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Climbing Aconcagua 

Spent the last couple weeks on the mountain Aconcagua in South America. It was the second of the Seven Summits for me and third for the team of climbers (MTJM) climbing to raise a million dollars to help find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis. I arrived with a pretty basic kit of a couple cameras, video and still. I also had a minor audio kit. At the base of the mountain in Mendoza I cut my kit down even further leaving behind my lav mics, receivers, transmitters, one of my video cameras and several lenses. This was a good decision as we had mules up to about 15k but after that it would be our own backs to carry the load up to the summit of 22,841 or at least the last camp which in our case was around 20k. I decided to roll with my trusty 5d Mark iii, GoPro, bag of various batteries, chargers, and a shotgun mic. Hindsight I probably would have cut the mic and half the batteries to save weight. I don't like not having backups, but camera gear quickly weighs in. The climb to the summit was a success but I did end up getting HACE on the way down. I was confused, disoriented, and off balance trying to make my way back to camp. Lucky one of the team noticed and helped me with the slow walk back to camp. The following day we made our day down to Base Camp and again proved to be a difficult day due to severe dehydration from not being able to take care of myself the day before. Other than that it was a great climb, even clipped in a few shots on this video from my iPhone which really doesn't look to bad! All and all it was a great climb and even though I got sick it still doesn't sway my decision to climb. I have no death wish, love my family and life. Part of what makes me love my life is the fact that I get the opportunity to go and step foot in these wonderful places all around the world. I would rather live with some risk in my life than than under the illusion of security and safety. There is no lock on tomorrow for any of us. My biggest fear is if someday I make it to be an old man, and I am laying on my death bed. I don't want to have wished I had gone and seen a few more places, or let what others think I should do sway what I do with my life. I want my life to be high quality, full of positive and supportive friends and family. I want to live without fears and hinderances. The single most overwhelming feeling throughout the whole climb in honestly "the pain of it" was a sense of gratitude. One of the best feelings, the feeling of being full. 

[redtideproductions]

Spent a couple days in Colorado visiting sponsors, acclimating, and doing what I can to train for high altitude mountaineering while living at the ocean. Our next mountain is the highest in South America named Aconcagua. I keep in shape running, and surfing but it's always great to get into the cold, and elevation for at least a little bit. This was also a chance to test my gear and get a feel for what I'm going to bring with me. In high altitude climbing every ounce adds to your pack so camera gear being heavy has to be thought out well. These shots where some tests I did with my Canon 5D Mark iii and the MagicLantern hack. We also shot some footage and have to say the 5D always pulls through but the Blackmagic Pocket Camera wasn't wanting to stay on when the temp dropped into the single digits. 

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I've been working on this surfing documentary over the summer... going a little slow due to the fact that most of the surfers make their living in the summer. I'm planning to finish up the shooting later this fall when the tourist season is slowing down and the waves are picking up. In the mean time enjoy this little teaser from some of the people in the film.

[redtideproductions]

as most know by now a few months ago, (maybe six now?) our family moved from indian to the wilmington area to be closer to the ocean. i instantly fell in love with surfing. i wanted a project to work on in my spare time and i decided to make a documentary on local surfers. tony silvagni local pro surfer and heck of a nice, hardworking guy was the first to become part of the film. the film isn't going to be about pro surfers, its main purpose is to feature the lifestyle and love surrounding life on the water but also just a chance to think about what we are all here to do. check out this little teaser i threw together for tony. it really is crazy how effortlessly he can make it look! thanks tony:)

TonyPreview.mp4 from Red Tide Productions on Vimeo.

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This was my second trip to Africa in the last 6 months. Truly wonderful to be back in a land I love. The smells, sounds, and the raw broke down to the basics living of life. There is defiantly a lot that needs to be done to bring up the quality of living but there is also a lot that Africa is doing right. I am not claiming I have any idea what Africa needs because I don't but people seem to smile much more and I've found them to be very helpful. I think we are all the same and when I go into the slums I felt that I'm no better and I'm sure I would have ended up the same way under the same conditions. To me it's a reminder again of how much we have, how much the things I own can own me, how living distracted by phones, computers, goals, can take away from the gift of interaction with others. The problem is that these feelings can fade and become foggy when I get home. Repetition is the key, a daily reminder of all we have, starting with the basics. Clean water, a light that comes on when the switch is flipped. The ability to feed my children. The mantra I kept in my head was from a little clip from a TED talks I watched on the plane over, "Its not happiness that makes you grateful but gratefulness that makes you happy." Good stuff... Thanks for the experience Mighty Acorn and Kenya. Check out all the pics from the trip on my website. Also videos to come!

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Haven't posted much lately so I figured I would update everyone on whats on Red Tide's plate. First as far as tech and gear I'm super stoked with my FS700 and the ability to capture beautiful slow-motion now in 4K thanks to the new raw recorder... But what is the new monster getting ready to chew on? Well as you probably know by now the family has moved just outside Wilmington, NC to live the dream of living by the ocean and surfing. I recently posted a little GoPro Vid of my brother and I learning to surf hahaha, it has me up early every morning checking the surf report. Check the little Vid HERE of me wiping out and riding a few baby waves. 

So with that said I'm looking to start on a new doc about east coast surfing along with three other doc's in the works. As you know the Blue Bird Travels, and a couple top secret but I have started shooting one so info will start trickling in.

Also working with all of my clients still in Indiana who are super great to me and keeping some of the best jobs ever like the recent shoot with Eef Barzelay and One Lucky Guitar.

Really living the dream... Lots of hard work to make the dream happen but now we are riding in the pocket.

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this year was one of the most productive and closest to the way I want to live... full of adventure and squeezing every bit of fun out of my time here. making a reel is always a difficult thing for me. first there is so much footage and so much to go through but you have to think hard about what you want to say. it can dictate where your work goes in the upcoming year. i'm gonna hope for some more of the same going forward in 2014. it's also a good time to reflect on what happened last year, what i liked and what i dislike about 2013. this years theme for myself is to keep it simple. going through my footage it wasn't the heavily lit or complicated set ups i liked best. most of the time it's a simple set-up, maybe even locked down, and really good subject. i'm going into 2014 focusing more on the story!

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i'm not totally sure what is happening with this documentary but I had to at least post this little teaser to the trailer i guess? this little move really changed a ton in our lives and the shift really put a lot of big things into motion for us as a family. we sold our home of 15yrs, transformed a old school bus into our home, and took to the road with mom, dad, two boys, three cats and a dog. we ended up doing this for about 5-6 months but the last month we where parked outside our in-laws not sure what to do. milo broke his arm and needed to stay close by for appointments and the new mountains documentary had me in colorado and then africa. we decided to purchase a home just outside of wilmington, nc so we have a "home base". the latest plan is to continue with the bus doc as soon as the weather warms a bit... we do have new films and new adventures in the plans also but one thing we realized over the last year is plans can change. if the doc doesn't happen you will still sight the blue bird rolling down the road cross country occasionally i guarantee! enjoy a few clips of the adventures from this past summer and hopefully i will be bringing more as we make our way to alaska late summer 2014. the music was provided by clem snide and eef barzelay. my most favorite musician. 

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Just got back from the first of the seven summits... Kilimanjaro in Africa. It was a real eye opener for me personally and it let me know that my life continues in the direction I want it to go. I wasn't finically in a position to go when the time arrived so I decided to run a 50k in the hope to raise money to get me over to Africa. I was overwhelmed by the support I received. I put a little post out on Facebook and donations came out of the woodwork. I would like to give a very special thanks to The Mighty Acorn Foundation http://www.mightyacornfoundation.org who gave a huge gift along with tons of other friends and school mates whom without them stepping up and giving this couldn't of happened. This proves to me that no matter what the news is saying the world is full of good people doing amazing things. Some of the contributions that meant the most where from people that gave a few bucks. They may of not been able to even afford that really but the fact that they believe in it and gave anyway means the world to me. So a big thanks to everyone. It changed the direction in my life and this spring we will be going to Guatemala trying to rescue some sick children out of the mountains along with our second of the seven mountains this August. Elbrus in south west Russia. I'm not doing these things for religious reasons or monetary gain. In fact we pay for these by ourselves or the funds we can raise on our own. The money we raise for Cystic Fibrosis goes direct to people with CF. If you would like to donate go to MTJM.org.

This is just part of what I need in my life as a constant reminder that life is good... We are truly blessed in this country. When I remember that then there is nothing else I need in my life except my family and friends. 

[redtideproductions]

Here is the first teaser video from the new documentary about climbing the seven summits. Thanks to everyone that has helped make this possible and make sure to check us out for the latest updates and photos. We will be on the roof of Africa, Kilimanjaro, in less than a week!

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Just want to thank everyone that helped donate to the more than just me seven summits project. I more than hit my goal with the 50k run to get me to Africa and on Kilimanjaro. Two days after the 50k I headed to Colorado to meet up with Tommy, and Mark to get some practice in before we leave November 12th. This was the first day, we where around 11,600 ft, we had to turn back before reaching the peak due to snow and dark on it's way but gave me the first feel of functioning at altitude. I will post videos from some of our training. Most of the fourteeners are snow covered here in CO so we are going to head for Utah this weekend for some canyon adventures. We are working on a new documentary so stay tuned for behind the scene footage and small teaser films.

[redtideproductions]

I'm going to run a 50k or 31.07 miles to hopefully raise enough money to get me over to Africa and on Mt. Kilimanjaro. I want to expose Tommy Dangers tireless effort to raise money and awareness for the those affected by Cystic Fibrosis. Check out mtjm.org to see what we together are trying to do!

I'm in no way ready to run this kind of distance but I feel as if I don't have a choice. I talked the other day on the phone to CT, Ivy's dad. He told me that he hopes that he one day will tell his son that he had Cystic Fibrosis not that he has it. That moves me. I feel incredibly blessed to have two healthy boys... I know that if one of my boys had CF I would want people like Tommy out there fighting everyday for them. What I can bring to the table is my skills as a cinematographer. If the world doesn't see what Tommy is doing than its that much harder to bring awareness.

The run isn't going to be fast or pretty but with your support I will get it done. What i'm asking is to donate what you can. A dollar, Five, or .25 a kilometer, a dollar a kilometer! I hope to raise at least $2000 to help get me to the top of Kili!!

You can donate to Red Tide Productions Pay-Pal and all of the money will go to get me on Mt. Kilimanjaro. https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=WPSGMA8A72RDA

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working a bit to update the website with many videos that haven't ever been put up on my site. this was probably one of my favorite projects in awhile with photographer evan perigo and the awesome music of metavari. also on the updates are some of the commercials from the 2013 lutheran health network, matilda jane clothing, and there is still tons more i haven't even gotten to yet... what the heck?

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I haven't posted much of anything in quite awhile. There has been plenty of work I need to catch up on posting also but it's been one of the busiest times our family has had. 

When i was fresh out of high school I bought an old VW bus and traveled the country about as much as that poor bus could handle. I always had a soft spot for cars you could sleep in. I just thought the freedom of moving where ever you wanted when you wanted was awesome. I bought this old bus last winter and started the project of converting it into a camper. About the time I started working on this we started chatting about moving out east and living on the ocean. A few months later we found a place we liked and things where set into motion. After finding out that the place we wanted fell through my wife Jess said, "Why don't we just live in the bus for a awhile?" I of course jumped on that idea. I loved it. A little scared of if  2 adults, 2 boys, 3 cats, and a dog could really live on a bus? I rushed to get the bus put together and by the beginning of July we where without a house, and on our way to Maine. 

Its now been a month on the bus and really it's been way better than I thought in my head. It doesn't smell like a giant litter box, I haven't besides a few brief moments felt like I would freak out on lack of space, and its actually been going really smooth. 

I documented some of the construction, packing, and our travels so far along with our thoughts along the way. I'm planning on attempting to travel for a year (or more) in the big blue bus and make a documentary about the adventures, people we meet, and how it has changed our views on things as a family and individually.

So far we are just hammering out what we need to do and what we need onboard. The travels haven't been super out in the wild and unfortunately been spending time in some RV campgrounds until I have the bus totally self-sufficient but it won't be long!

you can follow our adventures on the new blog... just click here to see whats happening.

As soon as I have enough I will post a trailer.

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The Last Mile felt like it came full circle last night. We had a packed house for the showing at the Cinema Center in Fort Wayne along with a lot of the stars from the film. Justin Gillette, Emily Schaller, Tommy Danger, Matthew Hopf, and Casey Shafer. What a great time... My son (Milo with Tommy by the MTJM van) really took to Tommy and Emily. He let me know that Tommy doesn't say "cool" he says "rad"... So we have a lot of rad getting tossed around the house right now. He sat between Tommy and Emily during the showing and it just meant the world to me. I couldn't be happier as a dad having my son looking up to people like them as role models in his life. The same son insisted we have a sparkles celebration (as he calls it) afterwards to party. Milo also captured the big photo up top with my phone. Cracks me up, I think he pretty much captured the action and personalities of everyone and the evening in that one pic. 

So many good people their and so supportive of what came together. I thank everyone that made it out!!!! If you did want to order a copy of The Last Mile you can do so by clicking here. It will give you several options.

So what now?!

This has been pretty quiet but I've got the documentary bug now. I've got several more in the planning. I'm working on converting a school bus into a RV in my spare time and the whole family is gonna travel cross country searching out the new american dream movement and the people living it. Keep up on the blog, Facebook, and Twitter. These will pick up when the action starts. Also happening is a documentary along with Tommy Danger and the MTJM Foundation. I will be filming and climbing along with Tommy as he summits the seven tallest peaks in the world raising money and awareness for Cystic Fibrosis.

Again thanks everyone that made this possible and you have no idea how much filming, and meeting all of you changed my life for the better. I don't want to get to the end of my life and say those sad, sad words, "if only"... -Grace Butcher (in the film) So we won't!! We are gonna try and squeeze every last bit of juice out of this life. -The Burketts

[redtideproductions]

it's been awhile since i've done some still photography only, i do a little along side video... i love adding in the motion and moving with the emotion that you capture in video but stills where my first love. i really enjoyed this little shoot of my boys and getting back to the simplicity of shooting stills. they are my boys so i'm biased but i think they are such a fine specimen of what boys should be and i think these pics capture that. happy mothers day to my beautiful wife, what a wonder life i live.

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Here is a link to purchase a download of The Last Mile!

25% of purchases will go to the MTJM.org Foundation.