Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Eythan Maidhof

We recently had the chance to connect with Eythan Maidhof and have shared our conversation below.

Eythan , a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What are you most proud of building — that nobody sees?
I’m most proud of building close friends and community.

My relationship to love has shifted in my early forties. I used to take for granted people that I knew I was close with and keep them in my back pocket while always prioritizing making new friendships. Then when it came down to making intensional time with those that I love closer I’d hardly get around to it. I strive more for intentionality. Even micro check ins here and there letting people know I’m thinking of them. This career moves so fast and you do meet new wonderful super amazing people, but thoughtfulness and intentionality to those special few is everything to me now.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hello! My name is Eythan Maidhof. I’m a cinematographer with about twelve-years of experience, but I actually found my way into cinematography through writing. Whenever I’m not shooting, I write — it’s always been the way I make sense of the world and I even approach cinematography with a writers eye the way I see creating arcs with visual language, tone, world building through lensing, and color.

A film I wrote and shot called, “Class Clown”, was recently honored by IATSE Local 600 as part of their Emerging Cinematographers Awards, which meant a lot because that project came from a very real place in me.
With “Class Clown” I wanted a personal calling card that felt accurate to who I was since it’s 99% true and it represents the stories I wanted to tell visually. So I took the leap — I wrote the script, raised $75K, and teamed up with a wonderful director friend Paul Cadenhead who pushed the vision further than I could’ve imagined!

As a cinematographer I’m drawn to family stories that can hold darkness, humor, and subversion all at once — grounded characters living in an elevated world. I’m especially interested in themes of grief, spiritual awakening, and the courage it takes to tell the truth when it’s the only way forward.
When I am shooting in the field I love working with kids and older adults. There’s something about both ends of life — the honesty, the rawness, the lack of pretense — that feels closer to the emotional truth I try to capture. Somewhere in the middle, adulthood teaches us to mask things, and I’m always trying to peel that mask back, both in the work and in myself.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I’ve always been naturally emotional, sensitive, and a good listener. A lot of that comes from where I come from. My dad has always been a professional tinkerer — someone with a brilliant painter’s eye who never quite had the support or freedom to pursue his own art fully. My mom, on the other hand, had more grit and loving kindness than anyone I’ve ever known. Those two energies shaped me in very different but meaningful ways.

But I wasn’t raised honoring the traits people usually associate with being a strong cinematographer. The emotional sensitivity and natural talent was there, but the leadership, communication, and clarity weren’t. I had to learn those the long way — through years of therapy, a lot of self-reflection, and showing up again and again from set to set even when it was uncomfortable, and I feel that I’ve pushed through!

It took time to learn how to communicate clearly, set expectations, create boundaries, ask for what I need as a leader and manager. Honestly, that growth has been just as important to my cinematography as anything technical. Becoming a cinematographer has been a path of healing, unlearning, and pushing your personal potential a little further with every project. Cinematography has made me a better person and the inverse is also true!

If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
It’s okay to make mistakes. That’s part of the process.

You are not as good as your last project, you are an average of your last five!

You’re big break is circling around you over and over. You’ll look up at the right time eventually if you don’t if you don’t get too caught in the weeds.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
Cinematography as a whole. I’ve done it for 12-years now. I believe I’d rather chase love then spend my life avoiding dislike in my work. I will do what I love and try to surround myself with love always!

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. When do you feel most at peace?
I feel most at peace spending time in nature when in between projects and all you could do is be present with someone you love being around and looking outward with them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.eythanmaidhof.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eythanmaidhof/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eythan-maidhof/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eythan.maidhof
• Other: IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3210510/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_0_nm_2_in_0_q_Eythan%2520Maidhof

Image Credits
03_Maidhof_Framegrab – Class Clown Film
04_Maidhof_Framegrab – Class Clown Film
8 – And I Miss You Like A Little Kid
12 – And I Miss You Like A Little Kid
9 – The Golden Years
2 – The Golden Years
09_RIGHT – Tiny Mammals
11 – With Yuri