https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM4AF4lES2Y&feature=youtu.be

This is the link for Keratin Gold, the documentary I created concerning the rhino poaching epidemic in South Africa.  It tells the story of Bonnie and Clyde, a rhino pair victimized by the brutality and ignorance of rhino poaching.

A F R I C A - the one place I always dreamed of going.  I'm not sure whether it was my obsession with The Lion King or my dorky admiration for National Geographic but I always wanted to test myself and experience the raw nature of Africa.  If Meryl Streep can do it - so can I.

I lived in Mossel Bay, South Africa for one month - June 2013. I was there to learn how to film wildlife documentaries - so this was just a trifecta of awesomeness: Africa, Animals, Filming.  Does it get better? Not really.

The first day, at breakfast a small group of us decided not to waste a single minute.  So we ate our off-brand rice krispies and called a local taxi service.  We were going to ride elephants.  Yes - it sounds very touristy and typical Americana but it is a necessity.  My elephants name was Sam and he was the most rad elephant ever.  Words cannot describe the size and power of these elephants.  Not only did I get a great picture out of it, but I was truly humbled by the power of these creatures.  Africa tends to do that.  

Zebras.  They are the rockstars of the game reserve.  And I love them.  This was after a preliminary shoot we did to learn how to use the P2 cameras and shoot sequences.  As we were leaving we came across a large group of them.  They were so tame and they loved the camera.  Probably because they're so damn photogenic, I mean they look cool no matter what.

Giraffes are beautifully awkward.  And I appreciate them for that.  If you are to ever approach a giraffe, you have to be pretty stealthy... they hate attention.  And despite their awkward presence, they run rather gracefully.  To me, they symbolize the epitome of Africa and therefore I took a lot of pictures of them.  And yes, that is a giraffe in front of a rainbow.  No, it is not photoshopped.   Just proof that South Africa is perfect in a heaven-like kind of way.  

Lions, probably the most terrifying yet cuddly creatures in the world.  As we watched them devour a bush pig one night, even with the sound of bones popping and blood smearing all over their faces, I still found them adorable... it's kind of dysfunctional.  We slept in small wooden sheds in the bush, and with no lighting or electricity, their roars undoubtedly kept me up at night.  I should have never watched The Ghost and the Darkness... 

This day was perfect in a multitude of ways.  First, the weather was much warmer than it had previously been, and it was my first day off of filming and editing in a couple of weeks.  Our excursion of the day was to go sand boarding - South Africa's version of snowboarding.  The dunes were magnificent and looked out over the ocean, none of it ever really seemed real.  I was wearing my lucky Red Hot Chili Peppers t-shirt so I like to think that it gave me good vibes - awesome stuff always seems to happen when I wear that shirt.  This is my friend Kate and I feeling like Benjamin Button and ruling the world.