Behind the Scenes for the Catalina Shoot!

New feature for Paid Subs

This kicks off a new series for paid subscribers, a weekly behind the scenes tale about how we went about filming the latest 22-minute episode of Photowalks with an iPhone.

This week: let’s dive into Catalina Island.

As many of you know, I usually shoot the show solo, like an MMJ, a multimedia journalist, setting up the camera on a tripod, doing many trial and error shots until I get it right, and hoping for the best.

Often, I get my wife Ruth to help out. Or other kind souls. I hired a student in Atlanta and in Las Vegas recently, my friend Linda Q. was behind the camera for me.

In Catalina, I brought along two interns who have been working with me this semester from Syracuse University, which has an outpost in Los Angeles. I also brought along two iPhone 17 Pro Maxs—one for intern Kenzie and one for me, two sets of mics, a tripod, a selfie stick and filmmaking cage and a clipboard for Jake, who was acting as script supervisor.

How’d it work out? Read on!