We’ve previously featured sports photographer Chris Garrison several times on the PocketWizard blog. On Alliance Wakeboard’s site he recently documented a shoot he did with Nate Perry. Garrison had an idea for a shot he wanted to get, which Perry describes in the post as “[not] too hard. It was just a cab 180 nose press, early pass back backside 180 out.” Sounds simple, right?
To capture this shot, Garrison used a Nikon D2x, Elinchrom Ranger heads and packs, and tied it all together with a PocketWizard FlexTT5 and PowerST4 units. He points out that he used HyperSync technology to help him shooting in the harsh, flat light of 12 noon. Garrison has written about HyperSync previously.
Garrison also did some experimentation with a broken mirror he found on the side of the road. Is there nothing this photographer won’t try? Don’t miss all the details at the full post.
We asked you to show us how you MAKE IT POSSIBLE™ using PocketWizard Wireless Triggering Systems. The rules of the first photo contest were simple. Just one off-camera flash was required. 396 images were submitted, ten semi-finalists were chosen, and final judging was done by Mark Wallace.
Congrats to Trevor Mahoney of Waterloo, Canada for being named Overall Winner. Mahoney won two FlexTT5‘s and one MiniTT1 for Nikon, an AC3 ZoneController, a G-Wiz Trunk bag, and a 1-year subscription with SmugMug plus photo Web site customization. Congrats, Trevor!
The winning photo by Trevor Mahoney. ©Trevor Mahoney
Full details of all winners can be found here. Thank you to all who participated. Stay tuned for details about future contests.
For almost thirty years, Scott Markewitz has been living in Salt Lake City, Utah. Originally attracted to the area for skating, skiing, and other outdoor activities, he now takes advantage of all the photographic opportunities available year-round. With his involvement in skiing, cycling, running, climbing, and other sports, he knows the best locations for many kinds of photographic setups no matter what season.
Markewitz skied as a hobby, and eventually turned pro after earning a degree in Marketing from the University of Utah. As a professional, he skied for many photographers and even flew down the slopes in a few movies. “I definitely gained a lot of experience working with the photographers at the time, so I guess you can call that my photographic training,” he says. “I went from one side of the camera to the other.”
©Scott Markewitz
(more…)
See host Joe Brady as he shows how to put PocketWizard Radio Triggers to use firing multiple off-camera flash units in both studio and environmental on-location portraits. With the addition of the easy to use AC3 ZoneController, you can instantly control and adjust up to three flash zones to create beautiful portrait lighting ratios using both TTL and manual modes — right from the top of your camera!
During this live online video seminar, Joe demonstrated how to take control of light with multiple flash units both alone and with different light shaping tools. Joe also answered questions from the audience live on the studio set.
Check out the archived Webinar and visit the PocketWizard site for more details.
Atlanta-based David Christensen had been into photography since he was a teenager, but it was while he worked as chief photographer at a junior college newspaper that he realized this was what he wanted to be. This was further reinforced when he attended a Georgia College Press Association banquet and heard guest speaker Dave LaBelle at the podium. LaBelle was a Pulitzer Prize nominee teaching at Western Kentucky University. This moment was the start of Christensen’s favorite type of photographic image.
©David Christensen
(more…)
New England native Mike Kelley was into photography in a big way, but one day something fortuitous happened. While at the University of Vermont, Kelley ran into Dave Schmidt, who is an employee of LPA, makers of PocketWizard. Schmidt is also a shooter in his own right, and was photographing for a local ski resort. He also happened to have a prototype of the PocketWizard MiniTT1® on top of his camera. Kelley noticed, and the two began a conversation.
©Mike Kelley
“I just kept bugging him and bugging him and eventually he caved and gave me an internship at PocketWizard,” Kelley recalls, laughing. After graduating from the University of Vermont with a double major in Environmental Studies and Studio Art, Kelley moved to Lake Tahoe to try his hand at professional snowboarding. This didn’t transpire, but proved fortuitous in a different way professionally.
(more…)
Here’s an update on the Rick Friedman Location Lighting Workshops we’ve been hearing so many good things about. New dates below.
To learn about portable lighting techniques that have enabled Rick Friedman to capture his on location, award-winning imagery around the world, sign up and join in for one of his upcoming workshops. One of the key things that he will share in a “very hands-on way” is how to better control your lighting. This dynamic, intensive, interactive seminar is designed for portrait photographers, photojournalists, corporate and event photographers, wedding photographers, and serious amateurs who want to improve their knowledge of illumination and light. If you attend Rick’s class, you can plan on leaving feeling empowered to capture great images no matter what lighting situation you come up against!
This workshop begins with creating interesting light with one Speedlight, progresses through using multiple Speedlites with many different light modifiers, using grip equipment, adding colors to your images and ends with mixing both Speedlights and studio strobes. Rick teaches using both Nikon and Canon.
Workshop Schedule:
- December 12th & 13th Calumet, San Francisco
- December 16th &17th Calumet, LA
- January 15th Unique Photo, Fairfield, NJ
- February 11th & 12th Rick Friedman Studio, Boston
- March 12th & 13th Midwest Photo, Columbus, OH
- March 31st & April 1st Calumet, Cambridge, MA
- April 6th & 7th Calumet, Chicago
Spring 2012:
- Glazer’s Photo, Seattle
- White House News Photographers Association, Washington, DC
Visit Calumet Location Lighting Workshops for info on “Location Lighting Workshop with Rick Friedman.” To see Rick’s work and read what other workshop attendees say about Rick’s workshops please visit his site.
Photographer Chris Garrison has shared his thoughts on HyperSync technology with us. You can learn more about Chris and his work by visiting his site and his blog.
HyperSync
1/800th at f/7.1.
HyperSync(TM) is the single largest game changer for photographers using studio-type flashes. As photographers, we are once again taking part in another evolution of our industry. I consider the introduction of HyperSync technology by PocketWizard to be as large as the digital format transition. We are no longer just freezing motion with shutter speed or light, we are actually painting light onto the frozen motion.
(more…)
William Gross Magee contacted us with details about an exciting project he’s working on. What follows is the text he submitted. We will be featuring him in detail as he gets closer to the completion of this photographic endeavor.
I am doing a research project with the permission from the National Parks Service to duplicate the first underground photos in America. They were done by Charles Waldack in 1866. Waldack burned magnesium to light the cave. To compare and contrast the changes in the cave and photographic technology, I am using the latest in photographic technology including speedlights with wireless control.
Vickie T. Carson, Public Information Officer at Mammoth Cave National Park standing at the end of Giant's Coffin.
(more…)
Justin Olsen was recently interviewed by Stan Horaczek for PopPhoto.com. Olsen goes into detail about the custom mount he created to secure a DSLR to his chest. Oh, the other part? Olsen does some serious mountain bike activity, like flying through the air, as one of his Canon cameras clicks away.
Why not just use a helmet cam? Well, you couldn’t get images like this, for instance. With the camera lower on the shooter’s body, you get a different perspective than if it was atop a helmet. The action, and the bike in particular, seem a lot closer.
Olsen has a PocketWizard attached to his Canon in order to trigger the camera remotely. Check out his site for more extreme action shots. Great job, Justin!
