digital files for inclusion in print products ranging from interactive CD labels and jackets to catalogs to high-resolution 4-color brochures to billboards and other print advertising.

2005-Present Purelight Productions:

For the last several years, I have been blessed with the opportunity to be self-employed. It has been a wonderful experience for my family and I have learned a great deal about business, clients and myself. I produce video, oversee print projects, develop websites and implement media strategy on a day-to-day basis.

Professional Experience:

Still Photography

My experience in still photography production is as diverse a history as I know. I have printed photographs in mini-labs and professional labs. I have experience printing black and white as well as color enlargements in the darkroom. I have over 12 years’ experience in Adobe Photoshop. In the studio, I have lit school buses, still life, food, musicians, CEOs, politicians, precision surgical instruments, biblical artifacts and more than a few knick-knacks. On location I have flown in helicopters and crop dusters, crawled under trains, sweltered in factories, worn Tyvek suits, waded in rivers, ridden on horses (and fallen off of them, I might add), set up hot tubs in abandoned mansions in the middle of December, crawled onto the rooftops of more buildings than I can tell my wife, hung out with caged monkeys, climbed bluffs after big horn sheep and much, much more.

Video Production

While at Ferderbar in Milwaukee, I was introduced to a medium that would end up changing my life. Video. Ferderbar had a video department and an AVID suite. On the weekends and evenings I taught myself how to use this humongous 33 MHz Quadra with 36 GB of storage. I was completely amazed. Tom Ferderbar told me if I was going to make it, I’d need to learn this. He was right. After I left Ferderbar, I moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma for an extended visit with my brother. I did some freelance work for traveling photographers and I hooked up with a stage sound and lighting company, riding truss work, setting lights and stages up for concerts and conventions and such. I picked up video again when I returned to Lincoln and began producing at Time Warner. Since then I have found myself at Haymarket Park at 4 a.m., in heated political campaigns, hunting lodges, lost in the woods, the Rockies, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Florida, Utah and Alabama (among many others). I’ve been to almost every town in Nebraska. Nebraska’s a great place to vacation, by the way. I find myself in the studio, the edit suite, brainstorming campaigns and solving communication problems every day. The budget ranges of both video/film and photography projects is approximately $1000-$100,000.

I have discovered that the technical experience is essential, but the life experiences are the ones that shape your work ethic and character. It’s impossible deadlines, fantastic demands and tight budgets that maximize creativity and problem solving. It’s making summer look like fall, it’s making a vat of molten zinc look beautiful, it’s the challenges of serving your client that make you a strong producer. I love making images, I love telling stories, but I enjoy the people I work with so much more.

Ministry Experience

I have produced video series’ for sermons including for Heartlands Church in Lincoln, Nebraska, including:

“Families in the Fast Lane.” A four-part series written by Tom Workman to communicate the consequences of a fast-paced family lifestyle on the spiritual health of its members.
“Mothers’ Day 2003” A tribute to three mothers in the congregation.
“SKIP” Annual video to help promote the ministry efforts of SKIP (Support for Kids of Incarcerated Parents).
“Baby Dedication Video” 2002 and 2003 baby dedication videos to support new parents in the beginning of their exciting journey.
“Kikongooni” Videos to communicate the accomplishments of our world missions program.

I currently consult with Heartlands in its efforts to promote dynamic worship and communication through visual arts. I develop visual/graphical support via powerpoint, photography and video to worship and sermon lessons. I have written a ministry plan and meet regularly with our pastors to ensure effective communication through creative media. I created Heartlands Church's website.

I am also currently leading worship at Iglesia de la Comunidad, here in Lincoln. It's entirely in Spanish, which can be a challenge, but God has seen fit to give me a good enough accent to postively impact corporate worship at this urban missional congregation.

I love to encourage others to express their faith through their artistic talents.