Josh Merwin has always looked at things differently. Weighing in 4lbs at birth, he was smaller than his friends and looking up at the world around him. After finding a $20 bill on the ground as an 8 year old, Josh ventured off to the toy store. Walking down row by row, he was unable to find the perfect toy. Unsuccessful, Target was the next errand for his mom. There, he hit the bull’s eye after seeing a Polaroid camera for $19.99. Josh’s eyes lit up and he’s had a viewfinder to his eye ever since, capturing the world around him.

After graduation from the University of Colorado with a double major in Journalism & Film, Josh began his career shooting for ESPN the Magazine, Sports Illustrated and the New York Times, where he created eye opening images that ran as numerous double-page spreads. Josh moved back to  Houston to work for the hometown paper, the Houston Chronicle to pursue stories with a more personal connection. This decision would change his career path. While in Texas, he came across a blurb on ESPN.com – “UT Baseball Player Needs Kidney Transplant.” The University of Texas baseball player was Carson Kainer. A week later, Carson and Josh went to lunch and the next day Josh began documenting the Kainer Family’s story. What started ten years ago as a photo essay has grown into a feature length documentary film, “A Gift For Life.”

In looking at the film festival landscape, Josh realized there wasn’t a major sports film festival in the U.S. He is solving that by launching the Houston International Sports Film Festival, June 3-6, 2021! HISFF will return to Houston Feb. 3-6, 2022

Josh is always looking for projects in the sports and entertainment worlds that show life beyond the performance, as illustrated in the Image Galleries on this site. If you know of any such stories or subjects, please contact him at josh@joshmerwin.com or by phone at 832-524-5501.

About
About Josh Merwin

Josh Merwin has always looked at things differently. Weighing in 4lbs at birth, he was smaller than his friends and looking up at the world around him. After finding a $20 bill on the ground as an 8 year old, Josh ventured off to the toy store. Walking down row by row, he was unable to find the perfect toy. Unsuccessful, Target was the next errand for his mom. There, he hit the bull’s eye after seeing a Polaroid camera for $19.99. Josh’s eyes lit up and he’s had a viewfinder to his eye ever since, capturing the world around him.

After graduation from the University of Colorado with a double major in Journalism & Film, Josh began his career shooting for ESPN the Magazine, Sports Illustrated and the New York Times, where he created eye opening images that ran as numerous double-page spreads. Josh moved back to  Houston to work for the hometown paper, the Houston Chronicle to pursue stories with a more personal connection. This decision would change his career path. While in Texas, he came across a blurb on ESPN.com – “UT Baseball Player Needs Kidney Transplant.” The University of Texas baseball player was Carson Kainer. A week later, Carson and Josh went to lunch and the next day Josh began documenting the Kainer Family’s story. What started ten years ago as a photo essay has grown into a feature length documentary film, “A Gift For Life.”

In looking at the film festival landscape, Josh realized there wasn’t a major sports film festival in the U.S. He is solving that by launching the Houston International Sports Film Festival, June 3-6, 2021! HISFF will return to Houston Feb. 3-6, 2022

Josh is always looking for projects in the sports and entertainment worlds that show life beyond the performance, as illustrated in the Image Galleries on this site. If you know of any such stories or subjects, please contact him at josh@joshmerwin.com or by phone at 832-524-5501.