Archive for the ‘ Uncategorized ’ Category

Dan Saelinger: Business Week and Stop Motion.

Posted in Uncategorized on January 29th, 2010 by Rachel Hulin – Be the first to comment Tags: , ,

Dan Saelinger is one of my favorite commercial photographers, and as an added bonus, he often gives us a behind-the-scenes post on his blog. This recent one about his shoot for Business Week is particularly great because I’ve been looking specifically for some clever stop motion stuff to feature on this blog, as stop motion is, well, something you’d do with a tripod. Also it’s just cool.

Here’s how Dan describes the project; see the final stills and video work below.

As you may recall as the holiday approached last month I got insanely busy.  One shoot taking up a majority my time was a project for Business Week.  At the end of every year Business Week does a double issue giving a financial forecast for the upcoming one. I was tapped to shoot three images that would connect the different features together.

After working with the design and layout the creative director made the call to go with all  images on white.  It was also decided that we should use a globe as a common connecting element in each of the shots. Below are the final images.

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While we were doing this project I thought it might be fun to try a little stop motion video as a potential practice run for future projects.  So below are two of the concepts done up stop motion style.

BW Darts from Dan Saelinger on Vimeo.

BW Trap from Dan Saelinger on Vimeo.

Induro Introduces Gimbal Tripod Heads!

Posted in Contests, Uncategorized on January 12th, 2010 by Rachel Hulin – 1 Comment Tags: ,

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Everyone is talking about Induro’s new Gimbal Heads. They’re truly spectacular. Below is the official press release, read all about them.

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Elmsford NY, January 12, 2010 — Photographers have a seemingly endless choice of support heads to perch atop their tripods: panheads, ballheads, and a wide array of other head accessories. There are times, however, when these may not be the optimum choice for special shooting situations.

Recently, the U.S. design team at Induro, makers of the finest tripods money can buy, introduced a tripod head for sports, wildlife and nature photographers who work with very long, heavy telephoto lenses. It’s called a gimbal head, and the key to its success is the ability to easily balance heavy camera/lens systems. It does so by positioning the equipment at its center of gravity and essentially making it “weightless.” This provides a level of control, ease of handling and freedom of movement not possible with any other support system.

“Typically, photographers choose either panheads or traditional ballheads because that’s what they’re familiar with” explains Induro Product Marketing Manager Jeff Karp. “However, the gimbal head has some unique characteristics enabling it to do things other heads can’t. The camera and lens, because of this unique weightless state, can be tilted up or down and stay in that position without the need to be locked in place. It also can easily move horizontally and vertically for quick, accurate tracking of fast moving subjects. This can be a big asset when photographing wildlife.”

Noted landscape and nature photographer Joe Brady, who is in charge of Webinars for MAC Group adds, “We were recently in Yellowstone National Park and the gimbal head enabled me to get some extraordinary shots of bald eagles and bull elks quickly, without a lot of movement on my part. That enabled me to work quickly and quietly without disturbing the subject. I was completely sold on the gimbal head and, incidentally, so were the other people in my group. I think four or five of them have put in orders already.”

When you need the maximum degree of control and flexibility, there is no better choice than the Induro GHB2 Gimbal Head. The GHB2’s convenient calibrated vertical scale and height adjustable lens platform makes it easy to consistently place your camera/lens combination at the right position for repeatable results and perfect balance.

When you need a more compact outfit, the Induro GHB1 or GHBA can provide most of the control of the GHB2 at a reasonable price. The three gimbal heads range in price from $200 to $489, including an Arca-Swiss style quick release plate.

“A high speed 500mm or 600mm lens and professional camera system can cost upwards of $10,000” continues Karp. “When you consider the weight and image magnification, it becomes obvious that hand-holding this equipment is not practical. There will be too much movement and the ability to frame a shot is impossible. With a gimbal head, you can pre-select your area of focus and, without the weight constraints of a heavy, unwieldy camera/lens combo, you are freed to create amazing images.”

Induro Gimbal heads should be an integral part of every sports, nature and wildlife photographer’s arsenal. For an investment of less that $500 you can get the maximum performance and creative control from professional telephoto lenses.

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Take a look!

For Friday- Frozen in Time with Julia Fullerton-Batten.

Posted in Uncategorized on December 4th, 2009 by Rachel Hulin – Be the first to comment Tags:

One of the things I love most about photography is its ability to distill a moment, to freeze action. And I’ve always loved the look of folks suspended in midair- it seems like that’s a bit of a trend lately in photography. So you can imagine how excited about British photographer Julia Fullerton-Batten‘s recent series, In Between.

Fullerton-Batten is a fine artist who has translated a lot of work into the commercial realm, which I’ve always found interesting. Have a look.

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I like that tripods help make images like this come to life. You just can’t live without them! Have a great weekend- I’ll be back next week with some super interviews!

Induro Facebook Fan Appreciation! Carly O’Neil

Posted in Uncategorized on December 3rd, 2009 by Rachel Hulin – Be the first to comment Tags: , , ,

So, folks, I’m not sure if you’re aware that Induro has a Facebook page, but we do, and we’re pretty excited about it. I encourage you to become a fan, and see lots of gear updates and interesting industry tidbits.

I thought we’d start a fun feature called “Fan Appreciation”, and showcase some fan photography. Because we appreciate you.

First up? Carly O’Neil.

I love her animal pictures best.

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Here’s what Carly says about her love of photography:

I picked up a camera probably about 8 yrs old. I was the girl
with the camera backstage and the girl whose grandmother
was consistently irritated by the amount of film I blew through.
I remember when film camera’s went digital and thinking
how cool it was that it wound the film on its own! BACKWARDS!

I keep saying I don’t shoot people. But as you can tell I really
do love to take a good beauty shot or portrait. I’m completely
obsessed with the wickedly boring things out there, shapes,
lines,  shadows. They are the real story tellers to me.

Another love of mine is travel and photojournalism, and I hope
to focus on that as I continue to grow and learn as a
photographer.

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stretch!

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Thanks for being a fan, Carly!

Induro’s BHD Series BallHeads, and Some Head Shots.

Posted in Uncategorized on November 23rd, 2009 by Rachel Hulin – Be the first to comment Tags: , , ,

Sooo, lest you think the Gimbal Head is the only trick Induro has up its sleeve, I thought I’d introduce you to the BHD Series of Ballheads. This series isn’t so strong by accident- the new Induro product lineup was designed with valuable input from photographers, dealers and engineers. Induro has a team always searching for that next new concept.

These ballheads are designed to handle nearly any any shooting situation and camera, from compact still and video cameras, to full-sized professional gear. Want more info? You’re in luck:

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I thought it’d be fun to wrap up our ballhead exploration with some head shots. Get it? First, let’s have some portraits made by a major pro- Dan Winters. Mr. Winters is truly the A-list of portrait photographers- here are some recent shots.

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Mr. President

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Christopher Walken

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Mary Louise Parker

And for some added fun- here are some head shots of a different variety, by photographer Meg Wachter. Wachter is an up-and-comer with some amusing ideas.

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Yeah, you’d need a tripod to capture these.

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And a shower for your guests.

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Read more about Induro’s new line of ballheads, here!

Need Aluminum? Try Induro’s Alloy Series.

Posted in Uncategorized on November 16th, 2009 by Rachel Hulin – Be the first to comment Tags:

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I’ve been talking so much about Induro’s amazing Carbon and Adventure Series tripods lately that I’ve completely ignored the Alloy Series. And for that, I feel terrible! The Alloy series is quite special- these tripods offer uncompromising quality, strength and durability, at a reasonable price. And that’s something we can all get behind.

In honor of the Alloy Series’ Aluminum Alloy legs, I thought I’d post some classic aluminum shots, courtesy of Shorpy. Because aluminum and photography have made a great pairing for some time!

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Long Beach, California. October 1942. "Annette del Sur publicizing salvage campaign in yard of Douglas Aircraft Company." 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information.

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Sarah Hall and her daughter Barbara at home in Miami Shores, Christmas 1954. 35mm Kodachrome by Shepard Hall.

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February 1942. "Aluminum casting. A woman in this large Midwest aluminum factory works the inspection line." by Alfred Palmer for the OWI

You can have aluminum as a hat, you can have it as a tree, but I think it’s best as a tripod.

Dan Saelinger, Water and Magic.

Posted in Uncategorized on August 14th, 2009 by Rachel Hulin – Be the first to comment Tags: , , ,

Some visual magic for Friday. I just came across these images on Dan Saelinger‘s site, labeled simply as “navigator’s”. I thought they were spare and beautiful, and I was intrigued  about why and how they were shot. I did eventually find out the secret to “why”… here’s a bit about “how” they were made:

Each image had a master shot, then from there we would blow bubbles, shake tables, and jump up and down to create different effects to add in post.  The water arc jumping from glass to glass required some very cool water rigs, laser triggers, high speed strobes, and a ton of captures.

Woo, sounds dramatic!
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This one is my favorite. It’s like a water dance.

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Burning to find out why these were made? Go here to find out! And soak up more Saelinger, here.

Get Some Skills with Hanson Fong and John Woodward!

Posted in Uncategorized on July 14th, 2009 by Rachel Hulin – Be the first to comment

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What what? You want an affordable seminar on lighting and composition at an affordable price, in a city near you? It’s your lucky day. Hanson Fong and John Woodward are going to help you. Their Beauty and the Beast Seminar dates are as follows:

7/30 Portland, OR
8/10 Waltham, MA
8/13 New York, NY
9/14 Indianapolis, IN
9/24 Grand Rapids, MI
9/28 Houston, TX
10/1 Los Angeles, CA
10/5 Nashville, TN

Register now!

Check out these clever folks in action:

Induro is proud to be a sponsor of this event (and I hear there will be discounts on gear, too!)

Check it out.

2 Youtubes for Friday!

Posted in Uncategorized, Video on June 12th, 2009 by Rachel Hulin – Be the first to comment Tags: , , ,

OK, Youtube Friday is going to be like a mullet haircut; business in the front, party in the back.

First, we’ll hear from photographer Jeff Boxer as he discusses his tripod process. (note that he calls Induro “a relative newcomer to the industry but definitely one to watch”)…

Thanks, Jeff! Next– and get ready for awesome hilariousness– check out this video ode to Induro tripods the folks over at Cape Cod Photography Art have created. Who knew these tripods could rock out to techno!

Have a great weekend, folks!

Tripod-inspired design: Tre Lamp

Posted in Uncategorized on June 5th, 2009 by Rachel Hulin – Be the first to comment

It’s Friday in here, folks. So let’s have a tripod-themed design challenge. We’ll make this a weekly thing. First up, a lamp, by the Finns.

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Tre lamp

Manufacturer
Selki-asema

Design
Elina Järvinen

“Tre lamp by Elina Järvinen is a three-legged floor lamp made of metal. Turnable lamp is perfect for reading light, peeking over the reader’s shoulder. Turnable light shade creates light upward or downward.”

I like it. I can put it in the corner next to my gear, so I can see better. Only problem: it’s 395 euros, so it costs more than the actual tripod it’s mimicking (if it’s a reasonably-priced Induro, of course). Sigh.