Meet Andy Mcdonald | Producer & Director of Photography & Storyteller

We had the good fortune of connecting with Andy Mcdonald and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Andy, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I started my own business several years ago, with the hope that I could simply use it for side work. The company I was working for a very long time downsized. I was caught off guard, but I have been crafting my skills in creative storytelling for years. Storytellers are needed more than ever. I am also lucky enough to have also built some great relationships throughout my career.

I always say…When I started my career I wanted to travel the world and have someone else pay for it. Now I want to work with my friends!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a storyteller and a people person. The hustle is real and the grind is necessary. I come from the thought that if you want it bad enough you will make it happen. Punching a time clock or knowing when to stop…not really in my DNA.

My creative eye was just not there when I started. I had to work on it.. From art museums to TikTok stories, nothing is off limits to learn from. I watch so much tv, youtube, music videos, etc! I almost always have something on in the background trying to figure out how I can do it on my next shoot. When I can put this all together and capture an amazing moment…that is the best!

The biggest lesson I have learned…be nice. Just be nice. This has gotten me out of so many bad situations from airports to getting yelled at by celebrities. It has also made so many good situations great! On set, everyone has a job and there is a hierarchy, but… I mean a big but…you can always be nice. The bigger the team the more important it is to make sure everyone is supported.

There are no problems only solutions. I truly believe this, my extended family gives me grief, because I am almost always prepared. When I am working with a field crew, we can always figure it out. My brand helps people tell their story where they are…physically and emotionally.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My favorite questions is to ask someone if they leave the city of 5 years and comeback where do you eat. My answer has changed a lot.

A week long trip is a fun one. I would start out night one sitting on by back deck, at sunset looking towards downtown and Longs Peak sipping on Breckenridge Bourbon.

Next morning, you load up the mountain bikes, grab a 1/2 and 1/2 breakfast burrito from Sanitagos and grind out a couple of hours biking on Green mountain, with a stop at the top to see the entire city.

Head home, wash up and go to Dbar dessert and wine bar. Chef Keegan and Chef Lisa will serve it up right with chicken and waffles or the waygu slider with truffle fries. The entire menu is amazing! Save room, because the nightly dessert special will blow your mind. Yes Chef Keegan and I worked together at on Food Network Challenge.

Next day you head to Centennial airport and get breakfast at the Perfect landing and watch the planes land. Head to Golden, hike Buffalo Bills grave and then go on a brewery tour at Coors. Then find the Golden and pick one of the many different choices for food.

Rockies games have some of the best sunsets in the city, Nuggets games are just fun, at the Avs game get a seat on the glass and get your mind blown, the Broncos are fun to watch at the stadium, but the downtown bars with keep the party happening too!

I would have to slip into the mountains to ski or hike or fly fish and eat a chocolate cookie at Mountain Top Cookies…trust me the cookies are worth it.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Wow! So many people. My wife is a storyteller/producer and I have been lucky enough to work with her for years…She is amazing and puts up with me being gone for long periods of time. She encourages me at every turn.

To all the people at my very first tv station WXOW-TV in LaCrosse, WI. I was a true mess, but had passion and drive. The news director Sean Dwyer had a special chair in his office called the “hot seat”(it was an orange painted metal folding chair). I think they renamed it “Andy’s Chair”. I leaned on everyone, they gave me so many opportunities, and can never thank that team enough.

My TV family at KAKE-TV in Wichita, KS…I mean they are hard to describe. My “brothers” that I never had helped me make it through life. Larry Hatteberg as mentor…he is a true storyteller that I only hope to be. He sat with me and filled my storytelling tool box. This is where I met my wife…she was the reporter and I was her camera guy.

High Noon Entertainment took a chance on me, they helped my grow roots in Colorado, they sent my on adventures you can only see on TV and helped inspire me to never stop growing. Too many to thank at High Noon.

Website: https://sites.google.com/view/andrew-mcdonald

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/infocusphotoandvideo/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-mcdonald-6213957/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andrew.mcdonald.543