‘Proving Ground’ for Storytelling

In a ground-level office off Plymouth’s Main Street, a collective of commercial filmmakers, photographers and storytellers is quietly proving that visual artists don’t need to move to a sprawling metropolis to pursue their passions. 

Artist Tom Hope poses in front of his collection of vintage Indian motorcycles.

“I always wanted to have a production company of my own,” said Warden Co. founder Josh Bogardus in an interview at the office earlier this year, a space that reads more like an inviting clubhouse than an indistinguishable modular room in an office park. “That’s when I decided to launch Warden — me and my close friends putting a name behind a body of work.” 

Since 2023, when Bogardus introduced the brand alongside creative partner Dan Dunn, Warden Co. has grown, ushering in a new generation of filmmakers and photographers from small towns who want to work in the production world.

In addition to Bogardus and Dunn, the core team features Josh Lawless, the brand’s senior editor, photographer Peter Cirilli, and some of the “young guns,” as Dunn refers to them: gear manager and camera assistant Ben Sebring and junior director of photography Calvin May.

But these titles are used loosely. As a collective, they work together, flexing into different roles as varying projects require.

“The beauty of the collective is seeing how it’s come together,” Dunn said. “That was the goal from day one.” 

More recently, Warden Co. has been able to offer opportunities for young visual artists in a very competitive industry that is often undervalued, providing experience working on projects of bigger scope, like mountain bike or backcountry ski films, as well as access to gear and mentorship. 

“It’s been a trip,” said Bogardus, “because I feel like not too long ago, I was the younger guy asking people for their advice.”

Bogardus credits Dunn as a mentor when he was getting started as a freelancer in New England following an internship with Los Angeles-based production company Stept Studios that would have a profound impact on the trajectory of his career and creative vision.

Collective members work on set during the filming of “My Cousin, Tom,” a short film about how one man’s love for artwork and motorcycles shaped his spirituality.

“I’m a sponge when I’m around them,” Bogardus said about working with more experienced cinematographers and directors. “I see how they interact with people or how they run their companies. I like to think of myself as the annoying little brother up in the mountains.” 

The Warden Co. — the name a nod to Bogardus’ father, who moved the family to Littleton in the 1980s to pursue his dream of becoming a game warden — has worked for major global brands such as New Balance, Columbia and Indian Motorcycle. 

In one commercial posted on their website, the crew follows professional snowboarder Zeb Powell around a resort, capturing the athlete’s gravity-defying stunts and the camaraderie of friends, all to the rhythm of a snappy, catchy beat. 

Another, with stunning aerial shots, encapsulates the fleeting, addictive feeling of hooking a fish after a 12-hour day on the open ocean in the slow casting of a line, a soothing voice-over, and the gentle gurgle of turquoise water lapping against a boat. 

Director Josh Bogardus reviews footage during the filming of “My Cousin, Tom.”

“People seemed really excited about what we were trying to do,” Bogardus said. “They understood that we were this outdoor filmmaking group that could also lean into the commercial world, and it kind of snowballed from there.” 

Fundamentally, Warden Co. are storytellers. “My Cousin, Tom” — a short film about a gifted painter and motorcycle collector — and “The Caretaker” — which follows the reclusive life of the Harvard Cabin caretaker — were both official selections for a number of film festivals across the country. 

Despite the recognition, Bogardus says he’s never made a video he’s been completely satisfied with. “You compare your work to other people’s work or you have this vision in your head of what it could have been,” he said. “I think that’s probably part of being an artist.”

Looking back over the years, however, Bogardus considers “The Proving Ground,” a film they released last April in collaboration with the Mount Washington Avalanche Center, some of the collective’s best work.

Highlighting the dangers of backcountry skiing in Tuckerman Ravine, also known to many as “The Proving Ground,” the film chronicles stories of recreationists who have survived long-sliding falls in the bowl and reflects on those, tragically, who have not. Featuring interviews with U.S. Forest Service avalanche forecasters, professional skier and North Conway native Caite Zeliff, and the parents of 20-year-old Madie Saltsburg, who lost her life on Mount Washington in 2024, the film is a powerful and emotional examination of the risk involved in exploring America’s birthplace of extreme skiing.

Specialty boat driver Ralph Kucharek, right,
and camera operator Jamie Walter man the chase boat setup on Lake Champlain for Alumacraft.

“I think our team did a really good job on that film,” Bogardus said. “We wanted to keep it tight, but there’s enough information in there for anybody to watch it, understand what Mount Washington is and get attached to some of the characters that we put into that 13-minute film.” 

“Most of the stories we do are our dream projects,” Lawless added from across the room, parts of an unassembled camera in his hands. “ ‘The Proving Ground’ was great just because I spent so much time up on Mount Washington, and it feels good to be able to provide something to the community, to help promote safety, and make sure everyone can get out there and recreate.”

For Lawless, the scope of “The Proving Ground” proved challenging, specifically dealing with hundreds of hours of footage shot over multiple years. “(That process) feels like you’re climbing a mountain, especially starting off. You try to just focus on one thing, but you can’t help but think about everything else that has to come.”

All smiles for Julian Focareta, left, a director of photography for the collective, and Nick Natale, right, on audio during filming for “The Proving Ground.”

Oftentimes, they’ll overshoot documentary style film projects so as not to miss a moment or to be wishing for a specific shot after the fact. “It’s a lot of just being in the right place at the right time,” Lawless said. “I’ve also found over the years that you have to be rolling a lot. We leave so much on the cutting room floor.” 

Overshooting tends to mean long, tiring days out in the field. For another short film, “The Chase,” the crew assembled at the trailhead at 4 a.m. to position themselves on the mountain for a single shot of a skier hiking up while the sun rose over Tuckerman Ravine.

It might be fitting to mention here that one of Lawless’ first memories working with Bogardus was carrying a 70-pound backpack full of aerial drone equipment up to the base of the ravine for a shoot. 

Despite the arduous nature of his task, Lawless remembers being amazed by the scope of the project: drone operators, specialized cameras, shooting in steep terrain. 

“That kind of opened my eyes,” he said.

Although the Warden Co. is a relatively small team, their productions are big in scale. They work in various ways taking on full-scale productions of their own from start to finish, but they also work as a directing partner or camera team on a certain project. They even offer specialty services: Drones that follow a boat on the open water. Cable cameras that twist and turn through a ravine. Or arm car camera systems that attach to a truck, capturing a motorcycle speeding on curvy, coastal terrain.

“I’m really proud of what we’ve built so far here in my home state,” Bogardus said. Cameras, lenses and cases abound as the crew packed for a shoot the following morning. “But there’s still a lot of things I want to accomplish and relationships I want to build. 

“And maybe one day, we’ll make a video I really like.”