About Us
As you read the individual bios below you may see a theme emerging that connects all of us. Despite where many of us are currently, the entire Catching Creation team connected in one way or another out of a combined passion for nature and the divine. All of us at one point or another have worked in and for churches, ministries, and faith-based organizations. Several of us grew up playing in bands, going to shows, and have a sincere passion for music and art. Almost all of us are artists, photographers, and videographers at different levels. During the history of Catching Creation we have produced both faith-based and fact based content. We are passionate about wildlife and the planet.
Although some of us may be jaded on the faith end of things, we won’t deny it as a part of our history and although it wasn’t all positive for us, during that season it was what got us all together and for that I will personally be grateful. So even though we will no longer be infusing spiritual content in our videos and articles on a regular basis we won’t discourage anyone from their endeavors with faith and encourage the conversations if they lead to growth. We respect and honor those of you that have followed us from the early days of church programs and appreciate your encouragement over the years.
At the core of Catching Creation are a group of guys who truly love each other as brothers. Some of us have been to war together, some of us were chewed up and spit out by the church, others of us are still embedded in those communities being a positive light in a dark world. What you may see with us as a collective is that you really can’t pin any of us down. We are all genuinely authentic, rough around the edges, passionate lovers of all things wild. We love sharing our enthusiasm for nature, our drive to conserve wildlife, and our passion to inform people about the wonderful things that are literally all around them.
We are wild about storytelling, as our tagline implies, and we aren’t limited to just wildlife. The moniker “Catching Creation” from the very beginning was intended to encompass a broad spectrum. Although we have a heavy emphasis on wildlife, at the core we are storytellers so you may also see human interest stories about veterans, artists, missionaries, or scientists or truthfully whatever inspires us in the moment. We aren’t perfect, and we aren’t even trying to be. If you get the chance to hang out with us while we are out on assignment you’re likely to hear a ton of “your mom” jokes, a few (ok maybe a few more than a few) bad words, and hopefully you’ll leave with sore ribs from laughing at our absurdity and a realization that we are more than friends, we are a family. We hope the stories we share moving forward will inspire you and in the end..
“we are wild about storytelling”
Meet The Team.
Stan “holla if you hear me” Lake
Stan Lake
Stan Lake (aka the founder) is a wildlife photographer, writer, videographer and just a dude that likes telling stories and being outside with his friends. He’s written children’s books, produced a faith-based nature DVD series, made an Iraq war documentary about his old unit, wrestles with faith and self-doubt. “Holla if you hear me” is his favorite phrase. He started Catching Creation in 2010 and this is it’s most recent evolution. He’s been filming himself and others on camera since around 2003. His influences range from Steve Irwin to Planet Earth with a little Jackass and Wild Boys sprinkled in for extra spiciness. Stan grew up in Trinity, NC and when he wasn’t going to hardcore shows or skateboarding as a kid he was knee deep in swamps and creeks looking for all things wild. He has had a life long passion for reptiles, amphibians and pretty much wildlife in general. He studied Environmental Biology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro focusing on bats prior to his Iraq deployment with the Army and changed majors and schools afterwards. He completed his bachelors degree at the School of Urban Missions Bible College and Theological Seminary earning a BA in Biblical Studies with a focus in Youth Ministry. Talk about an interesting mix of passions and experiences! He traveled for a number of years giving talks in schools and churches using animals to communicate a message of hope as well as conservation and our role as stewards of nature. He currently lives in Bethania, NC with his wife Jessica. Whether its faith or frogs he just loves to tell stories, connect with people, and talk about anything with anyone and hopefully you will enjoy this amalgamation he calls Catching Creation.
Check out his documentary “Hammer Down” about A 5-113th Field Artillery Regiment in Iraq and the 10 years following their tour. Filmed with Daniel Charles and Deric Cook.
You can see his personal instagram @CatchingCreation and his photography page @stanlakephotography. All of his books are available on Amazon, links can be found in the Catching Creation store.
Daniel “Leviticus” Charles
Daniel Charles
Daniel is a U.S. Army combat veteran serving with the N.C. Army National Guard 5-113th Field Artillery Regiment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005-2006. He began his tenure with Catching Creation long before it had this name. While Daniel was on his combat deployment he got placed in a vehicle with Stan and was handed a Canon GL-1 Camcorder Stan purchased and he began filming Stan’s antics. The two of them took it upon themselves to film shenanigans and animal adventures as a way to promote morale in the face of the horrors of war while they were on their combat deployment as evidenced in the film Hammer Down. Catching Creation was the natural progression once Daniel and Stan came home and for years it was just the two of them filming adventures enthusiastically for a small but devoted audience. Daniel won a photography award one time while he was Art College and he reminds everyone of that fact on a regular basis. Daniel does not own a camera or a computer, he doesn’t know how email works, nor can he edit video; and yet he is invaluable to our filmmaking process because he can see the bigger picture when others cannot. Daniel grew up in the DIY punk rock scene and carries that ethos and passion forward with his role in Catching Creation. Daniel joined the rap game in 2013 when he debuted on the hip-hop song “slippy slimy salamander” as the lovably deranged “Salamander Commander” as he spit a fiery verse while hanging upside down. Daniel is married and the father of 3 children, he has an Art Degree from Lenoir-Rhyne University and uses his art as a form of therapy for himself and others with his project called Jungkart.
Chance “fancy feet” Feimster
Deric “Razzle Dazzle” Cook
Stephen “Stevie Bling” Lavine
Thomas “award winning photographer” Lavine
Chance Feimster
Chance Feimster is a one of a kind. If you’ve ever met him you’ll know exactly what we mean when we say that. He’s somewhere between Mowgli from the jungle book and “Crocodile Dundee.” He is both wildly immature and incredibly wise all in the same package, it’s actually quite hard to even explain who or what he is. Chance came to be on the Catching Creation team when Stan replied to a Craigslist ad for cane toads that Chance placed. Stan gave Chance a business card with links to the videos he and Daniel had been working on and Chance was immediately adopted as an integral part of our team. He traveled with Stan for a number of years across the country as he did animal programs in schools and churches. Chance has gone on to become an amazing wildlife photographer and instagram sensation over at @Da_snake_mon. He’s traveled from jungle to jungle far and wide both as a missionary and an environmentalist. Chance is a one of a kind weirdo, but he’s our weirdo and we love him. He never, ever wears shoes but that doesn’t seem to slow him down one bit. Chance can legitimately find animals when others walk right past. He has an uncanny ability to almost communicate with nature and I don’t think I’ve ever met someone so in tune with the world around him. He may walk to the beat of a different drum but I for one want to emulate his cadence. He is currently pursuing a degree at Appalachian State University for outdoor recreation and is too cool for school. We love and miss you Chance.
Check out his art and photography at @da_snake_mon on Instagram as well as his photography page on Flickr.
Deric Cook
Deric…Oh Deric. Much like Chance this one is a bit hard to pin down. Deric is like a cross between 90s grunge rock and gangster rap, it just doesn’t really make sense but because it’s so left field you just have to love it. Deric is a sage and a guru of sorts when I comes to all things camera. He has a cinematic eye and as a photographer and a videographer he can truly make art with his camera. Deric has traveled the world as a photographer, videographer, missionary and visual storyteller using his camera to connect people to the heartbeat of the disenfranchised. Deric and Stan met while they were both shooting videos occasionally for a larger church in town sometime around 2011 and it was like they had always been friends. Early in their friendship Deric let Stan borrow a camera bag with all of the nicest lenses and thousands of dollars worth of state of the art equipment and just said “learn it.” That act of trust and kindness not only encouraged Stan but also opened a door that exponentially increased the value of what Catching Creation was producing at the time. It was that catalyst that helped us move into a whole new realm of filmmaking and visual storytelling. Deric is a unique character and whether he’s dancing as a human turtle hybrid in a music video or shooting gorgeous cinematography for a documentary his talent does not go unnoticed. He currently makes a living as a Real Estate photographer primarily but he’s always itching to hop on a plane and film indigenous people living their lives in foreign locales. Check out Stan and Deric on their epic Outer Banks Adventure. Click Here.
Check out Deric’s website for real estate photography at dericcookphotography.com to see his video work visit his website dericcook.com or his Vimeo page DericRogerCook and if you want to be inspired to save a village watch “Plastic City”.
Deric also was the cinematographer and editor on the documentary “Hammer Down.”
Stephen LaVine
He dat boi…Stephen has an uncanny eye for detail with his cinematography. He is a brilliant editor and visual storyteller with a relentless perfectionism that always results in jaw dropping footage. His videos have a way to both inspire and encourage you to get outdoors and get shooting. He has the voice of an angel and some say he is the songbird of our generation. Stephen joined the Catching Creation team sometime around 2012 or 2013 after he sent an email to Stan explaining how he appreciated our videos and that he was fascinated with salamanders. They met up not long afterwards and hiked and immediately became friends. When Stephen came on board he opened the door not only to world class cinematography (that came much later) but also it was Stephen who added the missing dynamic necessary for us to record our first comedy hip hop song about salamanders and to date we have since filmed 5 comedic songs about conservation issues with no signs of stopping. Stephen is a licensed drone pilot, photographer, editor and videographer and has the ability to distill his trips to State and National Parks into literal works of art. If you don’t believe me, check out his Wyoming video. WOW! We are honored to have such a creative and talented person like Stephen on the team!
Thomas LaVine
He dat boi’s brother…The joke originally was that Thomas was a consolation prize when Stephen couldn’t make it out on adventures but boy were we wrong. Thomas was the last official member to join the team but what he lacks in tenure he makes up for in talent. Thomas is a phenomenal musician, talented (some would even say award winning) photographer, audio engineer, animal wrangler and all around awesome dude. Watching his creative growth in all areas over the last few years has been both rewarding and encouraging because he, like the other members of the team, all add something unique and genuinely valuable to Catching Creation. Thomas is responsible for mixing, mastering, and producing the last several Catching Creation songs and is the brains behind all of our audio needs as well as a fledgling videographer. Thomas is currently the only member of the team who doesn’t live in North Carolina but we are trying, desperately, to change that. Keep an eye on him, big things are coming in 2020.
Follow Thomas’ wildlife photography on Instagram at @LavineWildlife his professional photo page at @ThomasLavinePhotography and his music page at @ThomasLavineMusic