VOICES
Every person carries a story The most interesting people are rarely the ones who sought the spotlight. telling.
They’re the park ranger who’s spent thirty years watching the same canyon change color through every season. The woman who drove across the country alone at seventy-two. The man who left a successful career to learn glassblowing at sixty. The creative who walked away from everything familiar to build something that actually meant something.
I started noticing this during the 50 at 60 trip. The moments that stayed with me weren’t always the landscapes. They were the conversations — the ones that happened in diners, at trailheads, in campsite chairs at dusk. People willing to talk honestly about their lives if you just asked and actually listened.
That’s what this page is for.
What I Do With A Story
I’m a lighting professional. I’ve spent forty years understanding how light defines a moment… the angle, the direction, the temperature. That same instinct applies to an interview. You can feel when someone is finally saying the true thing. And when you frame it right, the viewer feels it too.
The Kim Kahana documentary was the proof of concept. Kim was 92 years old when we made it… a legendary Hollywood stuntman whose career had quietly transformed how stunt work was done. I was the cinematographer, director of photography, editor, music supervisor, and narrator. Too many hats. But the project demanded it, and the story was worth every one of them.
He got to see the finished film. He shed a few tears at the director’s cut screening. A few months later, he passed away.
Kim Kahana: The Man Who Changed Hollywood is now on Amazon Prime. I’m proud of it in a way that’s hard to put into words. Not because of the production… because his story now exists permanently.
That experience changed how I see people. Everyone I meet on this 63 parks journey carries something worth preserving. I want to find some of them and tell their stories right.
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Know a story
worth chasing?
Every person carries a story worth telling. Most never get asked.
I’m looking for two kinds of voices.
The first are the people whose lives intersect with the natural world like park rangers who’ve spent decades watching the same canyon change color, photographers who know exactly where the light hits at 6am, completionists chasing all 63, solo travelers who found something unexpected on a trail they almost didn’t take.
The second are the people navigating the second half like the creative artisans who pivoted, professionals who walked away from something safe to build something meaningful, the mid-lifers who reinvented themselves and are still figuring out what comes next.
Sometimes those two people are the same person.
I’m not looking for celebrities or polished speakers with a brand to protect. I’m looking for people with a perspective earned the hard way and haven’t yet found the right person to ask about it.
In the short term, I want to weave these voices into the stories I’m telling as I work my way through all 63 national parks. Eventually, some of these conversations may become their own thing entirely.
If that’s you, or if you know someone it should be, I want to hear about it. I read everything personally.
You don’t have to have it figured out. You just have to be willing to talk.
Simple process
Real conversations.
These are 20-minute conversations – no prep required, no script, no pressure. Just a real talk about what you know, where you’ve been, and what you’ve seen. I read every submission personally.
- Submit the form – tell me who you are or who you’re nominating, and why the story matters
- I’ll reach out – if it feels like a fit, I’ll send a quick email to set up a time
- We talk – 20 minutes, your story, your way. Recorded for the Chasing Light & Story series
- It goes out to the world – on YouTube and in the weekly email to everyone following the journey
Who I’m Looking For
People who know something most people don’t, and haven’t found the right person to tell it.
- Park Rangers & Staff – especially those with years at one park or unusual postings
- Park Completionists – people who have completed or who are on their own bucket list journey
- Landscape & Nature Photographers – with a point of view, not just a camera
- Sole & Unconventional Travelers – RV life, solo after 50, traveling with pets
- Anyone with an Untold Story – tied to a creative passion, a unique place, a life lived, a turn taken, or just an interesting journey
You don’t have to have it figured out. You just have to be willing to talk.
Submit a Story
Fill out the form below. No pitch deck, no formal proposal, no pressure. Just tell me who you are, what you’ve seen, and why the story matters. I read every submission personally. If there’s a fit, you’ll hear from me directly.
Some of the best stories are the ones nobody thought to ask about.
— Michael