Process 045 ☼ Using A Travel Tripod In Low Light and Fog (+ video)
GIVEAWAY: Reto Ultra Wide Film Camera courtesy of BuyMoreFilm
Dear friends,
This issue is all about getting a new tool that helps me go on more shoots during the winter time. I tested the Peak Design Travel Tripod to shoot medium format film work during a foggy day in the Amsterdam forest.
For this week’s GIVEAWAY my friend Stephan of film and camera web shop BuyMoreFilm has made availabe the very cool Reto Ultra Wide & Slim Film Camera.
WHY A TRAVEL TRIPOD? DARK WINTER DAYS.
We are currently in the dark days of winter in Northern Europe, which can get depressing for analog photographers. Most days simply do not have enough light for me to get excited about shooting any film below 800 ISO handheld. Thankfully those who came before us created the perfect tool to help us stabilize our camera during low light conditions so we can still shoot at a higher aperture: the tripod!
I’ve owned a great sturdy Benro tripod for a few years and used it in the studio and on sets. It does the job perfectly well in those settings, but I noticed I never took it out for a photo walk when I had a quick hour or two of unexpected free time. It is just too cumbersome and heavy to carry around for any extended amount of time.
It was really bothering me that I wasn’t taking advantage of these free moments to shoot more because the more I shoot, the more I improve. All of this had me very curious about Peak Design’s recently launched Travel Tripod and their claim that it is the most innovative tripod out there.
I was excited to put that to a test so one cold Monday morning I jumped on my bike and headed to a gorgeous forest on the outskirts of Amsterdam. I was joined by photographer and film bulkroller Tim Verheijen, and filmmaker Luc Satter who captured our day so beautifully on the video you can watch below. The Peak Design Travel Tripod was generously provided by the good folks at Moment.
I have included my takeaways below, alongside some of my favorite photos shot that day. Each image was shot on the Hasselblad 500cm sporting a Planar 80mm f2.8 lens on Fomapan Retropan 320 Soft, Fuji Acros 100, and expired Kodak Portra 800.
I loved this little tree moment with water so still that it functioned as perfect mirror for the trees and grasses, creating a wonderfully textured look. This was how I set up the Hasselblad and the tripod for the shot above:
As we explored the forest we came upon a dock jutting out into a peat bog that was covered in a layer of beautifully soft white fog. One of those lucky days!
Once I walked out onto the dock a beautiful view emerged of the Sint Urbanus church in neighboring village Bovenkerk framed by trees below and fog above.
Below is a closer view once the fog started to dissolve into the cold winter air, followed by some of my favorite atmoshpheric shots. I really enjoy how the Fomapan Retropan 320 Soft lives up to its name by rendering the foggy landscape in an almost painterly way rather than a sharp rendering close to reality. It wasn’t the first time I shot this stock (see issue 033) and it won’t be my last, if I can find some more.
These rolls were expertly developed and scanned by my friends at Carmencita Film Lab. Use code “PROCESS” at check out to get a free size upgrade for your scans. Carmencita accepts film from anywhere in the world and I love working with them. Thank you CFL team!
TRAVEL TRIPOD TAKEAWAYS
There are cheaper travel tripods out there and there are certainly taller ones, but I haven’t yet come across one that packs away as neatly and is as thoughtfully designed including some cleverly reimagined details. Some pros and cons below.
Pro
It is incredibly compact and packs away into a 39.1 cm (15.4”) carrying sleeve, which is about half the side of my other tripod when packed. See video.
It’s very light at 1.56 kg (3.44 lbs) which made it easy to stick it in the water bottle compartment of my camera bag without really feeling it.
The design of both the tripod and the packaging is Apple level clever and sophisticated. It’s a beautiful object to look at, especially when folded in.
It’s stable and kept my Hasselblad still on a variety of surfaces from muddy grass to a slippery wooden dock. It can handle a weight of 9.1 kg (20 lbs) which is much heavier than any camera I own weights.
It includes a smartphone holder that is cleverly tucked away inside of the central column and lets you mount your phone to take super stable videos.
It includes a bubble level so you can make sure your camera is perfectly level which was especially helpful for the uneven surfaces on grass and sand.
It has an ergonomic head that is straight forward to use and is compatible with all Peak plates and most standard Arca-type plates according to the booklet.
Cons
It’s priced on the higher end at $349.95 USD/EUR for this aluminum version, which to me is worth it because it solves a problem and it incredible well-made. But if your budget is smaller this might not be your first choice of tripod.
It’s not the tallest tripod with a max height of 152.4 cm (60") when fully extended, which is totally fine for most uses but as a tall person you’ll be bending down to look through the viewfinder. It wasn’t really an issue for me and I’m tall at 1.92m (6’3”) but may bother you if you use the tripod only in the studio running the same shots over and over.
The hex wrench that’s included and is packed away in a little pocket on the tripod is not secured that well and can fall out, which happened right when I was walking on the wooden dock. I was lucky and it didn’t fall in the water, but after that happened I decided to keep it in my pocket instead.
In a nutshell, I love this Peak Design Travel Tripod and feel much more up for a quick spontaneous shoot during low light days, which is nearly every day in Amsterdam at the moment. I wanted a stable, compact, and light tripod so that I would have not have “ugh it’s too dark” as an excuse not to go on a photo walk on low light days. It delivered on that and more. It’s really a joy to use, and I use it often now.
Shout out to the good folks at Moment for supplying this tripod and if you’re interested in picking one up too I can happily recommend checking it out in the Moment webshop alongside many other accessories, film, and cameras. Great team, great products and service.
Alright that’s it for this issue! On Sunday you can expect the first issue in the “From The Archives” category and I’m excited to dig into these. I’ll share a collection of photos of one of my favorite portrait subjects ever, a legendary lady in the field of food, accompanies by her inspiring words of wisdom about living a good life.
Keep shooting and take good care of yourselves and others.
Wesley
PS I recently started writing Arrivals, a monthly column dedicated to new voices in photography over at LensCulture. The first installment is about Erinn Springer’s beautifully intimate work, the second about Tariq Tarey’s powerful large format portraiture. More soon.
PPS My pals over at Darkroom, my favorite mobile photo editing app, have launched their youtube channel. Check them out!
Process Giveaway!
BuyMoreFilm is back for another generous giveaway prize. Stephan is a gem in the community and runs one of my top favorite online shops for used cameras, expired film, and he recently added fresh film from all the usual suspects.
For this week’s giveaway he has made available a newly released analog camera by Reto. It’s super light weight, very thin, and shoots 35mm through an ultra-wide lens of 22mm. A great always-in-your-pocket camera for street or documenting your life.
To enter email me at hello@wesley.co with the subject line Process 045 Give Away before 11pm EST on January 29th and answer the following question:
What is your current “every day carry” camera that you always bring everywhere?
The winner will be randomly drawn and notified. This giveaway is for Process subscribers only. Subscribe by clicking the button below:
Make sure to show BuyMoreFilm love on Instagram and check out their webshop.
Congrats to last week’s winner Léa Mancuso who won the first issue of Framelines Quarterly and thank you for all the amazing answers that you sent it.
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