Kevin is the lead filmmaker at Project Upland. He is…
Project Upland celebrates 10 years of filmmaking and the evolution of those who tell your stories.
“I will never have a perfect dog. I will never be the perfect shot. I will never understand everything about Ruffed Grouse. Those layers, for me, are the point. The point is that I can endlessly try and never actually reach that goal. That goal will always be pushed further and further away. That’s the point.”
Founder of Project Upland, A.J. DeRosa
If you had told me back in 2014 that Project Upland would evolve from the random wanderings of a New Englander into an award-winning film series, I would have laughed. As a New Englander, my curiosity was always there, but my worldview was limited to those around me and how they discovered a love for the uplands. I grew up hunting over my father’s Brittanies; in the 1980s, you could still find ruffed grouse regularly in the central parts of New England. Although the seeds were planted then, my true love for the uplands did not fully develop until I pressed record on a camera. With each story I had the pleasure of telling, I found myself more enchanted by the wonderful and complex world of the uplands. Favorite dog breeds, game species, shotguns—it felt like the ultimate “choose your own adventure” book.
A.J. DeRosa founded Project Upland in 2014 as an excuse to go hunting more often (and it worked). A New England native, he grew up hunting and has spent over 35 years in pursuit of big and small game species across three continents. He has a passion for side-by-side shotguns, inspiring him to travel the world to meet the people and places from which they come. Looking to turn his passion into inspiration for others, AJ was first published in 2004 and went on to write his first book The Urban Deer Complex in 2014. He soon discovered a love for filmmaking, particularly the challenge of capturing ruffed grouse with a camera, which led to the award-winning Project Upland film series. AJ's love for all things wild has caused him to advocate on the federal and state levels to promote and expand conservation policy, habitat funding, and upland game bird awareness. He currently serves as the Strafford County New Hampshire Fish & Game Commissioner in order to give back to his community and to further the mission of the agency. When those hunting excuses are in play, you can find him wandering behind his Wirehaired Pointing Griffon in the mountains of New England and anywhere else the birds take them.
Kevin is the lead filmmaker at Project Upland. He is obsessed with Ruffed Grouse, Trout, and Filming and Photographing the pursuit of both. Telling meaningful stories about people and their passions is what drives Kevin in his filmmaking career. Hailing from Pennsylvania, Kevin and his young English Setter "Torfinn" can be found in the woods all year round enjoying creation and any adventure they stumble upon.
