Life & Work with Caleb Clayton

Today we’d like to introduce you to Caleb Clayton. 

Hi Caleb, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was born in the heart of the southeast in Nashville, TN and have spent all of my childhood and early adulthood calling Nashville home. I had graduated from Middle TN State in 2013 with a degree in Media Production and Filmmaking. Over our few adult years, we spent in Nashville I had fallen into the vast network of wedding photography and videography after a few friends asked me to casually film their years ago. This left us a lot of flexibility in our schedules to begin traveling and expanding our view on the world we live and we felt like something else outside of the shade of the Nashville tree we had grown up in. It wasn’t until 2018 where my partner, Amy, and I and our two dogs decided we were ready for a change – the mountains were calling us home. So, we picked up everything and moved out to Denver, Colorado on a whim not knowing what lay in store for us or whether our Photography and Film business would transfer accordingly to a new market that was vastly different from where we started. We quickly found roots in Colorado and thrived when we were out in Nature – hiking, camping, summiting mountains, and photographing it all. We began forming a portfolio of adventure weddings and elopements that took place all throughout the Rocky Mountains and expanded across the Western US. After spending years traveling all across Colorado and most of the Western US from our home base in Denver – we decided a nomadic and minimalistic life was the next step. We bought a fully off-grid and livable built-out 2006 converted sprinter van in January of 2020 and moved in full-time in July 0f 2020. We’ve been on the road full-time ever since exploring the vastness of the Western US and following the adventure weddings and elopements of the amazing clients we have found throughout the years. Last year we filmed and photographed weddings all over Colorado, in Arizona, California, Idaho, Utah, Washington, and Oregon. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There’s been a lot of challenges along the way. Establishing a working portfolio in the southeast and then completely picking up and moving it to a whole new market with western weddings and elopements was difficult and we were unsure if would transfer, or if the move to Colorado would need to usher in new career paths. Then years later once we were beginning to get established in Colorado and after deciding the next step in life was on a nomadic vanlife – the pandemic hit which canceled all of our jobs for the foreseeable future leaving us with a massive loan we had just taken out of the van and no income to pay it back. We considered for a short time staying put in Denver to try and find sustainable work to wait out the pandemic but decided to just go for it and move full time into nomadic life. And slowly as the pandemic panic has faded, we’ve found ways to make nomadic life work and to thrive in it. 

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I consider myself a visual artist that specializes in filmmaking and photography. I’m known for my completely untraditional style of creative editing and captivating storytelling through my films and photos. I’ve found a network in working adventure elopements and weddings, with couples having us document their love stories all over the Western US and across National Parks from Arches NP to RMNP to Yosemite and Mt. Rainier and more to come. Well, these adventure weddings and elopements provide the basis for our income year to year, I also take on several creative side projects ranging from documentary promotional work for local companies and artists. 

What do you like and dislike about the city?
Denver will always be a special place. It wasn’t the home I was born in, but it was the home I chose. From the first moment we were there, we could tell the vibes of the city and mountain culture was vastly different from anything we had been exposed to in the southeast. The people we met were the most friendly and welcoming. The access to the year-round adventures in the mountains Denver provides is unmatched. We got in the rhythm of working in the mornings, getting off in the afternoon driving out to the mountains, camping, summiting a 14er the next morning, and then being back in town that night for a concert of dinner at on of Denver’s many delicious vegan restaurants! 

Contact Info:

• Email: calebclaytonfilms@gmail.com
• Website: http://caleb-clayton.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/calebclaytonfilmandphoto/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/untitledvanlyfproject
• Youtube: https://vimeo.com/calebclaytonfilms
• Other: https://www.untitled-vanlyf-project.com/

Image Credits
Rachel Pourchier