Who is Big Sur?

Not just a region in California, not just high-end video production space in Hamilton, NJ, but also a man!

Joe “Big Sur” Henry

Greetings weary web traveler! It is I, Big Sur, welcoming you to my very own blog post! I admit, having even more about me on my website does feel a bit self aggrandizing, but the truth is that we are a small business and a personal approach is important to us. So if you got your whistle wet when you browsed my brief bio and you felt you wanted to dive a little deeper, here you go!

My journey to becoming a cinematographer was hardly traditional. Growing up I wanted to play bass for Jesus Christ Superstar, design video games like Starcraft, or, after reading/watching Carl Sagan’s Contact, find evidence for intelligent life as part of the SETI program. In retrospect, I dabbled a bit in all of those ideas before eventually finding myself behind a camera.

I studied both Music and Astrophysics in school, earning my B.S. in Astrophysics and my M.M. in Music Performance. During my studies I was employed as a research assistant, doing data collection and cataloging as part of a project investigating Cepheid Variable stars. I also worked as a musician playing bass in a country band touring state and county fairs across the Midwest, along with a regular weekly gig playing in a Top 40 cover band in and around Minneapolis.

After graduate school I found myself improbably working for Epic Systems, based outside of Madison, Wisconsin. Epic is a comprehensive enterprise software solution for large hospital networks. I had very little background in coding, but I was good with tech and quick on my feet so I found myself working first as a Technical Services team member and later as a consultant working directly for Epic’s clients. This career was challenging and lucrative and kept me on my toes for the better part of a decade.

During this time my wife and I were married and we relocated to NYC and later to NJ. My wife is a wildly talented musician who plays with the NY Philharmonic (!) and her career has taken us to many wonderful places throughout the world. It also allows us to claim some of the finest musicians in the world as close friends.

Several years ago I began to realize that a life spent configuring software was not artistically rewarding enough for me, and I began to consider alternative career options. At first, I gravitated back towards music. However, being a successful freelance musician requires massive amounts of dedication and perseverance, and my household was already dealing with one musician’s strange work hours. Next, I began to pursue the intersection of music, movies, and publishing rights. I received a professional certificate in Music Supervision from Berklee School of Music. During this time I learned the ins and outs of scoring and licensing music for film and television. While studying, I realized that I had an eye for photography/videography and had more than a little bit of expertise gained during my time as a research assistant, especially with regard to sensors and optics.

Leveraging my existing network of musician friends, I began to shoot no-budget music videos using my first “serious” camera, Sony’s legendary A7S2 while taking myself to film-school online through myriad education websites (shoutout to Every Frame a Painting, Shane Hurlbut, MZED, and of course Youtube for the thousands of hours of premium educational content).

I eventually worked my way up to shooting small budget commercials before deciding to fully commit by purchasing my own Sony Venice and opening my own studio location, Big Sur Creative.

To be frank, the imposter syndrome was hard to shake. I consider myself to be a highly competent person and a quick study, but being a DP is a career that can take decades to attain, and my “on set” experience trails behind many of my peers. However, life does not move in straight lines, and the expertise and skills gained from a lifetime of exploring and forging my own path has given me a unique perspective as a cinematographer. I am VERY proud of the work that Big Sur Creative has put out since its formation, and I look forward to surprising myself with what I can achieve now that my heart and my head are aligned with my career!

Those who know me best know that I am OBSESSED with color, I have a love/hate relationship with my dome house, and my dog Ripley brings me great joy.