Kayaking the Two Hearted River and Lake Superior, and the Healing Power of Nature

Amidst 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...

Fstoppers Post: Traveling Photographer and Filmmaker Checklist for Flights and Packing Bags

In 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.

Fstoppers PostMike WilkinsonJune 21, 2016tips, fstoppers, article, blog, travelComment

Filming and Editing a Non-Profit Testimonial Video in 72 Hours for a High School Robotics Team

Working 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.

Behind The Scenes, Video ProductionMike WilkinsonApril 6, 2016non-profit, video production, bts, behind the scenes, educationComment

Michigan Ice Fest and Teaching an Ice Climbing Photography Clinic

Wow, 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!

Behind The Scenes of our Video Production for the Peabody Ice Climbing Club

While 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.

Lensrentals Blog Post: Proper Techniques for Using Shotgun and Lavalier Microphones for Video Interviews

While working on content for an e-book about video interview production, I wrote an article for Lensrentals.com, all about audio gear and techniques.

Lesnrentals ArticleMike WilkinsonJanuary 15, 2016audio, lensrentals, video production, blog, article, tipsComment

How We Ended Up in Lexington, Kentucky With All of this Bourbon: Our Year-End Recap of Travel, Adventure and Filmmaking

It’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.

Fstoppers Post: The Making of an Industrial Promotional Video with Timelapses, Sliders, and Crafty Editing

I 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.

Behind The Scenes, Fstoppers Post, Video ProductionMike WilkinsonNovember 14, 2015bts, behind the scenes, video productionComment

Video Production for Paradox Sports: Adaptive Rock Climbing in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge

While 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.

Behind The Scenes on a Documentary Video Production for a Non-Profit Organization

During 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.

Gear Review: The Caliber LED Portable Lighting Kit by LitePanels

While 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.

Mike WilkinsonOctober 21, 2015 Comment

A Tribute to Ansel Adams Photographing The Tetons and Snake River

A 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.

PBR for Breakfast and a Rock Climbing Photography Session in Southwest Colorado

There'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.

Lake Tahoe Mountain Bike Photography for the Over The Edge Sports Bike Shop

As 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.

Producing Two New Tourism Videos in Southwest Colorado

Wilkinson Visual was hired to produce two tourism videos focused on a couple of the smaller, sometimes unnoticed communites in Southwest Colorado, Dolores and Mancos.

Photo Gig, Video Production, Behind The ScenesMike WilkinsonAugust 30, 2015tourism, travel, southwest colorado, video productionComment

Creating a Logo for Wilkinson Visual: the Process, Collaborators, and the Final Design

In 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.

BusinessMike WilkinsonJune 27, 2015design, business, wilkinsonvisual, logoComment

Resource Mag Online Gear Review - The Lowepro Pro Runner RL x450 AWII

I’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.

Resource Magazine PostMike WilkinsonJune 10, 2015gear review, lowepro, photography, travelComment

Gear Review: The Axler Robin 20 Stabilizer for B&H Explora

During my New Orleans shoot with RGG EDU, I had brought along a handheld stabilizer called the Axler. Not unlike a Glidecam, it would float camera systems under about 7lbs and was great to use.

Mike WilkinsonMay 6, 2015Comment

Fstoppers Post: Hands On with the DJI Inspire Quadcopter, Capturing 4K Aerial Video

In 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.

Fstoppers Post, EditorialMike WilkinsonMay 3, 2015dji, inspire, uav, drone, aerial, video production, fstoppersComment

New Orleans! The City That Never Sleeps, Or Sobers Up

RGG EDU has been a steady client of mine for a while now, and their latest project had me working in both their studio as well as in the streets and swamps of New Orleans, shooting, editing, flying drones, doing timelapses, and a whole lot more.

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