Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Castellano.
Hi Michael, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
As the son of a wedding photographer, I’ve been in the photography space my whole life. I can remember sitting at the dinner table, talking about the depth of field and exposure time. In the third grade, I did a slideshow of historically relevant buildings around New England.
Fast forward to, 2020, moved to Florida, during the pandemic and became obsessed with surfing, skating, and all things water-related, and the cultures that surround it.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The struggle is real! Most of my professional life has been wrought with empty promises and failures, whether they are mine or the companies. It’s not important but with First Coast Glide, I have been able to regain my feeling of importance and self-worth. Also, it’s allowing me to work in a creative space once again.
A real barrier to entry in my world is the initial cost of entry. And by cost, it could be the actual cost of equipment, from a dollar amount perspective, or the time cost of learning new software, etc…
One of the biggest challenges I face personally is being too critical. When a shot doesn’t line up perfectly, or the vision didn’t come together as you saw it in your brain, is resisting the temptation to scrap the whole project. I think as creatives we spend a lot of time being hyper-critical of ourselves and sometimes we need to take a step back, realize what we’re trying to produce, content-wise, and work backwards from there.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My specialties are surfing, skating, SUP, and live music. My willingness to put myself in dangerous situations, to get shots that no one else is willing to get is one thing that sets me apart.
The other big thing is how fast I can make content, and push it out. I use my iPhone Pro for most things, so sometimes even before the event is fully over, I can have the footage, up, edited, and music overlayed, and pushed out to all social media sites.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
Little league All-star team games. We would travel to places and hang out. We were probably 10 years old and we were pretty good too!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firstcoastglide
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/firstcoastglide
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/FirstCoastGlide
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqXc4NCiRy68dP45LKDXPSw
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@firstcoastglide
