Today we’d like to introduce you to Bradley Lanphear.
Hi Bradley, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I began my career in 2010 as a wedding photographer along with my wife in my hometown of Scranton, PA. We specialized in fine art documentary style photography and marketed towards couples doing unique stylized weddings. We did very well and gained a fair amount of recognition, both by word of mouth (the best marketing) and by getting featured in wedding industry publications.
We didn’t want to stay in weddings and didn’t want to stay in Scranton, so in 2016 we moved to Bend, Oregon and I started doing commercial and editorial photography and my wife shifted into full-time homeschooling of our four kids. I did a lot of editorial photography for a Pacific Northwest lifestyle magazine called 1859 which sent me on some pretty cool stories with a wide range of subjects.
One of those assignments was photographing a joint training exercise between the US Coast Guard and a civilian fire and rescue dive team. We went out on a Coast Guard vessel in Coos Bay, and I photographed divers jumping from a helicopter into the ocean, conducting simulated rescues and then being hoisted back up into the helicopter. That was supposed to be just a small article buried in the magazine, but the images that I came back with were so cool, it ended up on the cover and also got a 5 page spread.
Later I also got assigned to a story about avalanche rescue dogs with the ski patrol in Oregon and I found myself buried in a snow mound at Mt Bachelor with my camera and a ski patrol dog trainer while the dogs located us by scent and dug us out. On that same project, I traveled to Mt Hood and photographed an exercise where the ski patrol simulated a power outage of a ski lift and then rappelled the rescue dogs down from the lift… It’s a pretty cool sight to see a golden retriever rappelling.
I also did a lot of photography for a non-profit called Oregon Adaptive Sports which helps disabled people be able to enjoy outdoor sports like kayaking, mountain biking, rock climbing, skiing etc, all with specialized equipment for people with limited mobility.
In 2017, one of my commercial photography clients asked me to shoot a video which, was something that I had never done before, I thought to myself, “Sure how much different can it be? It’s still cameras.” I had no idea what I was getting into and how different video is from photography… and I loved it. That experience totally flipped my interest towards cinematography and filmmaking. Still photography will always be my first love, but video and filmmaking took over my career direction.
Shortly after that I ended up directing a 3-part mini doc series for Oregon Adaptive Sports during the winter of 2017-2018. We noticed that most films in the adaptive sports space were much more geared towards being emotionally driven stories about facing difficulties. Those stories are important, but we wanted to take a different path and make an adrenaline driven ski film. I’m not much a skier myself, so I hired my Hollywood friend Michael Belardi as a ski cinematographer to capture most of the action shots of the adaptive athletes riding sit-skis.
That 3 part series can be seen here: https://bradleylanphear.com/project/oregon-adaptive-sports/
That experience went a long way to help establish me locally in the non-profit doc space. I did do some commercial filmmaking, but I focused mostly on non-profits and more story-driven content. Lots of branded short films and nonprofit short docs and one very unique, orchestral music video that won some very prestigious awards including a Hollywood Music in Media Award (Thanks to our composer) Best Narrative Short Film at the Bend Film Festival, and Best Art Music Video at the International Music Video Awards in 2020.
I was also fortunate to get to do some international work in Central America and Africa.
I spent a lot of time working with and for other production companies as a camera operator and gaffer. I also, unintentionally, ended up with a group of students who found me in various ways and asked for internships. Starting in 2020, I had 3 interns (2 in high school and one graduate), who would work as my crew on real client projects, and once a week I would teach them film school at my studio. Ironically my first intern, a 19 year old kid named Cole is the grandson of a famous Hollywood cinematographer named John J. Connor. His son (Cole’s uncle), John T. Connor is also a legendary cinematographer and the two of them have worked on some the biggest movies ever made. Movies like ET, Rocky IV, Fight Club, The Revenant, Get this… John J. Connor was the A Cam operator on Top Gun… John T. Connor was the A Cam operator on Top Gun Maverick. How’s that for a family legacy? I was fortunate enough to get to meet them both and actually interview them each on-camera in their homes. Pretty wild.
So I did pretty well and began gaining some industry recognition there in Bend Oregon. I ended up getting hired in Nov 2021 as a full-time Director/Cinematographer for a military documentary series called American Warriors, but unfortunately the covid pandemic forced us to leave central Oregon in 2022 due to the cost of living spiking so high. We came to Texas, but I was still working for the American Warriors series. Coming here turned out to be a great thing for that series because of the high population of veterans that live in Texas. Some of the best veteran stories I ever filmed came from Texas.
Here’s one of the that 42 episodes I produced for that series: https://bradleylanphear.com/project/aw-haden-fullam/
Unfortunately though, that series got cancelled in early 2024 and I was suddenly forced to look for a job again. Currently, I am part-time employed in the video department at a global disruptive marketing company called Marketscale and also part-time self employed. Still doing short films and commercial photography and also in the early stages of joining a new team which will be focused on making short documentaries for overseas missionaries doing significant humanitarian work in some of the most challenging places on earth.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The highlights I just mentioned above might make it seem like a smooth road, but the reality is that my career path has been about as smooth as the roads in a bombed out war zone. I’ve faced just about every let down and disappointment you can imagine. Anyone who has ever started a new business knows it takes a few years to get established and become profitable. Well, my career has essentially been a repeating cycle of starting over in new places and new markets. Getting to a high point, and then moving again and having to start back at square one again. That’s hard.
Combined with countless let downs where would-be potential client contracts would fizzle out at the last minute and leave me scrambling to find the next client and my next paycheck. Unfortunately when I started this career, business management wasn’t an existing skillset for me. I never went to college and IF I had, I wouldn’t have gone to school for business. Now… with 16 years of experience under my belt, I tell newcomers all the time, don’t go to art school, go to business school and you’ll be light years ahead of the competition in any creative field.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I have never wanted to “compete” in the film industry, but rather make myself an expert in cinematography and lighting and be a collaborator and asset to other production companies. I’ve gone down a deep rabbit hole of knowledge about cameras, lighting and technology and because of that, I often find myself on speed dial from other companies when they want to take a project to the next level.
When I got hired at my current part-time position, they were looking for someone to help them improve their studio lighting and production quality. It’s been just over a year there and now they’re having me designing entire studios from scratch.
I’m proud of my ability to work with pretty much any production company and feel confident in my skills and approach to creative problem solving.
My nonprofit clients love my work and style of story telling which has been very effective at helping them reach their own goals.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
I often hear people say “It’s all about who you know”… I disagree…
Back when I got to meet John J. Connor and interview him, he said something that stuck with me ever since…
“It’s not about who you know, it’s about who knows YOU.”
One of my favorite scriptures from the Bible is Proverbs 22:29 “Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings and not low ranking people.”
I have built my entire career on making relationships and doing work that makes a lasting impression.
That’s the best piece of wisdom I can share.
I also do woodwork and build custom artisan tables and desks.
www.chiselandsaw.co
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bradleylanphear.com
- Instagram: @bradleylanphear
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bradleylanphearphoto
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradley-lanphear-03360573/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@bradleylanphearfilms
