Dan Goldberg Slows Down, Looks Around and Makes Something Real

Slow Down. Look Around. Make Something Real.

Sometimes you have to slow down, move with intention, and notice everything around you.

We live in a world that doesn't allow for that. Technology has us moving at a pace that would have seemed impossible a generation ago. Deadlines were yesterday. Productions move so fast there's no room to play, to explore, to be genuinely creative. No space for serendipity, no room for the happy accident.

I think about this often.

I think about what I love most about photography and directing films. Commercial or personal, it doesn't matter. I want the work to be great. When it's finished, I want to know that my crew and I did everything we possibly could. I give a shit about the craft. I want the audience to feel that.

So every year or so, I pick up old technology on purpose. I do it to force myself to slow down.

Don't get me wrong. I love digital. I sleep well knowing we have everything we need in the can and the clients are happy. But I also miss what film gives you: the happy accidents, the unpredictability, the magic that no algorithm can manufacture.

That's why we chose to shoot 16mm film for The Resort at Paws Up. In collaboration with my Producer, Andrew Kusznir, and my Cinematographer, Simon Reinert, we wanted something timeless and beautiful, and film was simply the right choice for that project. It's harder. It's slower. It demands more of everyone on set. But it's worth it.

We also shot 35mm with Take Care Productions for Miller Lite, an incredible experience that reminded me what it feels like to be fully committed to a frame. And I had the rare pleasure of shooting 8x10 tintypes with artist Saul Becker at Mutuus Made. With the help of my great friend Bob Esparza, we worked through one of the oldest photographic processes still alive, and it reminded me, deeply, why I became a photographer in the first place.

I feel genuinely fortunate to do what I do. And I've learned that slowing down isn't a step backward. It's how you find your way back to what inspired you to begin with.