We were recently introduced to Sam Ciurdar, a Southern California-based filmmaker and photographer, who like our friend Jonathan Gipaya, just decided to make the jump into photography and filmmaking on a full-time basis. Sam's creative resume boasts names like The Mindy Project, and clients have included the likes of McDonald's Lifeproof, and Heineken, so it came as no surprise to us that he had decided to take the entrepreneurial plunge.
As we chatted with Sam and got to know him more, we also discovered that he and his wife Amanda have a passion for travel and were about to embark on a trip to the Pacific Northwest. Perfect opportunity for a "Where ONA Goes" post, we thought, but we'll let you make the call for yourself!
Sam Ciurdar carries the Leather Prince Street in Antique Cognac
Sam Ciurdar: Traveling is one of my wife's and my favorite things to do, and Oregon is one of our favorite places to go to -- we hope to move there one day.
I always try to take my camera with me, and on every trip, I like to shoot photos and create a video of our travels -- not because I love to live behind the camera, but because I want to create memories. I’m a huge believer of putting the camera down and being present in the moment, but I still like to capture moments so I can relive them later on. Taking a picture to me or making a video is like time traveling, but you don’t need to hit 88 miles per hour in a DeLorean -- you just need to hit "record" on a camera.
My wife and I also love meeting people. We live for community and hope to make an impact wherever we go! On Instagram, instameets are a huge thing, so I created the hashtag #instameetswithpurpose. With this, we always try to rally around a need. We’ve had hundreds of people attend our instameets and provided hundreds of cans of food and blankets for local homeless shelters. And that’s just the beginning!
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