Induro Blog

I took this picture a few years back. I’ve always been fond of its crooked nature, though if I’d had my druthers I would take it over again. And this time with a proper tripod, not the car window ledge. But what can you do? All I want for Christmas this year is an Induro CT213. Big enough for all my needs, but easy to transport. Lightweight, and attractive to boot. You can’t do much better.

Look at her, she’s a beaut:

I like all the crafty photography that happens this time of year. Especially the neat time lapse stuff that’s been more prevalent since the rise of DSLRs. Case in point- a super cool Christmas video by Porter Gifford.

I love the folks who come up and mug for the camera- see if you can spot them.

And just for fun, here’s another neat Christmas video.

Here’s to creativity in the new year!

Here at Induro, we love finding talented folks who are assisted in their craft by Induro tripods. One such photographer is Stuart Sipahigil, who was featured on our Facebook page recently. See Sipahigil’s flickr stream here, and check out his writing and images on his blog, The Light Without.

Here’s what Stuart has to say about Induro:

I’m a big fan of Induro tripods and monopods. I have the C314 carbon fiber tripod and the MC25 carbon fiber monopod and use them all the time.
So my thanks to Induro for the shout-out and, of course, for making great gear. I don’t go shooting without them.

And here’s a story about how he got started shooting, which I think is pretty sweet:

I am an amateur photographer in the traditional sense of the word. That is, I do it for the love of the craft. I’ve been at it for over 40 years, since my grandparents got me a plastic 120-roll film camera for Christmas when I was six. I went crazy with it, snapping photos of everything and everyone until my sister threatened to beat me with it. When I finished the roll of film, I sat down and opened the back to see my pictures. Imagine my shock after my grandfather gently explained what I’d just done. I cried for quite a while afterward. (I’m not sure I’ve ever actually recovered from it.)

Stuart’s trusty 314 now has an updated version, the CT314. Check it out.

Here are some of Stuart’s images. Pretty beautiful, eh?

Have a beautiful day!

photo by Patrick Robert/Corbis

No one knows exactly why Greenland’s ice cap is melting three times faster than it was just five years ago, but the rapid retreat probably has something to do with moulins, or glacial mills—extremely deep crevasses carved by rivers of snowmelt, which erode glaciers from within. Scientists studying the moulins face a twofold challenge: The Indlandsis ice sheet is hard to get to and almost impossible to get into, with ice over 10,000 feet thick in places. Enter Le Groupe Militaire de Haute Montagne, a gang of France’s most elite climbers, who hooked up with French glaciologist Luc Moreau and mounted an expedition nearly 500 feet down into the second largest glacier in the world (the first is in Antarctica). Though Moreau is still processing data from the trip and plans to return next year, his teammate Patrick Robert can already share one bit of extreme-camping wisdom: “Sleeping on a glacier,” he says, “is an exercise in humility.” —Ryan Bradley

photo by David Clifford

“Stepping off the ferry, I thought, this must be what it was like when the first visitors stepped into Kathmandu,” recalls Kevin Thompson (pictured) of his arrival in Arunachal Pradesh. Kevin and I had come to this remote Himalayan state in northeast India, along with five other rafting guides, to make exploratory descents of the Subansiri and Siang Rivers—and even after leading paddling trips across the globe for 15 years, I had never seen anything like it. We ran big-volume, Class III to IV+ rapids and drifted past misty, forest-lined beaches. It didn’t take long to confirm what we had suspected: This region had the makings of a world-class whitewater destination.

Home to hundreds of rivers and tributaries and 26 major tribes, Arunachal Pradesh has been closed to foreigners for much of the past 50 years, due to a long-standing border dispute between India and China. As a result, its lush landscape and native cultures have remained virtually untouched. The locals, most of whose ancestors came from neighboring Tibet, still speak an array of Sino-Tibetan dialects. With the state easing its visa restrictions, a handful of intrepid travelers are seeing firsthand, as we did, the potential for ecotourism, and the area’s leading whitewater outfitter, RiverIndia, is entering its third season. Large-scale energy development, however, is also on the horizon. Of the 168 new dam projects slated for northeast India, 22 would affect the great Subansiri, which may earn the distinction of having first and last descents in the same decade.—Bridget Crocker

photo by Kodiak Greenwood

Of the 1,200 wildfires that tore through California last July, the Big Sur blaze (officially known as the Basin Fire) proved the most destructive, scorching thousands of acres a day, closing a 35-mile stretch of iconic Highway 1, ripping through redwood forest, and burning down many of the structures that populate Big Sur’s wild hills—the same quiet shacks where Henry Miller and Jack Kerouac sought inspiration. It was fitting, then, that in a place known for its fiercely independent residents, Big Sur’s last and best line of defense was Big Sur itself. Ignoring evacuation orders issued by authorities, locals fought the inferno on their own terms. On July 2, at Apple Pie Ridge, photographer Kodiak Greenwood and seven others battled the Basin Fire using not much more than garden hoses. Lighting illegal backfires with hand flares, the Apple Pie Eight, as they came to be called, held off the advancing flames for nearly two days, sparing the town from destruction. Speaking on the condition of anonymity (one individual was later arrested for the backfires and faced criminal charges), a California state fire captain remarked, “Those guys did a heck of a job up there. This thing probably would have made it all the way down into town if it weren’t for them. Unbelievable, really.”—Ethan Stewart

photo by Blake Gordon

The Texas Water Safari began as a bet in 1963 and has since grown into the world’s toughest canoe race. Each June, competing teams run 260 miles down the San Marcos and Guadalupe Rivers, from San Marcos to Seadrift and the Gulf Coast, in no more than a hundred hours, often paddling through the night. Teams are permitted to carry water, ice, and one cell phone per boat. Flares and antivenom kits are required. Racer Tom Goynes, who has won the Safari seven times, claims it’s not the mosquitoes, fire ants, wasps, water moccasins, or gators you need to worry about. “Go slow and steady,” he says, “cause it’s the heat that’ll get ya.” Temps routinely top 100°F, and anything below 80 percent humidity is considered bone-dry. “We Texans have a real advantage,” says Goynes, “especially the ones without air-conditioning.”—Ryan Bradley

photo by Jonny Copp

While acclimatizing for a first ascent of the 19,200-foot Shafat Fortress in Kashmir’s Zanskar Range last August, Colorado-based climbers Micah Dash, 31 (pictured), and Jonny Copp, 33, tackled smaller obstacles around base camp, like this granite boulder in the Suru River Valley. The high peaks of the Zanskar Range form a formidable borderland between Pakistan and northernmost India, and many of the mountains are unclimbed. Two weeks after taking this shot, Copp was knocked cold by a slab of falling ice directly below Shafat’s summit. He came to and finished the climb. “The end result,” he says, “was a cracked helmet and a solid headache the rest of the route.”—Ryan Bradley

photo by John Seaton Callahan/Tropicalpix

Along Oman’s northeast coast, where the Wahiba Sands give way to the Arabian Sea, superheated winds whip up surfable swells and strange desert formations, like the “blowout” pictured here. This is the land of 600-foot dunes, 120-degree days, and the Bedouin, whose nomadic tent camps are a far more common sight than surfboards. The opening of a new surf school in Salalah may soon change that. Travelers can hitch a ride with GAP Adventures, which runs eight-day tours in the country, or rent a 4×4, drive inland to the village of Al Wasil, and hire a Bedouin guide for a trip through the dunes.—Ryan Bradley

See more, here!

There have been some amazing images circulating this past week, and I thought I’d share three bits of visual inspiration that were especially interesting. Also, apropos enough, all three of these phenomena would likely require a tripod to be accurately captured.

1. These mystery lights over Norway. This incredible blue spiral flummoxed natives of Norway, who were treated to an alien-like nighttime light show that could not be attributed to the Northern Lights. What was it?! Early reports blame a failed Russian missile launch, but the jury is still out.

See the video of the lights, here.

2. Samantha Tio’s Conveyance, a photographic study of traffic natures around Asia with the use of multiple and long exposures. This series was commisioned by the Singapore Art Museum, and is kaleidoscopic and enthralling.

I like this one. It reminds me of Blade Runner.

And finally-

3. Thomas Shahan’s incredible macro images of jumping spiders. At first glance I thought these were jewels, embedded in rings. But no, they’re spiders with gorgeous eyes.

Nature, you never cease to amaze.

G Dan Mitchell is a music professor by trade, but boy can he make a beautiful photograph. A fan of Induro tripods and the great outdoors, Mitchell has made the most of America’s west coast landscapes, and regularly returns to Yosemite, the Sierra Nevada and Death Valley to document nature. He’s also great at talking about his work. He was kind enough to answer my questions. Enjoy!

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I love that you are so drawn to the beauty of your surroundings. Of course, you do live in one of the most naturally beautiful areas of the world. Where exactly did you grow up, and was it formative in the way you now work as a photographer?

Although I was born in Minnesota, I’m a “virtual native” of California, having lived here since I was four years old. My family spent a good amount of time in the outdoors. Some of my earliest memories include frequent trips to the redwoods and the seashore, along with visits to Yosemite and Tahoe. My father was a serious photographic hobbyist and introduced me and my siblings to photography at an early age, so we always considered photographing our adventures to be a natural thing.

I consider myself very lucky to live in an area with so many wonderful photographic subjects close by! I’m within driving distance of the coast redwood forests, the Pacific coastline between Point Reyes and Big Sur, the beautiful inland valleys and hills, and the “urban landscapes” of the San Francisco Bay Area. I can get to Yosemite and a good chunk of the Sierra in a few hours. (I’m somewhat notorious for occasional driving and photography marathons that may take me over the Sierra crest and back in a single day.) I’ve backpacked throughout the Sierra for decades – I know some areas so well that I recognize specific rocks and trees!

As well as I know many of the features of this state, I still discover new sights and learn new things every year. It was only a short time ago, relatively speaking, that I finally got to know Death Valley. Despite decades of visits to the Pacific Ocean coastline, it is only within the last few years that I came to know and become interested in photographing the marine wildlife, and I’ve recently developed a passion for photographing the redwoods.

I’m drawn to your Death Valley imagery- how often do you return to shoot there? What causes these rock tracks?

Thanks! Death Valley National Park presents an astonishing terrain filled with an immense variety of compelling photographic subjects – the vast space and distances, the intimate canyons, high ridges, sand dunes, tough plants and animals, and surprising signs of humans ranging from native artifacts to mines and ghost towns.

I visit Death Valley at least once per year, generally taking about a week each spring – right before the weather becomes unbearably hot.

The rocks you mention are the famous “moving rocks” at the Racetrack Playa. I’ve been there a number of times – I often plan visits to coincide with a full moon. I stay on the playa from late afternoon through the following morning since the most interesting photographic opportunities tend to come at the very early and late hours, and I try to do some night photography there as well. One of my favorite photographs is “Two Rocks, Morning – Racetrack Playa.”

After shooting the previous afternoon, evening, and into the night I got up before dawn and headed out onto the playa – I was the only person there! The winds were howling and it was cold and overcast. I wasn’t optimistic about photography, but soon the clouds began to break up in the gale, and their shadows raced across the playa – it was a “landscape in motion!” I set up a shot with the two rocks and just as the light came over the tall ridge to the east it illuminated the tracks of the nearest rock as the patterns of light and shadow sped across the landscape.

I’ve written a description  of my experiences shooting at the playa that includes some information about the “moving rocks.”  Read it here. Having visited and come to know that place, the theory that makes the most sense to me involves a flooded playa and very cold temperatures that freeze the rocks into floating surface ice that is then blown around by the strong winds that are often encountered out there.

Do you make a living as a photographer?

I have a “best of both worlds” career. I’ve been a music faculty member at a Bay Area College for decades – yes, I have extensive background in music! I love teaching and I love music… and I love the security of that job and the flexibility it gives me to pursue my own specific photographic interests without having to photograph anything but the subjects that I’m passionate about. (There is a long tradition of musician-photographers – or is it photographer-musicians? – including some guy named Ansel…)

It may seem odd in a time of digital cameras and web imagery – and coming from a photographer who frequently writes and post photographs on the web – but my primary interest is in making prints. My photographs have also appeared in various media including book covers, magazines and periodicals and web sites.

What’s your traditional gear set-up– when did you switch from film to digital, and was has your experience been with Induro tripods?

I shoot with a couple full-frame DSLR bodies and a mixture of zooms and primes, almost always from the tripod. The precise setup varies depending upon subjects and where/how I’m shooting. For urban landscape and street photography I might go out with only one body and a single prime, but when doing car-supported landscape photography I often carry “the kitchen sink.” Since I do a lot of backpacking and hiking photography I have figured out how to work with a 12-15 pound minimal setup that I can carry on long high country backpack trips.

I shot film for many years, dating all the way back to when my father taught me to print in our “bathroom darkroom” at home. I eventually moved to 35mm equipment and for many years shot with a couple lightweight bodies. Beginning around 2000 I started to experiment with digital, at first using an early 4MP jpg-only camera that was essentially a glorified point and shoot. I photographed a 3-week, 1100 mile bicycle trip through Alaska and the Yukon using this primitive gear. Since then I’ve been all digital.

A few years ago I was in the market for a new tripod that would do double-duty for hiking use and more heavy duty use. I was considering the “usual suspects” when I read Michael Reichmann‘s positive report on his use of an Induro tripod in Antartica. Intrigued, I found a local dealer who carries Induro and spent some time handling some of the larger models and comparing to other brands before settling on the Induro C313. I added a ballhead to create a reasonably light setup that supports my large lenses. As soon as I got the tripod I headed off on a  Death Valley trip – including a Racetrack Playa visit and shooting in a sand storm – and its performance was excellent. My C313 has since held up to extensive and heavy use in all sorts of circumstances including being lashed to the outside of my backpack. (I now have my eyes on one of the newer and slightly smaller models for backpacking use.)

ed note: see the new and improved Induro CT313.

Are there any spots you return to again and again that are just incredibly special, or one shot that rises for you above all others?

Yes, indeed, there are quite a few! Although I don’t just shoot the same subjects over and over, there are some subjects that I revisit on a regular basis. I spend a few weeks on the trail in the Sierra every summer, and I have a standing appointment with the eastern Sierra aspens near the start of October. (Fall is my favorite time to shoot in the Sierra.) I love shooting the Pacific coast duding the late fall through early-spring months when Pacific storms create a wide range of dramatic conditions. And every spring I head back to Death Valley.

What will you be up to in 2010?

Besides the usual stuff, I have a few new plans – some more certain than others. I am going to continue some work I’ve done recently in the coastal redwoods, especially at Muir Woods, and right now I’m shooting Pacific coastline as winter begins. I have a project in mind  to photograph brown pelicans this winter and spring and probably beyond. I’m also starting to have a serious desire to get back to Alaska for some extensive shooting – possibly this coming summer but certainly within the next few years.

See many, Many more beautiful images on Mitchell’s site.

I think we’ll continue the animal theme we’ve got going here, with some of Scott Christie‘s images. These were all created using an Induro monopod- yet another example of how a monopod can be put to excellent use in the field.

I loved red pandas as a kid. I thought they’d make an excellent house pet.

Check out Induro’s monopods- they come in both Carbon and Alloy, you have your choice (or collect ‘em all!)

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.

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!

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.

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.

stretch!

\

Thanks for being a fan, Carly!

So let’s have a follow up of our discussion last week with Chris Juliano. As you’ll recall, Juliano is our teenaged-phenom who is regularly out in the field with an Induro monopod, with fantastic results. I asked Chris if he could have any Induro tripod, which it would be.

Here’s his answer:

Well I have always loved the Carbon fiber CT214 series, it looks like it could handle anything I put it through. And your carbon fiber products are amazing (my monopod is so sturdy), so I could only imagine how sturdy this thing must be! And the impressive thing is that it can handle 26lbs, all in a compact (folds to 20inches) tripod! What more could anyone want? If I had money you could bet that would be a part of my kit!

Here are some more of Juliano’s pictures. I like them, they’re sparkly.

Speaking of sparkly, I recently came across the absolutely stunning work of Barry Underwood. Underwood creates “scenes” in nature and photographs them. It’s no surprise he was once a theater major, right?

Take a look.

Have a magical week!