This was a rare win. David Ochoa and I teamed up on this one, and these kinds of stories don’t come around often.

White Horse sits right next to the station. No drive time meant I could dial everything in the way I needed it. I ran the Insta 360 for the majority of the shots. The trade-off with the 360 is the extra editing—you have to frame everything in post. But being next door gave me the time to do it right.

Usually on night shoots, I’m racing the clock. Not this time.

This story hit different for me. I was on shift the night of the Main Street fire. It was my birthday. Looking back at that footage now, I can see how much I’ve grown. Back then, I just grabbed the camera and shot handheld off my shoulder. The chief photographer watched my footage and gave it to me straight: use sticks. Better shots, better package.

That advice stuck. I use a tripod every time now. This shoot reminded me how far I’ve come since that fire.