Giving back to the community
Communities turned a solitary interest into a shared practice. I am giving back with a camera and a hobby I take seriously.
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I want to give something back to communities that taught me how much easier it is to learn with other people than alone. Video is a hobby I enjoy, and I would like to use it for more than recording my own talks.
For community events that interest me, I am offering a day of filming and another day of editing at no charge. I choose projects according to my available time and contribute the work independently.
What I received
I taught myself programming, but I did not learn how to work with other people alone. User groups gave me a place to bring unfinished ideas, hear how experienced people approached the same problems, and discover that failure was worth discussing.
At a small software company, experienced developers built an early startup with me through pair programming. Immediate feedback replaced slow trial and error. Later, speaking at companies, user groups, and conferences taught me to explain an idea clearly and let other people question it. My talk archive grew out of that exchange.
The important part was not a list of appearances. Programming stopped being a solitary interest and became a shared practice.
Giving back with a different skill
I bought my first mirrorless camera in 2010, took the inevitable mirror selfie, and then let the interest lie dormant for years.
I returned to cameras in 2025 because I wanted a permanent record of my talks. A user group let me record an event, and I enjoyed the work enough to continue after my own talk had ended.
The first challenge was making reliable video in rooms that were never designed as studios. Lighting is uneven, sound systems vary, and an audience should not wait while I construct a film set. I gradually built a portable camera, lighting, and live-mixing setup that lets me adapt without making the production the center of the event.
Editing posed a different problem. A full talk needs clear sound and an unobtrusive cut. A recap needs to reduce hours of unscripted activity into a few minutes without misrepresenting the day. Learning when to preserve the complete record and when to compress it is now one of the parts I enjoy most.
That distinction guides my recent work: a recorded and streamed user-group evening, a full Open Space shaped into a three-minute recap, and three complete talks prepared for a new community’s YouTube channel.
What a lasting record changes
Most community events are temporary. The people in the room benefit, then the room empties and much of the work disappears with it. A thoughtful record lets an idea travel, helps someone decide whether to attend next time, and gives a community a memory of its own development.
That is useful beyond programming and beyond Berlin. Any group built through voluntary effort faces the same question: how can a member contribute without taking on every part of organizing? Giving back does not have to resemble what you received. The useful contribution may be the skill you enjoy practising now.
What I am offering
Depending on the event, I can produce:
- A two-to-three-minute recap that preserves the atmosphere.
- Complete talk recordings for people who could not attend.
- Short interviews with members of the community.
- A live stream when the venue and format support one.
I have bounded the contribution so it remains sustainable and enjoyable: one event day and one editing day. I ask what matters, then handle filming and editing as autonomously as possible. I am based in Berlin and happy to consider invitations elsewhere.
This is not another agency service. It is a hobby I take seriously and genuinely enjoy. I want to offer it to communities that would otherwise finish a valuable event with no lasting record.
Keeping it possible
I do not charge organizers for these days, but the work still consumes time and equipment. My Patreon page lets anyone help me cover more events in my spare time.
That support maintains the equipment and makes room for another free editing day. It lets me keep contributing without turning every invitation into client work.