Gaffer - Photographer - Artist
I’ve been a gaffer for roughly 12 years now, based in Northern NJ. I graduated in 2012 from William Paterson University with a B.A. in Film Studies, though am largely self-taught.
Going to a school like WPU left me feeling wanting from a technical standpoint, and so I had to get very creative in how to efficiently light scenes. During my final year, I gaffed my first feature, a psychedelic, experimental film called “Heaven is Now”, primarily with colored Chinese lanterns, incandescent light bulbs, gels that I borrowed ::ahem:: from my Alma Mater, and a beat up Lowel lighting kit, primarily because this was all I had access to. The film allowed me to flex my creative muscles in unique and interesting ways, teaching me that, barring exceptions for safety, there’s no such thing as the “correct” gear, the “correct” tool: use what you have at your disposal and you can make anything work.
Since then, I’ve worked all over the spectrum: feature films, short films, TV shows, music videos, commercials, Corporate, Student, Indie, big budgets, low budgets, no budgets - I’ve worked them all.
I spent a solid 2 years working as the B-Cam gaffer for “Mysteries At The Museum”, running around NJ and NY filming recreations of unusual incidences throughout history. My work can be found in the final two seasons, 21 and 22, of the show.
I have no particular philosophy or outlook regarding photography other than that I find black & white to be much more forgiving than color and so my work tends to lean in the atmospheric and noir, as I’m interested the shadow-play between the subject and light. What started initially as a birthday tradition, I began taking photos of some action figures I had, designing the set pieces and the lighting. Most of my portrait work stem from very specific ideas that I seek to execute, while my BTS photos simply try to showcase an interesting or amusing moment from one of the many productions I find myself on, but in a way that either doesn’t give away the look of the film or compliments it.
These particular experiences have allowed me to work fast & loose or methodically while on set, with a very creative DIY approach of problem solving. Whether the pace of the set is slow and methodical or run & gun, no matter the genre, I can accommodate.