ABOUT OWEN BISSELL
I grew up near San Francisco, exploring Northern California’s coastline and Sierra Nevada mountains. My love of science brought me to UC San Diego for undergraduate work and then on to Montana State University’s Science and Natural History Filmmaking Program, where I completed my MFA and thesis film on salmon in the Pacific Northwest.
Since then, I have spent the last 15 years as a cinematographer filming a wide range of subject matter and for various clients, from National Geographic to Adobe. Through the lens I’ve had a chance to see the world as a complex and wondrous landscape of cultures, creatures and powerful geologic forces. In my work I strive to shine a light on subject matters that value the ecosystem and humanity’s place within.
My experiences have taken me from mountain streams in Japan to the Peruvian Amazon; to the vertical cliffs of Yosemite National Park and the harsh deserts of the Colorado River delta. I am as comfortable lighting complicated scenes in engineering labs as I am lugging heavy tripods through snow to film giant sequoias in winter. I am thankful for every opportunity that expands my understanding of the world. It is a great privilege to share this with others.