T.J. Connor
“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.”
-Ernest Hemmingway
THE BACKSTORY
I grew up and was molded in the city of Chicago, and always had a fascination with film, photography, and storytelling. I was enthralled with creativity as a child, I was gifted a 35mm camera and an enlarger at age 12 and taught how to develop film, this would set the course for the rest of my story. I started working with bands and record labels around the midwest in high school and eventually made my way to film school at Columbia College Chicago.
Chapter 2
After working TV shows in Chicago for a few years, I felt that I had wrapped my story in the city that raised me and headed to LA for greater challenges. I worked odd jobs in TV and film for a couple years and then started a music video production company with some of my Chicago transplants. This is where I really cut my teeth, thrown into the fire. I started producing at this time and really found my place in this industry. This was an amazing experience, we got to travel the world and worked on some truly awesome projects. After 4 years and 50+ productions, I had the opportunity to start producing commercials and moved on from music videos to continue to progress in my journey.
Chapter 3
During my time in California I found great solace in the mountains. What started as camping trips and hikes quickly evolved into an obsession with the sport of mountaineering. The profession of film production can be draining and the physical and mental challenges that come with summiting mountains became my balance. In my pursuit of trying to justify spending all of my free time in the mountains, I worked my way into mountain rescue and joined a search and rescue to team with Los Angeles County. I went back to school to get an EMT certification, a bunch of technical rescue certifications, and am now a certified rescuer with the Mountain Rescue Association. This story is to be continued…