I’ve been telling stories through television and video for more than 20 years.
Everything has a story: people … places … even products. It’s all about breaking the story down to reveal the individual elements that come together to make up the whole. And there’s simply no better medium to express these revelations than video. That’s why I feel so fortunate to do what I do.
I’ve had the opportunity to share the stories of people across the country: from medical experts, chefs and Olympians to persons battling morbid obesity, chronic illness and homelessness. I know how lucky I am to work in a profession that allows me to meet so many different people. Every day on the job is always different from the last: new people, different places, fresh perspectives.
I’m at home with most genres:
- lifestyle
- reality
- documentary
- educational/training
- technical/scientific/medical
While some find the research stage of a project tedious, I find it positively exhilarating. If the story is beneficial, uplifting or educational, I am all about it. But …
I don’t do ambush. It’s not my style and not who I am.
All I want is a great story to tell or useful information to share.
And the opportunity to breathe different air. Some people pay for therapy … I go somewhere. It doesn’t have to be far or for long, but it does have to be someplace else. And sometimes I do it big.
S/V Temptress anchored off Elliott Key
My husband and I embarked on a year-and-a-half journey during which we took our sailboat from her slip in Jacksonville, Florida to the British Virgin Islands and back. On our sabbatical we visited isolated beaches, experienced glorious sunsets, paid the price when weather reports were (often) incorrect, were surrounded by myriad dancing dolphins as the only vessel in a quiet sea south of Great Inagua, ate fabulous meals prepared in a tiny, yet well-equipped galley and were boarded by a uniformed man with an M-16 (who smiled when I spoke to him in Spanish).
The lone vessel between Great Inagua and Hispanola … but not alone.
The voyage was life-affirming and empowering. I see everything through fresh eyes, especially my work. I appreciate how each day shooting is a different and new journey of its own. But really, this could be said of most jobs if people just choose to see it that way.
I’m just glad that there will always be stories to tell, and I love that I get to tell some of them.
I am lucky, indeed.
The best view of Miami ever. Moored at Dinner Key Marina – Coconut Grove.
Toni Garcia Carpenter 