I grew up in California in the Mojave Desert, chasing shade on nearby rocks, hiking stretches of the Pacific Crest Trail, road-tripping iconic highways to play in cold Pacific swells, and camping in the high Sierra with my family. California isn’t just where I’m from—it’s where I fell in love with wild places, where my creative instincts were shaped, and where I feel most alive and at home.
So when Erika Belis—executive producer at Brand New Pictures, longtime friend, and trusted Novus collaborator—encouraged me to submit a treatment for Visit California’s Playful Perspectives campaign, I wasn’t just excited. I felt like I’d been preparing for this my whole life.
“Up Around the Bend”
Fast forward to now: our work for Visit California over the past couple of years has been extensive, and I’ll be sharing more of it over the next few months.
But today, I want to highlight one particularly memorable production which centered around a fun TV commercial informally titled “Up Around the Bend,” set to the namesake Creedence Clearwater Revival song. (A song we all heard roughly 4,000 times during the shoot, burning itself into our brains in the best way possible.)
Two production teams were working in tandem. My team—composed of Novus staff and trusted contributors—was tasked with capturing still photography. Meanwhile, a second crew, led by the brilliant director and DP Kris Kachikis, focused on shooting the broadcast commercial.
Some days, my team split off to shoot standalone moments for our own shotlist. Other days, however, Kris and I stood shoulder to shoulder, capturing the same scene from different angles—him on video, me on stills. And one of the true joys of this project was this side-by-side collaboration. We were constantly bouncing ideas off each other, acting as creative sounding boards to elevate both the photography and the cinematography. That kind of dynamic required trust, an open line of communication, and most importantly, a great sense of humor and camaraderie between each other and among our respective teams. It made the whole experience a ton of fun!
Playful (Wide-Angle) Perspectives
The concept behind Playful Perspectives was all about developing a bold, new visual style to bring the audience into the center of the action. It was about pure fun and capturing the visceral joy of California through awe-inspiring imagery.
To execute this concept with images that put the viewer right in the scene, close to the action, we leaned hard into ultra-wide lenses. We shot most of these images using a Nikon Z8 paired with either an 8–15mm Nikkor ultra-wide lens or a vintage 16mm fisheye—two F-mount lenses that we seamlessly integrated with a FTZ II mount adapter. Sometimes we broke out a 20mm Z lens. Occasionally, when it was convenient, especially when water was involved, we used GoPro cameras as well.
We hope the wide-angle distortion creates a sense of immediacy—pulling the viewer straight into the heart of the fun. But shooting this way came with its own set of challenges. Wide lenses distort easily, so it took a mix of learning and finesse to use that effect intentionally and avoid things like warped heads or limbs. Lighting was also a new challenge because we had to keep lights farther from the subject than usual, adding another layer of complexity to the setups. And with such a broad field of view, every frame was a challenge to compose cleanly without accidentally including errant production equipment or crew members in the frame. It forced me to stay hyper-aware of every pixel in the viewfinder—and made each successful shot that much more satisfying.
Tethering
Another interesting aspect of this shoot involved our non-traditional approach to tethering. Instead of the usual cable setup, we used a DJI video transmission mount that broadcast everything my camera saw—live—onto client iPads and production monitors.
This solution not only eliminated lag time, it let me be light, nimble, and free to move around quickly because I wasn’t tied to a digi tech cart, which would’ve been especially challenging on the uneven outdoor terrain.
The one thing was I had to remember that everything on my camera screen would show up on the client monitors: Waving my camera around could send a blur of motion to everyone’s screens and cause instant seasickness! Between scenes, I either left up my last frame on the screen, or I would use a lens cap to make the screens black.
This light and nimble approach extended beyond just tethering. It was the ethos throughout the production. After all, we were traversing the entire state of California in just two short weeks so it was also a necessity: the difference between getting through the shotlist and coming up short. A light and fast mentality also meant less time fumbling with gear and more time engaging with talent and truly working the scene, really exploring the full creative potential in each moment.
Big Thanks All Around
But as demanding as it was, it was also a blast. Working in tight sync with another production crew, finding ways to stay nimble and collaborative—it reminded me that good energy on set leads to good images. And this shoot had plenty of that.
Huge thanks to the Executive Producer Erika Belis for bringing us into this campaign. Her vision, leadership, and logistical execution made it all possible. And thanks to Paul Chaput for keeping it light on set, while making sure we’re always moving in sync.
Thanks The Shipyard for your incredible creativity, especially Liz Ross, Kerry Krasts, Kevin Lukens, Mauro Borges, Brittany Bartle, and everyone else, including Sadye Evyn Reish for the art direction. What an honor to come along with you on this ride.
Thanks to Michelle Abbott for producing the broadcast spot, and thanks to Kris Kachikis for bringing a great group of people together, and being so fun to work with! You shot an amazing spot!
Of course, thank you to our client Visit California—so thankful that we get to share our love for this state with your audience.
And last but never least thanks to my crew who made this production such a success, including the first assistant Bligh Gillies; lighting crew Dane Henry and Mike Okimoto; second assistant Kyle Martz; and our digi tech Mike Grippi.
Watch the Final Spot
If you haven’t seen the final video yet, check it out below. What’s funny is that if you live in California, you won’t have seen it, for obvious reasons. But it did play during the Oscars. And these still images have been making their way throughout print and digital media.
If you live outside of California and you see any of these images out in the wild somewhere around the world, please send me photo!
I am proud of our work, and inspired by the work of our colleagues for this commercial. Hats off to everyone involved for delivering the kind of campaign that makes you want to pack a bag, fill the tank, and hit the road in the greatest state in the world, California!
