Will’s Camera shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Will’s, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
Lately, I’ve been feeling the weight of the world more than ever—politically, environmentally, socially. It’s easy to feel detached from hope, like anything I do won’t really make a difference. And that’s been a hard place to create from. I’ve caught myself making art just to survive—taking on projects for money rather than meaning—and somewhere in that, I started to lose sight of why I began creating in the first place.
But I think what I’m being called to do now is return to that original purpose: to use my lens as a way to reflect, question, and push for change. I used to be afraid of calling my work activism, or of believing it could actually make an impact—but now I feel a deeper responsibility to at least try. I want to focus on art that moves people, that opens up conversations, that gives power to the stories that get overlooked. If I can be a part of that—amplifying truth through storytelling—then I think I’m doing what I’m meant to.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hey! I’m Will, a 20-year-old filmmaker and photographer based in Denver. I’ve been creating since I was 10 years old—back when I bought my first green screen and camera and started making lip-sync videos on Musical.ly. What started as just having fun online slowly evolved into filming YouTube videos, shooting on film, and building a full-time creative practice around storytelling.
Now, I spend my days making videos that reflect on identity, change, and growing up, and capturing people and places through photography. It’s not always easy—freelancing can be super isolating—but creating has been the biggest constant in my life. It’s helped me connect with others, understand myself, and find beauty in all the mess.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who taught you the most about work?
Working freelance my entire life has given me a pretty complex relationship with the idea of “work.” Growing up in the U.S., everything felt so career-focused—graduate high school, get a degree, land a job, and do that until you retire. I never really connected with that path, but the world around me made it feel like there weren’t many other options if I wanted to be successful.
Moving to Europe changed that. It helped me see that work doesn’t have to be your entire identity—it can be something that supports your life, not consumes it. But it wasn’t until I got to Berlin and found myself surrounded by artists and creatives that things really clicked. They worked to live, not lived to work. And seeing that in action taught me that you can live a fulfilling life making art and still keep the bills paid. That’s honestly all I’m aiming for.
There’s so much uncertainty in this kind of work, and nothing is guaranteed—so my biggest goal is just to enjoy the present as much as I can, and not miss out on life in the process.
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
Moving around so much has brought me a lot of gifts, but it’s also come with its own set of challenges. Constantly starting over made it hard to form long-term, grounded relationships. I’ve lost touch with people I was once incredibly close to—some naturally, some just because of distance—and it’s left me feeling disconnected from places that deeply shaped who I am. Sometimes I find myself grieving a version of life I no longer have access to.
It’s been hard to feel a strong sense of “home,” especially now that I live on a completely different continent from most of the people I grew up with. But over time, I’ve tried to reframe that pain. Instead of feeling scattered, I’ve started to see it as a privilege—to have pieces of my heart living all over the world. That perspective shift has helped me feel more whole.
I think that’s why I’ve leaned into more of a nomadic lifestyle, even while calling Denver my home base. It lets me surround myself with the people, places, and cultures that fill me up—and build a life that feels intentional, expansive, and uniquely mine.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What’s a belief you used to hold tightly but now think was naive or wrong?
In some ways, almost everything. I used to believe there was one right way to go through life—and to maintain that belief, I had to suppress a lot of inner feelings that didn’t align with it. I thought success had a clear, linear path, and anything outside of that was risky or wrong.
But over time, especially through connecting with people from all kinds of backgrounds, I realized we’re all just experimenting—trying, failing, learning as we go. Most of what we “know” was taught to us, and it’s worth questioning who taught it and why. I don’t really hold tightly to many beliefs anymore, but I’ve learned to trust my gut. Listening to my internal world—my instincts, my desires—feels like the most authentic way to move through life, even if it looks different from the version I was handed.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. When do you feel most at peace?
I feel most at peace in nature. Living and working in a city, it’s easy to get swept up in the noise of the human world—schedules, expectations, constant stimulation. It can feel hard to even make time to escape, but when I do, it’s like I can finally exhale.
Sometimes I imagine looking down at the world from above and feeling this strange clarity—seeing past all the structures and constructs we’ve built that feel so permanent, but really aren’t. In nature, I remember there’s something much bigger and more honest than all of this. I feel most connected when I have space to just be—free and unobserved. That’s where I find peace.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bywillscamera.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/willscameraa/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@WillsCamera
