World of adventure

STORYTELLING IS AT THE HEART OF A THRIVING FILMMAKING and photography business for Logan Lambert ’17.

His work has taken him to more than 30 countries to shoot videos for clients including National Geographic and the underwater exploration organization OceanX. Lambert said he finds one constant among all this variety: “You want cool videos and a great sound, but even in commercial work the story is by far the most important thing. If you just listen and are curious, you will connect with people. And most people have amazing stories to tell.”

Lambert came to UD to major in entrepreneurship and to play lacrosse. “I fell into the arts,” he explained, after taking as a sophomore a photography class taught by Julie Jones ’07. He also became a self-taught filmmaker and learned how to operate a drone for aerial photography. “I got in trouble for flying that thing all over campus,” he recalled with a laugh.

After graduation, he hoped to find a marketing job at a real estate agency in his hometown of Cleveland. But his film and photography work caught the eye of a creative director at Beautiful Destinations, a social media company for the travel community. A video editing internship turned into a full-time job, and Lambert spent several years traveling the globe and crafting videos capturing the essence of a country and its people.

“World travel opens your mind to new ways of life.”

“World travel opens your mind to new ways of life,” he said. “I’m a lot more curious about the outside world and how people live. I saw how people can live with very much less than what we have here, and yet still be very happy.”

A tree planter in Bhutan, for instance, turned out to be the subject of one of his most meaningful projects — an opportunity to spotlight the beauty of the country as well as to spread an environmental message. “He was this inspiring guy who cared deeply about his country and the forests, and he had planted 116,000 trees,” Lambert said.

Another favorite documentary is “The Power Within” featuring former NFL player Ty Schmitt and his post-football career as a storm chaser and landscape photographer. The two have become close friends and continue to chase storms together throughout the Great Plains.

“There are moments when it gets a little hairy, but I trust Ty and his ability to keep us safe in tough situations,” Lambert said. “Storms are the most beautiful and powerful thing you will ever see. Mother Nature is doing her best work when things are the most chaotic.”

Lambert took another big risk last year when he left Beautiful Destinations to start his own production company. “I wanted the freedom to tell the stories I wanted to tell,” he said. “But it was very scary to leave a job with salary and benefits in the middle of a pandemic.”

And that’s where his entrepreneurship degree came in handy, after all. “UD provided the foundation for owning my own business,” he said. “I still use my business degree every day.”

So far the gamble is paying off. Lambert served as onboard digital producer for Titanic director James Cameron’s current documentary project, “Mission OceanX,” a series for National Geographic that will follow a groundbreaking ocean exploration mission. BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit and OceanX are co-producing for National Geographic.

“I was able to be among some of the brightest minds in ocean research as well as be a part of an amazing production,” Lambert said. “It was an experience I’ll remember forever.”