Finding Home

“Finding Home” was created by Daniel Burgess in Mexico summer 2015

Finding+Home

Teresa Knecht, Intern

Daniel Burgess ‘18 created a short film in Mexico called, “Finding Home.” Featuring Mexico’s nature, landscapes, and surfing sessions. Also while in Mexico Burgess blacked out on a risky surfing session.

Burgess has a great fondness over photography and film for several years, and December of 2014, he pursued his passion for both when starting to create films and exploration photography with friends.

A hurricane about 500 miles off shore was about to hit Mazatlán, therefore Burgess decided to wake up before sunrise and go to the beach as fast as he could to surf and do photography. “The ocean was glassy and there was no wind. The conditions were amazing,” Burgess said. “The waves began to be choppy, the conditions weren’t as safe as I would like them to be, I dropped on the biggest wave I saw all day, but my board nose drives and got sucked up into the wave and I got pushed all the way to the bottom. I’m guessing for several seconds and next I woke up underwater. I wake up without breath and as you would guess it was difficult to get my strength to drag myself to the surface.” Burgess said. After an amazing surfing session Burgess said. The next morning, he went surfing again despite the events from the previous day.

When filming “Finding Home” “I didn’t have a plan for it, just kinda went with it,” Burgess said. “When I had enough film, I compressed it in a order that made sense. Surfing and film/photography was the main reason I went to Mexico and for surfing.” Burgess’s short film, features clips of Mexico while using his go-pro and his Canon T5I for shots of nature, scenery and surfing.

Burgess and his good friend, Nick Pryor have gone on several exploration photography sessions together. “Nick started with an idea or concept and I would dig more deep into it and turn it into life,” Burgess said. Although, the real push for Burgess to get into adventuring was, “The onset of urban adventuring was really new and school started to get boring so why not?”
December 2014 Burgess began to start exploring with Pryor, this is the main reason why he got more serious about photography and film making, and also along came exploration.

Burgess also adventures out downtown, Iowa City, with friend, Soren Schmidt ’18. Last fall, while exploring, “It was super rainy and we both ended up slipping around. It was pretty sweg.” said Schmidt. While trying to get shots of the rainstorm and lighting.
“Exploring downtown in -15 weather was terrible,” Pryor said. Burgess and Pryor together freezed themselves almost to the point of frostbite to get some shots with the snow.

Burgess looking toward the future in photography/film making, “I will always improve and have room to improve, makes me feel like I still have a ways to go.” Burgess is currently working another film, a screenplay he is writing and producing with Pryor as help.