Here's random sunset shot from the other day when I was hanging out in Santa Monica.
GorillaPod by Joby
Awhile back LowePro and Joby sent me some really awesome bags and accessories. The bags I use all the time, but up until this point I never had an opportunity to put the GorillaPod Focus to use. Last weekend I was working on a photography/video project with an ammo company called Battle Born Munitions outside of Reno, NV. The first day I shot some footage inside their warehouse and the following day we went off the grid to capture footage of their ammo in action. While we were out there I used a 3 camera setup which consisted of two Nikon D7000s and one GoPro Hero3 Silver Edition. I had the GoPro on a tripod near a steel target about 250 yards away from where we were shooting and I had both of the Nikons focusing on the shooters. The GorillaPod came in handy because I was able to set it up really low to the ground to capture some cool video footage from a lower vantage point and on top of that my steady cam rig broke and the GorillaPod actually worked as a good substitute. I think they should create some accessories to transform the GorillaPod into a highly portable on the go steady cam rig. Anyway, here's a shot of the GorillaPod on the ground in front of the firing line, it was shot with my iPhone so it's not the greatest of shots, but you can see how the GorillaPod was placed and used.
Chanon Finley
Model: Chanon Rosefelt-Finley
Photographer: Steven Williams
Client: Arsenic Magazine
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Traveling with Lowepro
Awhile back Lowepro sent me some gear and one of the items they sent was a Lowepro Nova Sport 35L AW. I'm currently in San Diego loading up my Nova Sport now for a shoot tomorrow in LA. I'll be doing some furniture shots for Furniture Porn followed up by some fashion work with models Kate Compton, Danielle Ruiz and Mina Doll for Arsenic Magazine. I've been out of town a lot over the past few months and this bag just got back from traveling with me through California, Peru, Chile and Argentina and really made traveling with camera gear much easier. I fly a lot and definitely recommend this bag to anyone else that travels with camera gear. The built in rain cover really came in handy while I was rolling my suitcase (with the Nova Sport secured to the top) through the streets of Buenos Aires. On the way down to Buenos Aires from Los Angeles I was able to fit my Nikon D7000 + 4 Nikon lenses (12-24mm f/4G | 35mm f/1.8G | 50mm f/1.8G | 55-200mm), a Canon 6D + 3 Sigma lenses (18-35mm f/1.8 | 50mm f/1.4 | 50-150mm f/2.8), Nikon SB-600 Speedlight, a Macbook Air and a bunch of filters and accessories.
A Deeper Kind of Sex
Back in August of this year I was up in Venice Beach working on a project with Arsenic Magazine which they've titled "A Deeper Kind of Sex." I was shooting stills for the project while Director/Writer Scott Burns (Bourne Ultimatum, Contagion, The Informant) directed the video. The video features models Tatiana Dietemen, Alyssa Smith, and Shay Maria.
From the original post on the Arsenic Magazine site:
The objectification of women: can't live with it, and can't sell billions of dollars of material items without it. It has warped a generation of men in all sorts of diabolical ways and has turned young women against food, each other and themselves. And yet here we are, confronted daily with our own appetites for youth and beauty and sex with access to an infinite internet receding into the darkest and most fascinating places. Sam Shepherd once said,
"In the middle of a contradiction, that's where you want to be."
This is where these images find all of us. - Scott Z. Burns
A Day Wandering In Tijuana
Yesterday morning I packed my Nikon and Custom SLR gear into my Lowepro Slingshot and headed across the border into Tijuana where I met up with my friend and fellow photographer Hugo. I've been to TJ numerous times, but never really got to explore the city beyond places that are within walking distance of the border. So yesterday Hugo drove me around to some places that I probably would have never seen. We stopped by some fish markets, a farmers market, drove up to a nice neighborhood that had a great vantage point with a view of San Diego and Coronado from a Mexican perspective, and finished the day at a small park. While in Mexico I did do something somewhat touristy which I never do when I travel anywhere else, I had a Caesar Salad at the restaurant where it was invented . . . it was good.
While south of the border I was able to snap a few quick promo shots for my favorite sunglass brand, William Painter.
Lowepro & Joby Sponsorship
Yesterday I got an e-mail regarding sponsorship from Lowepro and JOBY which are sister companies owned by Daymen. Lowepro has been the only company that I've ever used when it comes to camera bags and I'm really excited to check out the new gear which they have been kind enough to send me. Along with two new bags I'll be getting some new GorillaPod items to play with. I've never used a GorillaPod before, but I've been meaning to pick one up for quite awhile and I'm looking forward to putting it to use.
The product that first turned me on to Lowepro and really sparked my interest was the SlingShot. I've taken this bag with me on all my travels over the past 4 years. It's spent a lot of time in planes, trains, and automobiles, as well has hikes through rain and snow in the mountains and the intense heat of the desert, never failing to protect my Nikon gear. I've never once had an issue with it and plan on still using it for a long time. Here's the original video that I saw when I first started looking into options for carrying my camera gear and what sold me on the SlingShot:
Source: http://lowepro.com