Jon Steingard // Director // Filmmaker

 

INSTAGRAM // @jonsteingard

I’m late on a Valentines Day post because this girl and I have been fighting off floodwaters this week. 😳 • • @jesssteingard 2019 our year fo sho baby.
New Office // I hit the ground running as soon as I got back from Uganda - including moving into my new office (which is also my old old office, our several-times renovated garage). My desk isn’t quite photo worthy yet but the black accent wall is! I can’t decide what to hang on the wall yet! Feeling super inspired working in this bright and fresh space!
Africa. What can I say? It defies expectations. This morning we went on safari and saw this sunrise. At the end of this amazing trip, to see such a quintessential African sunrise was a treat. I’m here documenting a people group called the Batwa. They are some of the most wonderful and fascinating people I’ve ever met. Over the coming months I’ll tell you more about them... super grateful that @hope_ministries_uganda asked me to come out and document the work that they are doing here.
Children of the Batwa @hope_ministries_uganda
Africa. I don't entirely know what I expected but I didn't expect it to be so green. Uganda is an unspeakably beautiful country. The area where we are (Kisoro - pronounced chi-SO-ro) is a land of huge rolling green hills, and even the steepest hills are farmed. I've seen hills more than 45 degrees with rich crops on them. . Then there are the people - who are incredible. Those living here in Rubuguri have so little, and even the simplest needs (water, food, clothing) are a huge effort to meet, yet they are so joyful. They dress in bright colors (especially on Sundays) and when they smile, it is either a shy endearing smile, or a beaming smile that seems to come all the way from the tips of their toes. . I'm super grateful for the opportunity to be here with @hope_ministries_uganda - who are working to lift up the Batwa community here. They are doing such incredible work and could do even more with the support that they need. I'm looking forward to telling you more about their story....
My last day in this office before heading out on a trip to Uganda for 10 days. I always approach these far-flung international trips with a mixture of excitement and apprehension. I love traveling to distant places because I know the things I see and feel there will become part of me forever. They are a beautiful reminder of both the vast differences between cultures, and also the shared experience of what it is to be human. The apprehension part is due to the reality of hard travel. Lack of sleep, lack of familiarity, lack of the comforts of home... and now with 2 kids, I also feel both sad to leave them, and guilty to leave @jesssteingard caring for them on their own! Ultimately these adventures always bring me back to one inescapable feeling.... gratitude. Gratitude for the world we live in, and everything in it... both the beautiful things and the things that are yet to be redeemed. Gratitude for my family and the support we have when I am gone. Gratitude for the chance to live the life that I do, in the world that I do, with the people I get to do it with. #uganda #documentary #hopeministriesuganda #batwa
One of the most magical places I’ve ever visited - Iceland! The drop from my vantage point here was over 70 feet straight down - it was hard not to look! #iceland
I don't think I ever posted this photo from my visit to Vancouver last year. It was amazing to walk through the trees that have been there for so so long. Everything was green except my toque (that's a beanie for my American Friends!). #britishcolumbia #explorebc #canada #vancouver #beautifulbc #bc #explorecanada #vancity #yvr