Meet Jason Natzke | Visual Storyteller

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jason Natzke, a visual storyteller and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jason, why did you pursue a creative career?
One of my earliest memories in life is from speech therapy class. And the memory is more about FEELINGS than anything else:

Frustration, then anger, followed by apathy…not that I had the cognitive development at age 4 to articulate those emotions or use those words. I actually couldn’t really use any words at all.

I grew up with a very intense stutter. It sounded like one of those old-school, metal sprinklers when I tried to talk: ”tick-tick-tick-ttttttiiiiiick.” Everything inside just moved too fast. My mouth couldn’t keep up with my brain, and then it felt like my heart couldn’t navigate all of the electrical failures that seemed to be happening inside.

So as a kid, if it’s hard to do something, do you keep doing it? No, you STOP doing it. You collapse inward…which is what I did, because it was far easier to stay silent than deal with the embarrassment of not being able to talk.

In other words, I got really good at burying my emotions. That is, until I found a way of getting them all out:

A photograph…a film…a visual story was how I was eventually able to MOVE my emotions in a way my words couldn’t. A story was how I made sense of everything…of my complicated emotions and the emotions of others. It’s really how my voice came alive. The more I expressed myself through a visual medium, the less I stuttered.

So much so that senior year of college, I was selected to be commencement speaker at graduation. I guess you could say I learned how to speak through storytelling.

After graduating from film school in New Mexico, I did the whole film-grad-moves-out-to-Hollywood thing, only to find that it wasn’t the story I wanted to tell. I got really lucky; I got a job on the Warner Bros. Lot working on an Emmy-winning sitcom. But big dreams can also bring big letdowns…Hollywood, for all its glitz, wasn’t where I saw myself long term.

So I went on an extended “wandering” phase in my 20s, a period I believe EVERYONE should experience. I backpacked across New Zealand (let’s be honest, that 13 year old in me was still obsessed with the *Lord of the Rings* films.) A walkabout, but one where I was looking for hobbits.

I got lucky again (it’s a theme) when I came back to Denver, which has always been home. I worked for years at a local startup production company, where I specialized in high school sports video and making behind-the-scenes videos on commercial shoots for Fortune 500 companies. A great job for a young professional, but also a great way to stay on the sidelines.

I wasn’t telling the stories I dreamed about when I was that kid with a stutter. Photography was still just a hobby, and the video projects I was involved in felt oddly opaque and obtuse at times. I wasn’t really making the difference I wanted to be making in the environment around me.

So I wandered some more, thinking if I went to grad school to become a film professor, it would fill that growing void inside. I had come a long way…I could speak clearly, but I wasn’t sure of what I really wanted to be saying with my voice.

When I arrived in Ireland for my Master’s Degree program and started making short films again, writing screenplays, chasing emotionally true moments with a photograph, just because it was interesting to me, well…I realized I was more than a wannabe film professor. I was a storyteller that was just playing it too safe before.

Now, years into running my own photography/videography business, I have some clarity. If I had to distill my mission down into what I’m chasing, I’m chasing the joyful freedom of using MY voice to help amplify the voices of others. It’s all about uncovering a visual language to express an emotion, an intention, an authentic human moment…all in the name of building a connection to others, and a bridge back to ourselves. Because that’s what STORY gave me all those years ago.

I like to call myself a visual storyteller, which is just a fancy way of saying I use a camera as a megaphone…and I’m passionate about giving everyone the chance to grab that megaphone and be heard, seen, and felt.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
So I guess I already talked about this in my answer to the first question, which, apologies…it sort of turned into an essay of sorts haha. I guess I have a lot to say…something about making up for lost time after all of those years with a stutter.

As a filmmaker and a photographer, I’m really drawn to, moments that capture the (complicated) authenticity of our human experience…which just a fancy way of saying I want ALL of us to be seen, heard, and felt.

Whether it’s freezing a moment on a busy city street; capturing a portrait of someone that allows others to feel like they know that person; or creating visual story that engages, moves, and inspires…it’s all about connecting to something authentic inside of ourselves, which helps us connect with others. And we’re all wired for connection, right?

It’s about real emotion. It’s about broadcasting the most authentic moments in our world, and sharing the most authentic version of ourselves, with everyone else. Because each and every one of us is trying to make sense of our emotions and our existence. And above all us, we each have a voice that deserves to be heard.

That’s why I love what I do…I get to help others be seen.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My partner and I live right off Colfax Ave, near East High School…it’s one of the places in Denver that still feels vibrant in our post-COVID world. It reminds of those busy, vibrant, culturally-rich streets I’ve wandered through in other areas of the world.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Well…I’m just grateful for the opportunity to tell my story! And my hope would be that in telling my story of arriving at a life of creative expression, I might inspire someone else.

Because we all have a voice that deserves to be heard.

PS: thanks to my client LeAnn Kittle for the recommendation!

Website: www.storiestolight.com

Instagram: @storiestolight

Image Credits
All images are credited to Jason Natzke (Stories To Light – Film + Photo)