GUEST BLOGGING BY DAVE ABBOT WITH DAVE AND A CAMERA

From Miles : I'm excited at the way our blogs have blown up lately. With so many people checking in day after day to see the little adventures we've been on and hear about our amazing clients I want to start opening up this platform from time to time for our friends and vendors to have a place to give some advice and a bit of their perspective. If you've been paying attention to us for long you're already pretty familiar with Dave. He's a close friend and our in house videographer but he also is the mastermind behind his own cinema company "Dave and a Camera". We love having him as a part of our team and love his perspective on life. I'm excited to hand this blog over to him and hope you all enjoy a break from my rants!

“Just DO IT! Make your dreams come true! Just DO IT!” - Shia LaBeouf

Done and done.

I love traveling, and I love filming weddings. This last week was a whole lot of both. From Texas, to Florida, to Indiana, to Illinois, we were all over the place, and we loved it.

Going from Los Angeles to a Camp in the corner of eastern Oklahoma was quite the transition for me, but only being a short drive away from one of the fastest growing areas in the country made it a bit smoother. I live in Oklahoma and work in Arkansas, so any given day I’ve traveled between the two states two or three times. If that doesn’t convince you I love to travel, then this will. For weddings, we’ve shot in the four corners in US, Seattle, LA, Maine, and Pensacola.

Traveling and exploring is in my nature. It’s something close to my heart and on these trips I’ve learned just how to be a traveling videographer. Here are the top 5 things I learned from my travels.

1. Learn to pack well.

Now this seems quite obvious, but when you’ve got 4 cameras, 6 lenses, dozens of batteries, sd cards, audio equipment, tripods, monopods, and an expensive Movi, packing well is a must. After a few trips I finally learned how to pack and how to pack well. First you need to know what your airline will allow. Southwest allows two free checked bags, and that’s a huge plus because for video I bring a LOT of equipment. Having those free checked bags saves me a few hundred in fees right off the bat. I invested in a good camera backpack, a good hard case for equipment, a good suitcase, and a fairly large duffle for the heavier equipment. This allows me to not only keep everything organized while traveling but allows me to have a lot of space in a small number of bags. That is key. Use your space wisely and pack smart. You have to think not only about the wedding days, but the travel days, the days your working from your hotel or in the car. Be thinking; how can I stay organized when I’m packing, unpacking, and repacking every few days?

2. Keep track of everything

This will be shorter that the last one because it’s simple. Keep track of everything. There are apps, and really a ton of things that help you keep track of gas, expenses, hotel information, flight information, and so on. Gotta find them and use them wisely, because it’ll make your travels easier and keep you sane.

3. Work and Play

There are times for work and there are times for play. I was very fortunate to know some of the people at the Indiana wedding because they are from home in LA. We were able to hang out in Chicago the days after the wedding and explore and enjoy a beautiful city, but I also had to work. I had to continue to answer emails, edit, and keep up with life going on at home. Luckily I have an amazing wife who supports my crazy travels and loves that I get to dream big and go after what I love. So remember, there are times for work, and times for play. Just because you’re traveling doesn’t mean everyday is a vacation day. Which is really hard to say when you are flown to Pensacola, FL for a wedding. :)

4. Eat, Sleep, Repeat

Definitely the second one for sure. It can be hard to want only to work when you’re in a city that you love and want to explore, but to be rested for your work and to keep your health up you gotta eat, sleep, repeat. While in Florida I had some of the best grilled oysters and crab legs I’ve ever had! I slept well after entering a food coma. I’m not saying you have to go on a diet and eat super healthy on your trips (only if you want to!). The eating part I would say is more enjoyable when you’re eating local Chicago style pizza, grilled oysters, and In-N-Out burger. :)

GOPRO selfie with about 100 complete strangers in downtown Chicago

5. No Lights, No Camera, Action

This last point may not be for everyone. I definitely had an awesome time traveling with my friend Max, who assisted me on the shoots, and loved getting to film incredible weddings all over the US. As a videographer I want to have my camera with me all the time and film. I don’t want to miss anything and want to capture all that I can, but there were moments where I had to say no to bringing my GoPro or my other cameras because I wanted to enjoy where I was at. I wanted taken in the city through my eyes and not through the screen of a camera. I make my living by looking at the back of a camera, so to take it away for a few moments and take in a Pensacola sunset, downtown Chicago life, and the uniqueness of Marion, Indiana was something that I won’t regret anytime soon.

Now there are more things I could go through but I would say those are my top 5 things I learned from being a traveling videographer. Traveling as a videographer is one of my favorite things to do because I get to see new places, meet new people, and film in places I may not have ever heard of. Now to bring it all back around.

“Just DO IT! Make your dreams come true! Just DO IT!” - Shia LaBeouf

-Dave . Videographer. Traveler. Adventurer.