Fred Sprinkle

Age: 22
Hometown: Anacortes, WA
Role: 2nd Camera Man/Audio, Motion Graphics, Music

Biography

During the initial dream stage of the “Wrong Way to Hope” adventure, Mike Lang challenged Aaron Bryant and I to consider leading the film crew. Not only was this an extreme honor, but it was also an opportunity to grow our skills by filming in an extreme and remote environment. I had once before been on the Owhyee river, but never with the serious responsibility of capturing the personal stories of cancer survivors. When we embarked on the trip I was prepared for beautiful landscapes, new friends and a physically exhausting filming experience. What I didn’t expect was that I would be once again enamored by the Owhyee’s ruddy cliff walls and deeply moved by the lives and strength of the survivors. For me the most challenging part of filming on the river was physical exhaustion. During a normal day on the job I probably use 30% of my physical resources and have 70% left to devote to being creative and relational. On the Owhyee adventure those numbers were in reverse, making it tough, at times, to think about the next great shot or question to ask participants. There was gear to be hauled, gear to be paddled, gear to be set up and gear to be taken down. At times it was tough, but looking back even hauling gear was a rewarding experience. One of my favorite/most difficult memories was the time I lost a camera with important footage underwater when my kayak flipped. All the survivors were super concerned and started searching and praying. Finally, Kurtis, one of the trip leaders, submerged from deep in the current with the camera in his hands. Everyone started cheering.