International award winning photographer and cinematographer, Kevin J Railsback takes you on an incredible journey through our natural world.From a gently flowing creek in the Iowa countryside to the top predators in the Yellowstone food chain, and everything in-between.Along the way you’ll get an opportunity to get inside the mind of filmmaker Kevin J Railsback. Learn how he captures some of his incredible footage with helpful tips as well as how he puts it all together in front of his camera lens.
About Kevin J RailsabckAward-winning filmmaker Kevin J Railsback has traveled as far as Africa to test HD cameras for Panasonic.
His stunning nature and wildlife footage has appeared in productions on National Geographic, Animal Planet, Discovery Channel as well as in commercials for such corporate giants as AT&T.
Seeing the Possibilities
One of the questions I’m often asked is how do I capture such beautiful imagery.
It’s a hard question for me to answer. It’s not that I’m reluctant to share some secret technique ( there really isn’t one ), it’s that I really don’t know the answer.
While composition and exposure can be taught, seeing the possibilities in a scene where there may appear to be none is much harder to explain. I think a lot of it is something you’re just born with.
I’ve been a dreamer my entire life. In my world of daydreams, there are never any limitations. I can be anyone, do anything, go anywhere. I think that allows me to look at the real world in different ways than just the current reality that’s in front of me.
I my latest film, “The River”, I scouted locations for the opening sequence. I was looking for something that would have a big impact and set the tone for the rest of the film.
This was the first place I scouted, a local state park which had great access to the Cedar River.
Really not much to look at. Certainly wouldn’t put it in the film as is. But, I saw the potential.
So I began checking sunrise times and position. I also checked the weather reports every night to make sure the morning sky would be clear. Nothing worse than traveling to a location to capture the sunrise only to find clouds blocking the sun.
By seeing the possibility in the location and a little planning I wound up with this.
Certainly much more impact as an opening shot than what I had seen when scouting this location.