The quality of my photography has developed so much that I’ve been getting asked to shoot more commercial projects than ever before. The fine folks at. ShelbyKY Tourism reached out during the summer of 2023 and I was able to make a winning proposal to take on a shoot for them to create a series of refreshed images from a several of their key tourist attractions.
Read MoreA busy fall season wouldn’t be complete without capturing some of the colors of the changing seasons! A 5-day whirlwind tour saw our small crew running all over Kentucky tourist destinations to film and photograph whatever fall colors we could find. Here’s a brief recap of our shoot, along with a few sample shots from each day.
Read MoreThis fall we were contacted by a large cabin rental company in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge. The goal: produce an updated, compelling video ad for their cabin rentals that also included some of the local tourism activities in the piece.
Read MoreHistorically, the Appalachian region has been known as “coal country,” so when The Nature Conservancy asked us to work on a Climate Change video series with them, we knew that our approach to storytelling would have to be a delicate one. In the end we created two compelling videos that are entirely comprised of Kentucky voices, farmers and business owners, who share real world stories of how they perceive climate change and its impact onto them.
Read MoreFor a long time we’ve partnered with the Red River Gorge Climbers Coalition (RRGCC) to provide still photography and even some occasional video assets. When they were the recipient of a grant from the Access Fund to create new media with the goal of guiding climbers make the transition from the gym to the crag, they reached out to us. What resulted were a series of short, but fun, video segments used online and at in-person meetings.
Read MoreEarly in 2020, we were contacted to help produce an exciting, high quality short film to highlight the Red River Gorge Ultra, a 50k along the Rough Trail, to use for marketing this and other future races hosted by this particular company. After a year of event cancellations pushed this back, we finally were able to create this awesome promotional film in December of 2021.
Read MoreIt was just about two years prior that I trekked up Kilimanjaro on a shoot for Nadus Films. I wrote about that first trip in a blog you can find here. For this new project, it would be similar in the sense that I would need to document the trek, film interviews and other scenic footage, but what would be different is that I would be the solo filmmaker. I would need to capture all of the video, timelapses, and audio myself.
Read MoreOn a recent documentary shoot, we were able to capture over 10 interviews and b-roll footage by strategically lining up our location and schedule. This allowed us to maximize time and budget over the course of one weekend with a crew of five. This blog post takes a look at our setup for this shoot.
Read MoreA project that was several months in the making, plans were finally set (Covid restrictions made us reschedule a few times!) and I made my way out to Southwest Colorado with good friend and professional bike rider Josh Patton.
Read MoreDuring the summer of 2019, I was asked to appear as the subject for not one, but two, different web series that served to promote Kentucky Tourism. These videos took me deep into a cave at Mammoth Cave National Park, and out to Chimney Top in the Red River Gorge.
Read MoreIn October of 2019, I was hired to spend a week road tripping across Southern California with two awesome actresses and a hard-working production manager. The end result was a series of short tourism videos that are being used to promote California for international travel. Here’s a peek at a few of the videos and what went on behind the scenes.
Read MoreAs much as I love to work on video projects related to the outdoors or hanging from a fixed line to capture stills of climbing, I enjoy diving into a video edit and flexing my post-production skillset to craft a good story. It also gives me a break from long shoots where I’m on the road for a week or more. I really enjoy traveling but I also appreciate spending time working from home on my laptop. I wanted to share some background on the video editing projects I’ve been working on, but also provide insight into what it’s like to be a contract video editor.
Read MoreOver the past 12 months, we've been plugging away at a few different tourism video and photo projects in Kentucky, through an agency that hired Wilkinson Visual to create content. Patiently waiting for them to go public, the wait is finally over! Here's a brief writeup on the two jobs and the final videos.
Read MoreThe Nature Conservancy works to protect natural lands and water, and in 2017 I had the opportunity to work with the Kentucky chapter of TNC to create imagery for their 22-page case statement.
Read MoreAs the leaves of fall hit their peak colors, I scrambled to get out and shoot as much as possible. In between hiking the gorge and driving around horse farms, I got asked to jump on a zipline and shoot photos for Lexington’s Boone Creek Outdoors.
Read MoreDon’t get me wrong, I LOVE what I do. I’m my own boss, set my own schedule, and routinely edit videos or write proposals while wearing pajamas. However, with the advent of social media, and people projecting this image of, “look how awesome my life is” I find it important to take a moment and reflect on the reality of this profession.
Read MoreJust released is an e-book I co-authored, entitled "Tips for Shooting Professional Video Interviews."
With over 100 pages of content, the information in this e-book has been created to help videographers and filmmakers produce professional video interviews.
Read MoreThe Blackmagic URSA Mini 4.6K RAW Camera is a high end video camera that I was fortunate to check out for a few days while shooting some climbing and documentary b-roll around Kentucky. The technical specs are out of this world: 4608 x 2592 pixel capture, RAW recording, and a whopping 15 stops of dynamic range, all in a $5,000 package. Read all about it in my full review on Fstoppers.
https://fstoppers.com/gear/fstoppers-review-blackmagic-ursa-mini-46k-raw-cinema-camera-155172
Read MoreMinnesota 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 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.
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