Overview

Life is a journey. It's a well-used phrase. For me, that journey has frequently been a physical one as my work and personal travel has enabled me to explore over 40 countries across 5 continents, fuelling my passion for discovering the nature, people and landscapes they hold. My continuing quest is to find and share stories that connect people with these places. Whether in film-making, photography or relating experiences of observing the natural world with binoculars & telescope, I enjoy the world through a lens. August 2018 found me deep in the Amazon rainforest of Ecuador. A guest of Me to WE, I was there to document the story of 7 youth from across North America as they experienced life in the jungle. What began as a work project quickly evolved into a transformative journey. Meetings with local farmers, taking hikes surrounded by birds & animals, participating in a build project, tapping into the spiritual traditions of the indigenous Kichwa. It had a profound effect on all of us. It sparked a desire in me to combine my passions for travel, wildlife and making connections to create impactful content that shines a light on remote places and especially the people that you meet there. These are powerful stories - whether experienced first hand, or through recorded images, sounds and words. I needed a name for this new venture, and I wanted it to reflect the source of its inspiration. The current name of the lodge where we stayed, nestled on the banks of the Napo River by the village of Mondana is Minga, which means to "work together" in the local Kichwa language, a word that united our group during our trip. Before that, the lodge was called Yachana, which roughly translates as "a place to find knowledge and wisdom". I could not imagine a more fitting name to describe what I wanted to do. And so Yachana Pictures was born - a place to find inspiration, to journey to new places. A place to make connections, and see your world with fresh eyes.