Blog for Wilkinson Visual, aerial and documentary video production and photography services in Lexington, Kentucky.
Minnesota friends! This November I’ll be teaching a Photography Workshop as a part of the 2016 Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education (AORE) Conference. If you lead outdoor programs, or are an adventure athlete and want to learn how to take better photos of the incredible places you go, consider checking it out. I’ll cover a ton of tips and tricks in this full day, hands on workshop!
Read MoreAmidst a tumultuous couple of months that had been jam-packed with video shoots around the country, in early July I found myself in Michigan for my good friend Jakob's wedding. While enjoying a draft german beer at the reception, compliments of Jakob's new father-in-law, Jen and I chatted up our buddy Scott and after about 10 minutes, we had all but planned out specifics for a kayaking trip on the Two Hearted River. Four weeks later, we were on the water, but only after having made an unexpected trip to the animal hospital...
Read MoreIn this article I wrote for Fstoppers, I used my recent airline travel experiences to outline a number of tips and questions that a traveling filmmaker or photographer should consider. Late flights, gate-checked bags, and picking a travel backpack that best suits your needs. This and more in the full post.
Read MoreWorking in video and photography has really taught me that things can happen quickly. A phone call, email, or even text message can immediately change the course of my plans and I've found it vital to remain flexible and open to those opportunities.
Read MoreWow, Bill Thompson and the crew of Downwind Sports did a stellar job at the 2016 Michigan Ice Fest! There were a number of sponsors in the mix this year, led by the charge of Black Diamond as Title Sponsor. We’ve been attending the event for years and this one certainly raised the bar!
Read MoreWhile written articles and word of mouth have their benefits – in this day and age, videos are a superb way to market a business. With this in mind, and after seeing some of the work Mike had done on the Michigan Ice Film, Garrett reached out to us about creating a video that would help show what Peabody Ice Climbing is all about.
Read MoreWhile working on content for an e-book about video interview production, I wrote an article for Lensrentals.com, all about audio gear and techniques.
Read MoreIt’s safe to say that when the ball dropped on the evening of December 31st, 2014, I had no idea that in twelve short months I would be writing a summary of my experiences from my new home base in Lexington. I’ll try to keep this as brief as possible, while exploring the notable jobs and events of the year, as well as the decisions that led my partner Jen and I to a somewhat unlikely destination.
Read MoreI shared with the audience of Fstoppers, who are always hungry for new behind the scenes content, this informative piece about a promotional video Wilkinson Visual made in 2014. It features motion timelapses, slow motion, and a tricky "match-cut" sequence.
Read MoreWhile we don’t exclusively create multimedia for non-profits, outdoor-centric, or locally-focused businesses, we certainly seek them out whenever possible! Paradox Sports fits this bill as a non-profit that (among other things) creates adaptive sport communities and regularly hosts rock climbing clinics where folks with a physical disability are given the tools needed to ascend a vertical rock wall. Paradox has been on our radar for a while, and we finally got the chance to spend a weekend working with the volunteers, staff, and participants of the annual Paradox Rocks event held in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge.
Read MoreDuring the last few years in Southwest Colorado, Wilkinson Visual was fortunate enough to secure a project for the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to involving the public in the study of archaeology and Native American cultures.
Read MoreWhile holed up in Denver, I got to test out a new "portable" light kit made by LED specialists, Litepanels. This 3-light kit can be powered by AA batteries, is lightweight, bright, and packs into a very small kit, which made it very useful for a traveling filmmaker such as myself.
Read MoreA trip through Grand Teton National Park resulted in waking up before dawn to re-create one of the most iconic landscape images from Ansel Adams.
Read MoreThere's a hidden river canyon near the Utah border of southwest Colorado that sees very little traffic, from both climbers and hikers. The rocks are red, the river runs fast, and there are even bears about as well.
Read MoreAs Jen and I made our way around the western United States, we scheduled a few key stops to work on photo and video projects (it's not all whiskey and rock climbing!) While we were in Lake Tahoe, we managed to spend the day creating some images for a local bike shop, featuring skilled riders on some of Lake Tahoe's best trails.
Read MoreWilkinson Visual was hired to produce two tourism videos focused on a couple of the smaller, sometimes unnoticed communites in Southwest Colorado, Dolores and Mancos.
Read MoreIn the last 4-6 months, I've been slowly working on re-aligning the focus of Wilkinson Visual, and strategizing on where and how to proceed next. As part of that process, I wanted to actually create a proper logo and rewrite what is basically the mission of the business, so that potential clients would know exactly the kind of work we specialize in, and hopefully get us better SEO ranking.
Read MoreI’ve never been one to use a roller bag for my photography or video equipment, besides Pelican hard cases. My whole life I’ve used backpacks of one brand or another so that I can be as mobile as possible, as honestly I spend more time on uneven dirt trails than I do on city streets. But this new bag that I reviewed for Resource Magazine might make me rethink all of that.
Read MoreIn the last few months, I've given myself a crash-course (small pun intended) in flying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones as they are commonly called. Specifically, I was using the DJI Inspire Quadcopter, and in this fstoppers article I shard my experiences and opinions on that system for aerial video capture.
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