Carter Cleary, otherwise known as Carter with a Cam, has quickly become a prominent figure on social media and on the Williston campus.
Since his creation of the “Carter with a Cam” Instagram account on Nov. 19, 2021, Carter has amassed over 3,000 followers on Instagram for his sports-based photography and videography. Not only that, but he has made a business out of it as well.
He started off taking pictures of his friends and filming JV Basketball tryouts. His videos improved in quality with each one he posted. In March of 2022, three members of a middle school team from Holyoke reached out to Carter saying they wanted to hire him to make a mixtape of them. Carter, who hadn’t even thought of the prospect of making money at that point, happily agreed.
He spent his summer doing workout shoots for hire. This fall, was hired by Williston to make edits of soccer and football playoff games.
Most recently, he was hired by Manning Performance to film Frontier Regional Varsity Basketball in their game at the Mullins Center at UMass Amherst. His high-quality equipment and advanced editing skills have made him a sought-after individual to book.
The 16-year-old sophomore day student is originally from Bethesda, Md., and now resides in the rolling hills of Westhampton, Mass. At Williston, he is a top runner on the cross country and track teams. He is spending his winter managing Girls Varsity Hockey and dedicating his free time to his photo and video craft.
Carter was inspired by a local creator, along with a friend of his, Jacob Waah ’25.
“During fall assessment week last year, Jacob showed me his phone, and it was this sick clip where some guy was getting his ankles shattered, and it was posted by Dan from the Field,” Carter said. “Dan from the Field” is a videographer from Springfield, Mass., and a pioneer of the Instagram videographer trend in the Pioneer Valley. Carter, together with around 50 other Instagram sports videographers and photographers, are in a group chat together and critique and support each other on their respective journeys.
Aryan Sadathia, a sophomore at Holyoke High, was inspired by Carter to start a photography journey of his own.
“I’d seen many other photographers around but none that were my age. When Carter started and I saw how great his photos were, I wanted to start too,” Aryan said. “When I first started, my editing was bad and I didn’t know how to really work my camera but now I can.”
Carter’s reach has drawn attention both off campus and on. Carter is an incredibly familiar face around Williston as both the sophomore class president, and the most prominent student cameraman on campus. Even if a student has never had a conversation with him, his name rings bells in their minds.
Carter is also a well-respected individual among the faculty. Carter’s advisor, Ms. Talbot Syfu ’98, has been particularly impressed with his success considering all he has on his plate.
“I’m so impressed by Carter’s drive and determination in all aspects of his life. He holds himself to a high standard bringing his best to his classes, running, extracurricular activities and all he does with his camera,” she said. “It’s remarkable what he’s done with his Carter with the Cam business given all of his other commitments.”