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Kyle Murphy & Air Drops for Puerto Rico
When LOOKSLIKEFILM Member Kyle Murphy posted this image in the group, we immediately had to know all about it and how we can help. These guys are doing the good work of getting much needed necessities to the many people still without running water and electricity in Puerto Rico.
Uh. Maze. Ing.
Joel Ifill Making Drops, this and all images by Jim Murphy.
Check out what Jim has to say about Air Drops for Puerto Rico:
Tell us a something about yourself, Kyle. Where are you from? Married? Pets? How did you get into photography?
I'm from Ann Arbor, MI, single, and I travel with a German Shepard.
My mother's side of the family is huge, so I was 17, already shooting as a hobby, when I gave some prints to my cousin of his son's birthday. He paid me in return and the lightbulb turned on. Haha! I could have fun and get paid?! Mind. Blown. I was a mechanic for 3 years getting self-certified, then took off on an epic road trip for the first time. New truck (currently still going strong at 215k), new dog (adopted at age 2) and the open road. Found Colorado amongst all of the glorious other perfect locations. Came back to get my shit, and moved. I come from a family of “learn by doing” type mentality. That gave me a less stressful strength to fight for the photographer's dream. I was a valet/bartender on the side while organically building my business by word-of-mouth. Ya know, lots of cheap/ free shoots for the first year or two to get off the ground. Shot my first wedding as an assistant (first and only time i’ve done that). The bride and groom reached out to me separately from the “hired” photographer to tell me that they loved my photos the most . . . that wasn’t a boost of confidence at allllll. Since then I took those photos, built the crappiest website, moved all over the states - Chi, Den, Asheville, Santa Cruz, New Mexico, building my clientele of families to photograph as I drove around the states. It was kind of an accident. Curating my clients as I moved around the country. Tried buying a house, but pulled out and decided to fill the wanderlust side of my heart. Instead I got a little to buzzed on craigslist, emailed some airstream sellers, woke up to a couple replies, checked it out, and BOOM all of a sudden I’m pulling a 3,000 lb, 1952 Airstream behind my 2007 Nissan Xterra. SIDE NOTE - I was traveling/living in my Xterra for a year with my rooftop tent before I decided to check out the “tiny house living idea”, which, tiny house era had yet to begin. I grew up having vacations with the family (one sister that’s younger). Dragged the trailer back to Denver, where I gutted it completely from the floor up and made it my own. It’s completely off grid, which I knew I needed since I was traveling/posting up on fire trails or campgrounds for most of that first year with the trailer. Solar, composting toilet, woodstove. I’ve been traveling in my “home” for the past 3 years. Been a riot of a ride, but am happy with the decisions and paths that have been presented to me thus far. I am currently sitting in Boston after shooting a wedding all day yesterday, flying to Vietnam to shoot some more and back to Denver for another wedding, btw . . .
How did you get involved with Joel Ifill, DASH Systems, and Air Drops for Puerto Rico?
Joel is an old high school friend. It’s his start up and called me out of the blue to see if I could make him look good on the first flight of his new precision air drop technology.
How much of Maria’s devastation is visible from the air? Downed power lines? Washed-out roads and bridges? Roofless homes?
A shit ton. Roofs gone. Animals washed away. Water poisoned and dirty.
When making drops, are there visible gestures of celebration or gratitude from the folks on the ground?
Not that we can tell. There’s a small crew on the ground to accept the packages.
What has been the most challenging aspect of this mission for you personally?
Keeping the mosquitos off of my while sleeping in the hostel or the beach. Haha! Lots of standing water.
What has been the most rewarding?
Knowing that I did better than Trump tossing paper towels.
What gear are you using?
5dmiii 16-35 L 2.8. GoPro5 on a karma grip for stabilization.
Are you still there? If so, how long do you expect be helping and documenting the air drops?
Plan on going back if more people donate. Will go as long/often as I can.
How can we help?
Donate what you can to our GoFundMe!
Your donation goes towards one thing only: delivering packages anywhere on the island with no excuses. Any donation helps push our mission forward and allows us to sustain operations. Beyond donations, if you know of organizations or individuals in need of delivery please contact us and we can work together to help Puerto Rico.
Thanks, everybody!
Let's donate now and show these guys the awesome power of the LOOKSLIKEFILM community!
"Did I leave the oven on?"
Follow kyle!
Posted by Seth Langner, Contributing Editor, Florida & Destination Wedding Photographer, http://karmathartic.com/
