Meet Zachary Dockal | Photographer, Actor, & Filmmaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Zachary Dockal and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Zachary, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Taking risks is the key to success. I believe that God made us all capable to handle anything life throws at us. Betting on yourself is the scariest thing you will ever do, but at the same time it’s what you have to do in order to achieve your goals. When you are a kid, you have all these big dreams for your life, then real life tells you what a tall order that is and you have to make a decision on whether or not you will chase those dreams. That’s the biggest risk I’ve ever taken in my life I think, betting all the chips on my talent and committing my life to doing what I love. It can be frightening, but not nearly as frightening as spending the rest of your life asking “what if?” There are too many stories like that already, I won’t be one of them.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My art is all about storytelling. As a kid I was obsessed with movies and all I wanted to do was make them any way I could. Now that obsession is at the center of everything I do. Every photoshoot, film, or other project has to have a story behind it. That’s why I do themed photos, I’m getting to put my subjects in my own fantasy world. A lot of times, the angles I try to look for are more cinema based. I want each image to look like they were taken from a film. It’s a style that I learned at a very hard time in my life. My family lost our home to hurricane Harvey, and for the last five years we’ve been living with family members or completely homeless. When the storm hit, it was hard, it still is hard. But it forced me to commit. The only thing I brought with me when I waded out of my house was my camera. And over the next few years, I fully devoted myself to learning everything I could about my craft. In a lot of ways, it kept me going through all the chaos. Somewhere in the midst of all of this I swore that I wouldn’t let something as trivial as fear stop me again, because life is too short, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that everything can be gone in an instant. I’m not sure what people will learn about my story but I hope one day I can inspire others to chase their dreams, to put themselves out there, and bet on themselves no matter who tells you otherwise.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Oh man what can’t you do in this city? We have everything. I would probably suggest the Nasa Space Center first! After that, if you’re still wanting some education the Houston Museum of Natural Science never disappoints. If you’re looking to cut loose, the Kemah Boardwalk and Galveston’s Pleasure Pier is a must. But to see Houstonian spirit in one place, an Astros game at Minute Maid Park is the choice to make (especially since they’re World Series Champs). Cap it all off with some of the best Tex-Mex and margaritas of all time from Mamacita’s and you’ve got the ultimate vacation! All that’s left is to relax on Galveston beach! Houston is the city for creative people!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
God and Jesus are what I attribute my success too. Everything that I have ever gone through in my life, I have rested easy knowing that there is a powerful force out there watching out for me. My family has also been a huge influence in my life. They have always had my back, no matter how big and crazy my ideas were.

Website: https://zjc5productions.wixsite.com/zjc5

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zacharydockal/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachary-dockal-27b50317a/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zachary.dockal.16/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8byXNyfbkqVGIpo5qBtI7g

Image Credits
Cathy Dockal