LIFE CAPTURED Connor Jenkins, Opal Moon Media

Thirteen-year-old me didn't know the difference between aperture and a record button, but that didn't stop my father from handing me a Sony DCR mini DVD camcorder after requesting I put my creativity to work. At the time, my father Tom Jenkins, had been a yacht broker for more than 30 years and spotted the current social trend of YouTube and its importance in yacht sales.

Unaware of my own ability and creativity, I was driven by his consistent and gentle encouragement to pick up that camera and start recording his listings. The learning curve was definitely steep. I used what was at my disposal in order to get better: feature learning management systems and YouTube. I studied directors like Scorsese and Lynch to learn the importance of edit timing and the immersive properties of sound design, as well as angles, focal lengths and camera techniques.

Time passed, equipment got better, and encouragement from my father only grew. However, yacht videography was at best a supplemental income while I went through high school and college. It didn’t become a full-time career until after meeting the love of my life.

I was caught completely off guard by her smile and fell immediately in love with a woman who is so incredibly beautiful on the inside that her outward appearance can't help but to be gorgeous. My wife saw that same creative passion in me that my father had seen, and just as he did, she encouraged me relentlessly to pursue a full-time career in media. She'll never boast of her own work, but her talent and eye for photography has been the premiere source of my drive for perfection when I shoot. In fact, I may have never started shooting still photography if it weren't for her.

Yacht photography and videography is an absolute passion of mine. I love every aspect of it. I love the ocean and traveling. I love piloting drones at top speed and capturing the craftsmanship and linework that goes into each individual vessel to make them unique. I love editing down hours of video footage into specialized marketing material that uses very specific audio and visual pacing to help sell these multi-million-dollar vessels. I enjoy overcoming the difficulties of lighting, photographing in tight spaces, and ever changing interiors. Because each vessel differs from one another so drastically, I have the perfect platform to really push my own creative style in the industry. Reviewing older work is what drives me to produce the absolute best material for my clients. Material that is unique, that flows, and that ultimately sells.

I love pretty much every single aspect of what I do and I'm beyond thankful I get to call it a career. Even more so, I deeply love and am thankful to those who have encouraged me to be what I am today. To all the brokers and owners who have trusted me with capturing their vessels, and to those who view my work.

Follow my creative journey at:

@OpalMoonMedia Youtube.com/ opalmoonmedia OpalMoonMedia.pic-time.com/portfolio

Written by Connor Jenkins, Opal Moon Media Photography by Iryna’s Photography