Short, Sweet & Simple. That’s exactly what this first blog post should be. I have no major topic in mind or motivation beyond an initial introduction. My 9th-grade history teacher would always warn me to be more concise and direct. Let’s just say she would call me a “wordy writer.” I’ll do my best to put the lessons of my youth to good use.
First, thanks for stopping by and spending a few minutes here with me. My name is Danny Trombley. I’m a content creator, filmmaker, photographer and web designer/developer. Prior to leaving my corporate life, I worked as a Solutions Engineer. The role often goes by a couple of other names like Sales Engineer or Solutions Architect. I would support the entire sales team through their sales process, helping them overcome technical objections, demo our products and provide pre and post sales support to the sales staff and customers. I spent nearly 6 years in that role for a couple of different companies. Prior to that, I was a Sales Representative for 3 years.
Corporate life was never my favorite. I always had these big ideas of self-employment and living life as I saw fit. Living under a structure created for me by someone else was difficult for me to stomach. I am sure my bosses would gladly tell you I pushed the limits of that structure quite far and made each day my own. Not only was it better for me to forge my own path, but I think my bosses also realized it was easier for them to just let me be lol. Is it ok to use lingo like “lol?” In today’s world I am so used to it I think I’ll just keep it going. Although I was making great money I still wasn’t happy. Let me rephrase, I was happy but, I was not fulfilled. Not even close. About 7 months ago I reached my limits and decided to pursue self-employment full time.
Ok, Ok. Let’s get back on track.
I fell in love with Photography and Filmmaking in an odd way. I was trying out for Red Bull Crashed Ice, which is a downhill race on hockey skates. One of the ways to be selected to compete was by creating a video entry to be voted on. The top 10 entries were supposed to receive a spot. I finished third and somehow they decided to only bring the top entry. I GOT SCREWED!! Long story short I bought a GoPro to film the video. I enjoyed the process of writing a shot list, filming and even the editing (although I was using the early iteration of GoPro studio which constantly crashed). But this wasn’t exactly when I fell in love. But it was my first taste and ultimately led to what came next.
The Red Bull video was published on YouTube in January of 2014. Lets fast forward a year and 9 months later when my friends and I decided to go on a Carnival Cruise from Tampa to Cozumel, Mexico. I had my GoPro that I barely touched after filming the crashed ice video and figured it would be perfect to film some memories of my friends and me while on vacation. So that is exactly what I did. I had zero clue about what I was actually doing. No cinematic movements, poor composition and a pretty rough excuse for a story. But I loved it. No clue why or what changed but, it was all I could think about. I downloaded Adobe Premiere Pro and edited the video and published to YouTube a month later.
From that point on I did all the research I could possibly do to determine what I need in a camera, lenses, accessories or how to edit this, how to edit that. For anyone who knows me when I am passionate about something, I’m a bit obsessive in my quest to understand it all and become great at it. I love the process of learning. I would take my phone and GoPro with me and film short time lapses of the city or beach. Finally, in December of 2015, I bought my very first real camera. The Panasonic G7 with the kit 14-44mm kit lens. Also came with a free Audiotechnica Shotgun mic. Actually, this was my second camera. I bought an old Canon Rebel Xsi a couple years prior for product photos of a watch accessory I was selling. Used my phone instead. But, the Panasonic was certainly enough to get me started and did me right for a couple of years. And as they say, the rest is history.
I’ll admit I never thought that I would be this passionate about this art form. Wasn’t even on my radar. Hit me out of nowhere at 28 years old. But, to be honest that’s the best part of life. Keep an open mind and also be out there experiencing new things. A new idea, love or passion and happiness don’t find you unless you get out there and explore to meet it along the way.
So I’ll say thanks again for stopping by. Keep your eyes and ears open for future articles and tutorials about filmmaking, photography and other related tech.
