Blog for Wilkinson Visual, aerial and documentary video production and photography services in Lexington, Kentucky.
I was talking with a friend recently at the Slade Welcome Center in the Red River Gorge, and while there I happened to glance across the rack of publications and maps. A note of red caught my eye, and upon closer inspection, I noticed that it not only one of my photos, but I photo I captured of myself using a tripod from a tourism shoot I did back in April of 2023.
Read MoreIn late August, I had the exciting opportunity to lead a 10-day shoot across Central New York, capturing stunning visuals across three diverse regions. Using a streamlined, mobile setup to adapt to various locations, we captured stills, video, and aerials.
Read MoreAs a Kentucky-based outdoor and adventure photographer, I've spent countless days capturing the stunning outdoor beauty of the Red River Gorge. But nothing prepared me for the extraordinary experience of photographing the northern lights right here in Kentucky. Known more for its breathtaking cliffs and lush forests, the gorge is the last place I expected to witness such a rare celestial display.
Read MoreLiving in Kentucky and working as a photographer has been a dream come true for me. Nestled in the heart of the Red River Gorge, I’ve had the incredible opportunity to combine my passion for photography with the stunning landscapes and activities that this area has to offer. Recently, I was floored when I spotted my photography featured on billboards around the gorge, promoting local cabin rentals.
Read MoreThe Appalachians have long been known for coal. But a shift is taking place as solar panels begin to dot the landscape.
I was asked to take journalistic/documentary style images to complement this article written by The Nature Conservancy. Check out the article here on TNC’s website.
Read MoreThe 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 MoreKentucky has many small but vibrant communities, from quaint villages tucked deep into the hollers of Eastern Kentucky, all the way to more well-known destinations like Georgetown and Bowling Green. I was fortunate to be contracted to film short tourism videos in several different communities this past year, and below are a few of the final resulting videos!
Read MoreComing fresh off shooting the 2023 Michigan Icefest, I linked up with The North Face athlete and Kentucky-neighbor Sam Elias. We worked together a number of years back on the Michigan Ice Film, so it was fun to catch up and connect over discussions about Kentucky, bourbon, and film ideas for the coming year.
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 MoreThe summer of 2021 kept me busy in back home in Kentucky, filming a series of three tourism videos for Bowling Green, Berea, and Frankfort.
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 good business will refresh their visual marketing collateral at least every two years, especially as their target clientele grows and shifts, or to meet the demands of their existing customer base. One such business that I’ve done photography for a few times is the Endless Summer Paddle Company, and this past July I once again spent the day capturing stills for this brand.
Read MoreNearly a decade I used to do regular work for the University of Michigan, across several departments and colleges. Over the years, I’ve been able to keep a relationship going which has evolved into me being involved with media projects from time to time. While this is usually just editing remotely, I was asked to come up and direct a multi-camera shoot for a recent video project.
Read MoreSpring-summer of 2021 has exploded with film and photo projects, and one of the more fun shoots I got to work on was this canoe race in the heart of the Red River Gorge.
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.
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