2020 was one crazy year. I am fortunate enough to be in a position as a freelance photographer with very little overhead that I can easily pivot from subject to subject. Even though I was missing out on a lot of concerts/music festivals/events/etc. that I normally love to shoot, I am grateful that I was still able to work the majority of 2020 through various other photographic projects. One of the most EXCITING opportunities I got out of last year was getting to shoot behind the scenes still photography for a Louisiana episode of a docuseries by National Geographic called IMPACT with Gal Gadot.

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Ok so you’re probably wondering- did I meet Gal Gadot? No, but I DID get to work with an exceptional crew in the Grand Caillou/Dulac, Louisiana area to help capture the story of Chief Shirell Parfait-Dardar, the first female chief of her southern Louisiana tribe (the Grand Caillou/Dulac Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw.) Her ancestors have lived on the land for hundreds of years, and they are now expected to be among the United States’ first climate refugees. The IMPACT series focuses on six women who are making an extraordinary impact on their communities around the world. Chief Shirell’s episode followed the story of how she is impacting the legacy of her ancestors, the lives of her community today and the future of her people.

I was on set for 2 days and had the opportunity to capture a lot of the documentary process behind the scenes, which was really exciting because I am a nerd about that kind of stuff- not to mention it’s every photographer’s dream to photograph for National Geographic in any capacity!!

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My photos were mainly used for press and internal purposes as far as I can tell, but it was so cool to get the PR emails about the show and see my shots in different publications! The hardest part has been staying quiet all this time waiting for the show to come out.

The particular episode I photographed for was episode 5, “Killer Red Fox” (linked below) but I encourage you to watch the entire series on National Geographic’s YouTube channel. The documentary short series was first released digitally (weekly) on YouTube and IGTV, and then it was shown as a a feature-length documentary special that premiered on TV on the National Geographic channel on June 24. Now it is airing globally in 142 countries and 43 languages! You can also download the Nat Geo TV app and stream it for free there.

National Geographic is iconic for a reason. I have so much respect after seeing the behind the scenes action and the final product on TV. Bravo to the whole crew for the beautiful work they created and to the women spotlighted in this series who are making an impact in their communities! I am so grateful for the opportunity to have been a small part of the process.