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