It’s impossible for me to separate Zack Phillips the professional photographer from Zack Phillips the big-hearted and relentlessly generous friend that I’ve known him to be ever since we met in South Korea almost 9 years ago. As a way of making our new friendship official, I remember Zack compelling me out to have a few beers with him and to dig into our dreams and ambitions. I imagine this is something he did with all his new friends, but it felt special and that is a testament to his ability to be present with you, to hear and see you for how you want to be heard and seen at your deepest level.Some time after that, I asked Zack to photograph a tango competition being held in Seoul with me. I asked Zack if he would photograph the event, not because I needed his expertise (which I did), but because I knew it would be a blast if we did it together. Of course he met and exceeded expectations on both fronts. He set up a photo booth and he not only provided more coverage of the event, but he knew where to be and what to photograph. He took on the editing and took lead on the delivery of the end photos as well. The result was nothing short of beautiful; the client nothing short of happy. We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly amongst the crowd of international professional tango dancers that night. I couldn’t imagine the photographic results or the joy of working with Zack any other way.Over the years, Zack and I have had a prolific number of conversations in which he has helped me understand various photographic techniques so that I could improve my own photography. He has also continued to be a sounding board for me, a perfect conversationalist, evoking sincerity and hilarity at the same time, and someone I’m grateful to know as a dear friend and brother. I’m beyond thrilled to see him continue to push the limits of his personal and professional creative abilities, I never tire of experiencing the depth of storytelling in his images, and I know he will continue to express deep truth in his work—all in service of making the world a little bit brighter.Put simply, you can’t go wrong in hiring Zack for your photographic needs, by supporting him through the purchase of his art, or by enjoying his images online. The impact of who he is personally and professionally is a felt positive one. And if you’re lucky enough to cross the professional divide and become friends, which is likely to happen with Zack, then you will be all the more blessed by Zack’s way of being in this world.