I'm thrilled for the chance to edit the corporate video for House Hasson Hardware Co. This Knoxville-based company is America's largest independent regional hardware distributor.

How did I get the lucky chance to work with them? I'm still wondering that myself. It's actually an opportunity that came as a result of the United Way campaign video I edited a few months ago. House-Hasson was one of the companies featured. After one of their employees saw that video, they pitched my name to House-Hasson's marketing manager Taylor Hasson, who is the son of CEO Don Hasson.  

Don Hasson is also the third member of the Hasson family to run the company since it was founded way back in 1906, and he's helped it grow into a company that serves more than 2,500 hardware stores and lumber yards in 18 states, the Caribbean and South America.

So obviously, they're not small potatoes, but all the friendly folks at House-Hasson made the two-day shoot at their headquarters such a pleasurable experience! I hope to post the video soon when it's complete.

I had the pleasure of shooting the Smoky Mountain Air Show as part of WBIR's ambitious five-hour live broadcast.

​This was a big deal in the Knoxville, TN area because budget cuts and 9/11 prevented the event from being held here for the last 16 years.

Even though I had to stay in one place to shoot, here are some of the highlights I recorded, finishing with the famous Blue Angels. 

I had a truly rewarding experience last month shooting a video in beautiful Townsend, TN. If you want to see the Smoky Mountains, but don't want the touristy and more commercial experience offered by places like Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge, then Townsend is a must!

Anyway, I was hired to shoot a video for the guild of the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, which is trying to raise money to help kids take field trips there. The GSMHC gives kids a hands-on experience of what life was like in the Smoky Mountains during the pioneers' times. 

Leigh Wilson from the guild was incredibly helpful setting this shoot up for me, and hearing stories about life in Townsend only made me and my wife want to retire there.

I'm just putting the final touches on the video, which will be shown at the guild's fundraising gala on May 21. I agreed not to post it until then, but everyone at the GSMHC seems pleased with it.

The phrase "It's all about who you know" applies constantly in the working world, and that's certainly been the case for me in the freelance world.

Shortly after dipping my toes in the freelance pool, I got a Facebook message from an old Mizzou Journalism School friend: Rebecca Gegg. We hadn't corresponded much since college, but we always got along. Well, I must have made an impression shooting standups and live shots for her 12-13 years ago because when she needed to hire a freelance photog for a shoot in Asheville, Rebecca talked me up big to her co-workers at Cerner. 

I had not heard of Cerner before, but it turns out, it's a Fortune 500 company based out of Kansas City that specializes is health care technology. For this shoot, Cerner wanted to show the new camera technology they developed to help reduce patient falls in hospitals. Mission Health in Asheville has been using these cameras, and so far, the results are positive.

Big time stuff.

So the pressure was on for me to shoot well for them.

In the end, Rebecca and I had a fun time. Despite a few HIPAA roadblocks to getting better b-roll, I thought we did the best we could do (except for the way I shot one interview).

The good folks at Cerner did the editing and posted the final video this week, and it turned out well. Check it out!