HIGH-TECH,
LOW-MAINTENANCE
Our photo/video toolshed is well-stocked with Sony FS7, A7SII, a bunch of lenses, DJI gimbals, Mavic Pro 2 drone (with FAA-approved pilot), lighting, rigging and sound kits, and we never pass up a ride in a helicopter. But we try not to get bogged down in gear and tech specs. We’ve found that building rapport, being flexible, and thinking quickly matter as much as having the right equipment.
MICHAEL HANSON
MICHAEL HANSON liked baseball a lot, enough to sleep on an inflatable mattress in the kitchen of a two-bedroom apartment in Danville, VA for an entire season while playing in the Atlanta Braves organization. His greatest baseball move occurred near midnight on a routine speeding violation. Instead of getting a ticket, Michael had the two Georgia highway patrolmen swinging bats in the emergency lane. He signed the old wooden bats for the uniformed men and got off scotch-free. By the time that career ended, he was becoming more interested in documenting off-field baseball life with his Minolta X700 film camera. Fifteen years later, Michael can't throw the ball as hard after a whitewater-induced rotator cuff surgery, but he dominates all bar games: shuffleboard-cornhole-SkeeBall-ping pong. He's won a few photo awards, too : PDN30 New & Emerging Photographer (2013), POYi, and Communication Arts as well as One of the World's Top Travel Photographers by Popular Photography Magazine, and Images of the Year by American Photo. He's represented by National Geographic Creative and is a frequent contributor to The New York Times and Outside Magazine.
DAVID HANSON
DAVID HANSON began his career as a travel writer and editor with a national magazine. He co-authored the book, Breaking Through Concrete (2011, University of CA Press), a chronicle of America’s urban farm movement. The reporting involved a two-month cross-country farm tour while living out of a short school bus. Over the last decade his writing and storytelling work has evolved toward documentary and commercial films. He has traveled long distances by bike, kayak, and canoe. In 2013, alongside his brother Michael, David wrote, co-directed and "starred" in the award-winning doc film, "Who Owns Water." His 2017 travel broadcast about visiting National Parks with his dad won a Lowell Thomas Award. David has contributed stories for The Bitter Southerner, Preservation, Canoe & Kayak, Mountain, Southern Living, Sunset, Travel Oregon, Outside, among others. Commercial and non-profit clients include Farmers Conservation Alliance, The Renewal Workshop, WhyHunger, American Rivers, REI, Starbucks, Brooks Running, and Friends of the Columbia Gorge.