POV: You picked up a camera because you loved the way light hit your friends’ faces.
15 years later… you’re holding cinema rigs and your name is on projects you used to dream about.
If you’re just starting out:
Learn your craft inside and out not just gear, but timing, emotion, story.
Say yes, even when it scares you.
Stay in it longer than you feel comfortable.
I didn’t have a plan. Just a deep love for seeing my friends and telling their stories. That was enough to build a career.
You can do it too one frame at a time.
#yveswilson #filmmakingjourney #setlife #cinematography #doplife #pov #fyp
Camera Operator on this powerful piece of history with LL Cool J and many more hip hop legends. Thankful to help shape the visual language with the team. If I told my younger self I'd be shooting documentaries with legends whose lyrics I sang at the lunch table would I believe it? Truly honored.
Directed by Kirk Frasier and DP Dwight Campbell and produced by @llcoolj and @peytonmanning for Omaha Productions.
"LL Cool J Presents: Hip Hop Was Here"
Directed by: Kirk Frasier
Produced by: LL Cool J and Peyton Manning
DP: @dwightocampbell
Camera Operators: @gabriel__stephen@yfwstudio
Streaming on: @paramountplus
Released: July 22, 2025
Huge respect to the crew who held it down.
1st AC: @hellahannah_
1st AC: @shotparnass
2nd AC: @azziescott
Gaffer: Freddy Cintron
#CameraOperator #Cinematography #llcoolj #peytonmanning #OnSet #VisualStorytelling #BlackExcellence #YvesWilson
If you don’t tell your story someone else will. 🤙🏾
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Honored to participate in a colloquium at Sacred Heart University celebrating the contribution of contemporary Black artists to global culture. Moderated by Dr. Michelle Loris and joined by my fellow artists and thinkers Razul Branch and Shanna Melton we had a robust conversation that could’ve gone for another hour. The full length discussion is available in the News section of my website (link in bio) grab some popcorn and check it out. - Yves
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Special thanks to the film crew @jasonebert and their work to make this happen.
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always chase the #light
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#artisttalk#artistsoninstagram#blackartists#filmisnotdead#polaroidoriginals#discussion#philosophy#visualartist#yveswilson#nyc#newhaven#bridgeport#sacredheartuniversity#yaleuniversity#parsons#columbiauniversity
Yves Wilson (@yfwstudio ) grew up in Bridgeport, Connecticut, walking city streets with his mom’s camera, shooting roll after roll of film he paid for by caddying on weekends. He wanted to tell the stories of people who looked like him but couldn’t see a path to art school until a summer program cracked the door open and a school librarian handed him Gordon Parks’ phone number. He went on to study at Parsons, one step at a time, guided by teachers and mentors who showed up in the most unexpected places.
That’s the heart of Twenty One Summers: your path doesn’t have to be obvious to be possible. It just has to be yours.
Who was the unexpected person who changed the direction of your life?
#your21summers
Portrait of the artist Dwight O. Campbell after his performance piece "The Man I Saw" performed in various locations around Manhattan. Shot on Ilford HP5 400 and pushed two stops with my trusty Canon AV-1. The heat and electric nature of the day along with intense reactions to his work came through in this series where I was privileged with capturing in motion and stills.
Big thanks to the crew involved in making this piece come alive over 60 New York City blocks.
@dwightocampbell@justwatchthevid
1: Rome
2: young couple on Derby Avenue
New Haven, CT 2025
these portraits were shot on @ilfordphoto HP5 400 processed by @lusterphotolab
#film #canonusa #35mmstreetphotography #newhaven #yveswilson
"Aunty" a short film written and shot by Elisha Brockenberry and Yves Wilson. Shot in New Haven, Connecticut.
Starring:
@righteouspath.2002
Poem: "Virginia" by Yves Wilson
Vocals by : Elisha B. & Steve B.
Shot on @sonycine FX3 provided by @creativeclass6
#Shortfilm #artfilm #journalfilm #5120x1080 #yveswilson
"Virginia"
Cyanotype on paper,
24”x36”, 2025
Created in my home studio using layered digital negatives and found objects, this work explores the Black American connection to Americana through silhouettes, film fragments, and everyday artifacts. The imagery reflects my family’s journey from Virginia and South Carolina to Connecticut during the Great Migration.
#fyp #artistsoninstagram #cyanotypeprint #blackartists #mixedmedia #artprocess #contemporaryartist #newhaven
