Just the Facts: Age - 36; Hometown - Boulder, CO; Education - graduated from NYU in 1991; Employ - with Park Pictures since June 2006.

Previous experience: Baca-Asay was an accomplished DP before acquiescing to repeated requests to try his hand at directing. He began working as a DP in 1991 right out of film school. "I focused on DPing while everyone else was a director at film school, so I shot everything," he says. In '94, Baca-Asay met now-stablemate Lance Acord and worked as his gaffer before meeting director Mike Mills. The two have since collaborated on countless projects, including Mills' feature Thumbsucker. His DP highlights include Sony "Balls", VW "Bubble Boy", ESPN "Makeshift", and Viagra "Golf".

Best work: Baca-Asay came out of the gate with a strong visual piece for Nike, originally awarded to Acord, who subsequently handed it to him. "Defy" employs a photographer's eye to dizzying effect. While elite athletes perform gravity-defying feats, the camera slowly becomes upended. "It was about getting the motions perfect and the right spot in the frame," he says. "I was surprised by how much of an advantage it was coming from DPing." For Nike "Endure", Baca-Asay was able to experience the casting process - something he'd had much second-hand knowledge of. "I've been around actors so much that I know when it's a genuine performance, even though I haven't spent a lot of time communicating with them." His most recent spot is "Skate Park" for Nissan.

A Joaquin by any other name: You'd think that with a name like his, Baca-Asay's greatest struggle would be getting people to properly pronounce it. But a fellow Park director is Joachim Back, with whom he worked on the award-winning Viagra campaign, and there were tangles with mistaken identity. "I think that's caused some problems at the beginning. Now they've got it a bit clearer."

The balancing act: As long as it's tenable, Baca-Asay hopes to continue working as a DP. "I've had so many good experiences working with other directors - for me that collaboration is just so fulfilling, I don't want that to stop. Also, I want to be very selective about the quality of what I direct and I don't want to be solely dependent on that," he says. Not to mention he's still got the whole world of features to conquer.

Park Pictures http://www.parkpictures.com