28 | DECEMBER 8 • 2022 

A

dam Fox-Long picked 
up his mother’s cam-
era as a child, and 
shortly after found an old cam-
era of his dad’s — a Pentax ME 
Super — and he hasn’t looked 
back since. 
 He can’t remem-
ber a time when 
photography and 
cinematography 
were not among 
his passions.
Fox-Long, 25, a 
Ypsilanti resident, now produc-
es promotional spots for Detroit 
Public Television.
After he graduated from 
East Lansing High School in 
2014, Fox-Long started a film 
program at DePaul University 
in Chicago; but after just a few 
weeks decided that college 
wasn’t his thing. Admitting now 
that his decision may have been 
“youthful cockiness,
” he taught 
himself what he needed to 

know to build a career.
He held odd jobs for local 
businesses, worked as a cashier 
at Sears and did data entry at 
Michigan State University while 
honing his craft, doing a lot of 
free videos and promotional 
photography. His supportive 
family helped him out with 
enough money to buy groceries. 
He admits there were some 
missteps along the way, which 
he describes as “technical nit-
ty-gritty things.
” Once, doing an 
hourlong promotional film for 
a women’s choir, he forgot to hit 
“record,
” and the whole shoot 
had to be redone. 
In 2016, he worked as an 
election field organizer for the 
Democratic Party. In 2018, he 
was a full-time videographer 
for Gretchen Whitmer’s first 
gubernatorial campaign. After 
she was installed as governor, he 
served as her photographer for 
a time but didn’t see that as an 

ongoing career option.
After leaving Whitmer’s 
staff, Fox-Long moved to Los 
Angeles; but he didn’t like 
the environment, or even the 
weather, which he found too 
monotonous. So, he moved 
back to Michigan in 2020 — 
just in time for the COVID 
lockdown.
He was able to find work 
for a Lansing television station 
and moved to Detroit Public 
Television about a year ago. 
His efforts for DPTV 
included a series of local 
introductions to Ken Burns’ 
documentary The US and 
the Holocaust, which aired 
this fall. Fox-Long’s pieces 
featured Rabbi Eli Mayerfeld, 
CEO of the Zekelman 
Holocaust Center in 
Farmington Hills.
“It was an incredible expe-
rience working with the team 
there on something I’m very 

passionate about,
” Fox-Long 
said.
His job keeps him busy 
enough that he’s not really look-
ing for freelance photography 
or videography gigs — though 
his website (www.adamfoxlong.
com) is still active, and he’ll do 
occasional jobs, especially for 
family and friends.
“I use my camera to tell your 
stories, capturing moments that 
might otherwise be lost in the 
shuffle and showcasing their 
natural beauty,
” reads a state-
ment on his website. “Whether 
I’m working in a whirlwind 
political environment, creating 
striking promotional and news-
room content or producing my 
own passion projects, I have a 
skill for spotlighting humanity 
— a skill for storytelling.
”
He still owns a couple of 
cameras that he uses occasion-
ally, including a Pentax k1000 
and a Horizon Panoramic. His 
main camera, which handles 
videos as well as stills, is a dig-
ital Fujifilm XT-3, which Fox-
Long says goes everywhere with 
him.
A member of Congregation 
Kehillat Israel in Lansing, Fox-
Long is engaged to Martha 
Spall, who works in marketing 
for the University of Michigan 
School of Information. They’re 
planning a wedding next 
October in Ann Arbor. 

NEXT DOR

A Skilled
 Storyteller

Adam 
Fox-Long

VOICE OF A NEW GENERATION

Self-taught videographer 
Adam Fox-Long has built 
a career with his camera.

BARBARA LEWIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

For a time, Adam Fox-Long 
was a fulltime videographer 
for Gretchen Whitmer’s first 
gubernatorial campaign.

Adam Fox-Long with 
fiancée, Martha Spall

