PocketWizard

Hot Water + Sub Zero Temperatures = Pretty Cool Images

2023-02-02T21:23:58Z

On social media, you may have seen posts where someone throws a pot of boiling water into the air on a really cold day and it turns to snow immediately. It’s a pretty neat trick but it’s a lot harder than it looks.

Here in Vermont, it can get pretty cold. It’s not so unusual for our winters but while a lot of people like to stay inside and drink hot cocoa, David Brueckner lives for days when the temperature drops to negative digits. Because that’s perfect weather for getting creative!

Throw Boiling Water in the Air? Why Not?

David wanted to take the idea a step farther. So he thought, hey, let’s do it at sunset. Because that will be beautiful. And let’s do it on Lake Champlain, because it can give you a pretty amazing background. Oh, let’s add some lights. Because it’s going to be dark. And one more thing, let’s add some color to it, just for fun!

To do this properly, David needed several things:

A flash on a lightstand he could put behind his subject;
A subject willing to chance getting wet (multiple times) in the freezing cold;
Several buckets of very hot water;
A camera to capture the image;
PocketWizards to trigger it all;
And Mother Nature to cooperate and give him a clear, cold day with amazing light.

David likes the PlusX radios because they are so simple. Just plug them in, match the Channels, and you’re good to go, then it’s up to Lady Luck and a skilled water throwing subject!

The trouble with a shoot like this is that you don’t get a lot of retakes. David shoots either near sunset or sunrise, so his time window is already super short and at those temperatures, you can’t stand around waiting. You have to be ready to move fast.

How Exactly Do You Make This Work?

David picks a spot on the lake with a great background and makes sure the ice is solid. Because it’s Vermont, the temperatures can vary dramatically and you typically can’t plan a shoot like this very far in advance, usually only a few days or maybe a week, tops. For the water to vaporize, the air temperature has to be at least -10 F (that’s -23 in Celsius!) and the water has to be boiling. Temperatures that cold impact EVERYTHING. David and his model only have a few minutes outside, then they need to bring everything back to the car to warm up. To get about 20 shots, it takes about an hour.

He sets up his lights, making sure the stand is hidden behind the subject and turns everything on. At this point, he has the model grab the cup of water then get into place. Then it’s time to shoot!

They have to work quickly, there’s only enough time for about 5-6 attempts before everyone needs to get back into the car to warm up. Once everyone (and everything) is warm enough, they pop out and shoot again for a few minutes. It takes about an hour to do a full session.

David’s Best Tips and Tricks:

Biggest tip: Throw the water off to the side, not directly over head! Lindsay tossed the water with the hand that was further from the camera and kept it off the the side as she threw it in an arch.
Second biggest tip: Light the water from behind the subject.
Make sure the air temperature is at least -10 if not colder
Use handwarmers taped to your flashes to help keep the batteries warm. Also, have extra batteries ready and warm in your car. (and keep the car running!)
The water has to be boiling. Keep it in a thermos and just use a cup/mug at a time.
Wear gloves (fingerless gloves are perfect for this!).
Use a wide angle and leave plenty of room overhead to catch the water as it vaporizes.
Be patient with the shutter release. Wait till the water is spread out so the vapor fills the frame.
Watch your lighting. As the sun comes up or goes down, you’ll need to adjust the camera settings and maybe switch into (or out of) HyperSync.
You can get a larger arch and bigger effect by using a larger pan or cup of water but you’ll got through your water supply faster.

David’s looking forward to the next cold snap to shoot more images this year. Check out his Facebook page for updates!

IMPORTANT!

If you decide to try this type of photo shoot:
Be sure to check the ice and make sure it is thick enough to support people and equipment – usually at least 4 inches thick. If you are driving a vehicle out onto the ice, it needs to be at least 8-12″ thick.

Using boiling water can be VERY dangerous, especially for children. It can cause 2nd and 3rd degree burns. If boiling water lands on clothing, the material can retain the heat, extended contact with skin and prolonged contact with heat. This can result in deeper burns.

Please be careful AND safe if you decide to try this. Good luck and let us know how it goes!

The post Hot Water + Sub Zero Temperatures = Pretty Cool Images appeared first on PocketWizard.

Remote Camera Action – For Basketball, it’s a Slam Dunk!

2020-03-28T20:21:09Z

Mike Tedesco is a freelance sports and performance photographer based in Sammamish, WA. One of his favorite assignments is to photograph local High School sports – the action, the emotion, and the spirit of the crowd all make for memorable images.

Basketball Remote Camera Set Up

For basketball images, Mike likes to set up a remote camera behind the backboard to capture the exciting action as the players drive for the basket. We asked Mike to share how he uses a remote camera to kick it up a notch and capture images that go beyond your typical high school sports shots.

Setting up the Remote Camera – Safety First

When setting up a remote camera, Mike is always thinking safety first – he makes sure the equipment is secure and that his security has back up security! He always choses a spot where he can add a second magic arm/clamp and safety cables. In the words of Mike, “Never sacrifice safety for a different angle/shot.” For this game, he used (2) Manfrotto Variable Friction Magic Arms (one with camera bracket), (3) Manfrotto Super Clamps, (2) Impact Safety Cables, gaffers tape, and zip ties. In addition, since the camera was angled slightly downward, Mike used electrical tape to secure Cinefoil, an anti-reflective paper, underneath the lens to help guard against unwanted reflected light from the highly polished gym floor.

Pro-tip: to minimize distraction to the players, electrical tape was chosen to secure the Cinefoil because it is black on both sides. Gaffers tape has a gray sticky side which when adhered to the backboard, could be distracting to the players.

Setting up the Remote Camera – Anticipate the Action

Pro sports photographers know that to capture the best images, you must anticipate the action – so it’s important to know the level of athletes that you are shooting.

Remote Camera Placement

For this high school game, Mike knew that the players were not dunkers. To best capture their action, he placed the camera higher up on the backboard and angled it down. If you are shooting a college or NBA level game, it would be good practice to bring the camera down and shoot more at rim level. In addition, the remote camera must be discreet, not distracting to the players, and far enough away from the backboard rectangle that identifies the sweet spot.

Setting up the remote camera.
Confirming camera placement.
Final set up from the back.
Final set up from the front.

Remote Camera Focus

Mike anticipated that he would be grabbing most of the action a bit below the rim. He put his remote camera, a Sony a9, in full manual focus with focus assist turned on and asked a colleague to stand on a 6 foot ladder that was placed in the lane a couple of feet away from the rim – to mimic a player driving the lane. He manually focused on his colleague and to ensure it wouldn’t move – he taped the focus and zoom rings down.

When to Set up the Remote Camera

Since Mike was dealing with a school and a busy gym, he had to do the bulk of the setup at 7 AM before school started at 8. After school, they had three games before the main event, the Varsity game, which started at 7 PM – 12 hours later! Mike did all the mounting, taping, and pre-focusing work before school, then went back to the camera during a short window before the games started to do a final safety, focus, and remote check. After the final check, he turned it all off and then turned it all back on just prior to the Varsity game.

Setting up the Remote Camera – Details, Details, Details

Remote Camera Settings:

Mike used a Sony a9 with a Sony FE 16-35 f/2.8 lens set at 20mm and f2.8. His shutter speed was 1/1000 which he recommends as a minimum shutter speed for the action. He would have preferred to shoot at f/4 to give him a little more depth of field flexibility, but as is the case with many high school gyms, the lighting was not great, so he opened it to f2.8 to keep his ISO at 6400.

PocketWizard Set Up

Mike placed a PocketWizard Plus III that was in Rx Mode on his remote camera and connected it with a PocketWizard remote camera cable (13369-S) to the camera’s remote camera terminal. He placed a second Plus III in Tx Mode in the hot shoe of his main camera – a Sony a9 II. Both radios were set to the same Channel/Zones.

Making sure the Camera Doesn’t Sleep

Mike set his Sony a9 sleep setting to the maximum setting of 30 minutes. Once he turned it on, he had to make sure that he triggered it at least every 30 minutes. which obviously isn’t a problem during the game. However, it can be a problem when you turn everything on and have a break between games or possibly an extended halftime.

Pro Tip: Using the MultiMAX II instead of the Plus III would give Mike the ability to wake the camera from sleep mode remotely and using the PTMM adapter would keep the camera awake constantly.

Battery Considerations

Mike has been very happy with his FZ100 battery on his camera by Sony. But he always shoots with the battery grip on all his cameras so that he can always have 2 fully charged batteries at the beginning of every event. But since his set up began 12 hours before game time, he turned the camera off after it was set up in the morning and then turned it back on just prior to the Varsity game for final testing.

Pro Tip: PocketWizard’s 13369-S remote camera cable for Sony’s camera has twin heads – one to plug into the camera and one USB head that can be plugged into a portable battery for even more battery life!

Getting the Shot – It’s all in the Preparation

Moment captured with handheld camera.
Moment captured with remote camera.

These two images are an example of a shot taken with his handheld camera which then also triggered the remote at the same time. As you can see in the handheld photo, there was a ref in the way and the shooter’s left arm blocking his face. The image from the remote camera got a clean view of the actual action.

The Best You Can Do is to Be Ready

Mike was disappointed in the lack of real action in front of his remote camera all game long. Despite his pre-game research, he felt the best drives happened on the left side of the hoop! Good example of Murphy’s Law in action! However, he still felt the time spent was incredibly valuable. Mike feels strongly that any time you can gain experience setting up for safety, framing, focus, and exposure is a win regardless of the images. Once the game starts, the action is out of your control so the best you can do is be ready.

Practice Practice Practice

One way to practice your remote camera skills is with a workshop. Summit Workshop s and Sports Shooter Academy are examples of educational workshops that offer great hands-on experience in setting up remote cameras for sports. Have you attended a workshop that helped you with remotes? Let us know in the comments!

To check out more of Mike’s work, check out his website at www.reactionphotography.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

The post Remote Camera Action – For Basketball, it’s a Slam Dunk! appeared first on PocketWizard.

Off-Camera Lighting for Character Portraits Easy as 1-2-3

2020-03-28T20:24:44Z

Recently we were working with a business partner who wanted to learn more about our products. He wasn’t a professional photographer and he was asking us lots of questions like:

What is off camera flash?

How many remote lights can you trigger?

Why is PocketWizard the best radio trigger?

Involve me!

Benjamin Franklin once said “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” We took his advice and set up a photoshoot to show our partner how PocketWizards can be used to create beautiful lighting for creative character portraits. Since we are located in Vermont, we went to a local family dairy farm for the perfect backdrop. We created 3 different lighting set ups for 3 different portraits to show the versatility of our products.

1 – Single Off Camera Flash for a Natural Outdoor Portrait

Our first shot using off camera flash was taken outdoors and being early winter, the light was fading fast. A simple one light set up was all we needed to make our subject pop while allowing the ambient light to give the viewer a sense of place. Our flash was placed on one side of him with a warming gel, to light one side more than the other and mimic the look of the setting sun.

2 – Two Remotely Triggered Lights for a Natural Indoor Portrait

For this portrait we moved indoors to the machine shop at the farm. While our subject worked, we set up 2 lights. The main light was set to one side of him, almost to give the appearance that he was working near a window. To create a moodier shot and create a rich depth to the contrast, we placed a black foam core board directly opposite the light, on the other side of our subject, which darkened the negative space. Finally, to add a little separation between our subject and our background, we added a rim light.

3 – Remotely Triggering Three Lights for a Dramatic Indoor Portrait

For this last shot we wanted to remotely trigger our lights to show the whole scene, so we used a slightly wider lens. We moved our main light back a little bit and eliminated the black board. On our test shot, we noticed that the truck was like a black hole – there was no light and it offered no detail. It was an interesting part of the machine shop, so in order give the scene a little more visual interest, we decided we needed just one more light. Luckily, we had an extra speedlight and another PocketWizard on hand. We placed the speedlight right on the engine pointing toward the hood to add an accent light to our image.

Universal Compatibility

One advantage of PocketWizard is that we are universally compatible and work with virtually any camera or flash on the market. We always encourage photographers to have a few extra PocketWizards in your bag and an extra light to boot! As you invest in lights, it’s nice to know that PocketWizard should be able to trigger all of them and you’ll be able to integrate your older lights with your newer lights when necessary. This might not be possible with some other brands that have proprietary solutions that require you to stay within a single brand. Luckily in our situation with PocketWizard, we were able to use multiple lights from multiple brands. Just one of the many reasons we think PocketWizard is the best radio trigger on the market.

Have you had a situation where you needed just one more light? Nice that with PocketWizard – it’s possible!

The post Off-Camera Lighting for Character Portraits Easy as 1-2-3 appeared first on PocketWizard.

Use PocketWizard SpeedCycler to get 2 Dramatically Different Looks in an Instant

2020-03-28T20:27:30Z

This blog post was originally shared over 5 years ago and yet the story is timeless: Photographer fulfills his artistic vision while meeting the needs of his client by leveraging the power of PocketWizard!

The Big Opportunity!

Alexis Cuarezma is a portrait photographer with a specialty in photographing sports figures. One of his big breaks was when he was asked to photograph an athlete, Shayne Skov, for Sports Illustrated. His assignment: keep it simple on a plain gray background. However, simple is not Cuarezma’s style and who knew when he’d have the opportunity to shoot for SI again? He knew he needed to fulfill the simple assignment, but it was also a great opportunity to showcase his artistry.

PocketWizard to the Rescue

A feature of the MultiMAX II is SpeedCycler which makes it possible to set up multiple lighting scenarios and cycle through them with each click of the shutter. Although SpeedCycler was originally designed for sports photographers and others who needed continuous drive but whose lights couldn’t recycle fast enough, Cuarezma tasked SpeedCycler for something a little more creative.

Cuarezma set up two groups of light – A and B as shown highlighted blue and red.

One Pose, Two Shots, Two Dramatically Different Looks

Using PocketWizard’s unique SpeedCycler functionality, Cuarezma captured two separate exposures in milliseconds – one exposure lit using his dramatic style with colored gels immediately followed by a second exposure per his instructions – simple on a gray background.

Two dramatically different looks, all captured in camera.

The Dream Come True

Cuarezma’s style was well received. He took a chance and turned a simple portrait assignment into a creative, dramatic, and dynamic photo shoot. His “outside the box” thinking ended up with a double-page spread in Sports Illustrated – a dream come true.

The image as it appeared in Sports Illustrated. We’re so happy to be part of this success story!

Check out Behind the Scenes

Alexis created the behind the scenes video of the shoot – check it out!

To see more of Alexis Cuarezma’s work, check out his website.

All images, videos, and quotes in this post are used with permission images ©Alexis Cuarezma all rights reserved; story is ©PocketWizard. Feel free to link to this blog post, but please do not replicate or repost elsewhere without permission.

The post Use PocketWizard SpeedCycler to get 2 Dramatically Different Looks in an Instant appeared first on PocketWizard.

Using the PocketWizard Pedal to shoot the NYC Marathon

2020-03-28T20:37:40Z

The New York City Marathon is the largest marathon in the world and runs through all 5 boroughs of the City. In 2019, there were over 53,000 runners and it was the goal of event organizers to capture 1.8 million images, hopefully capturing every single runner – at least once! To meet that goal, they hired over 70 photographers and placed them in 22 locations.

One of those photographers was PocketWizard’s own Lenny Christopher. Lenny is a professional photographer and videographer and brings that experience to both our support and marketing teams.

Take Care of Your Hands

Lenny has shot many races before, and he said, “Taking 20,000+ images is hard on your hands!” We agree – can you relate? That fine muscle control of half press followed by a full press while holding the camera gets tiring. Now imagine that you are going through that same motion for over 7 hours.

Using the PocketWizard Pedal to Activate the Shutter

Lenny employed the PocketWizard Pedal to take the strain off his fingers. He connected a PocketWizard Plus IIIe to the Pedal and attached a Plus IIIe to his camera with a remote camera cable. With this set up, he could switch between using his finger and his foot to control the shutter.

Using the PTMM Adapter to Activate Focus

Using the Pedal alone wasn’t quite enough for this unique situation. Lenny needed the ability for fine control of focus since he wanted a shallow depth of field and his subjects were on the move. That’s where the PTMM Pre-Trigger Switch came in. This cable is a pre-trigger adapter and offers a switch to turn pre-triggering on or off. When turned on, the camera wakes up and behaves as if you were half pressing the shutter and the camera (set to continuous focus mode) will constantly refocus. With the PTMM Adapter and the PocketWizard Pedal, Lenny could control the shutter and focus simply and easily without tiring his hand.

Benefits using the PocketWizard Pedal and PTMM Adapter

Lenny took over 27,000 photos over a period of 7.5 hours. Using the Pedal helped to relieve the strain he would normally feel in his hands.
It was a cold morning and Lenny was happy to be able to wear gloves since he didn’t need the fine motor control of his fingers.
The PTMM Adapter kept the camera awake and constantly focusing so Lenny could keep one hand on his monopod for stabilization and one to zoom for quick composing and framing of an image, while using the foot pedal to actuate the shutter. The end result was increased speed and stabilization.

Pro Tip: Reviewing Images

When the PTMM cable is on, the camera behaves as if the shutter were being half pressed. As a result, you are not able to review images. You can use the on/off switch to disable Pre-Trigger for quick image review. When you are ready to continue shooting, flip the switch to turn Pre-Triggering back on.

Two Items to Add to Your Kit

The PocketWizard Pedal is a great way to free your hands when capturing an image. And, in a situation where your focus point is changing, the PTMM Adapter is an indispensable tool to keep the focus activated. How will you use yours?

The post Using the PocketWizard Pedal to shoot the NYC Marathon appeared first on PocketWizard.

3 Tips to make your Photos Stand Out

2022-03-01T17:34:52Z

Let’s face it – in a world where everyone has a camera in their pocket, it isn’t easy to get your photos to stand out. Especially when you are photographing a popular landmark!

We Took the Creative Challenge

Two of us from the PocketWizard team wanted to take a photo of the Vessel, a popular new structure in the Hudson Yards area of New York City. We really wanted to make it pop and do something that no one else had done. Here are some results and our 3 tips that might help you make a photo that truly stands out.

Tip #1: Take Advantage of Available Light and Adapt When Light Changes

We worked all day at Photo Plus Expo and managed to make our way to the Vessel around sunset. This was great timing – it isn’t called the “Golden Hour” for nothing! We were hoping to arrive in time to take advantage of that great natural light, however, as luck would have it, we couldn’t get on the structure until after sunset. We had to be flexible and turn our attention to the available light coming from the cityscape.

Tip #2: Augment Natural Light with Flash to Call Attention to Your Subject

Sometimes it helps to visualize your image before you take it. Knowing that the eye will normally gravitate to the brightest spot of your photo can help you compose the best image. We wanted to highlight the geometric angles of the Vessel, but the available light wasn’t enough. One of us hand-held a flash near the top floor of the Vessel and the other triggered that flash remotely from the ground -using PocketWizards of course! We were able to highlight a specific area of the Vessel and bathe it in bright light.

Set the exposure in your camera for the ambient light and then try adding a pop of flash. Adjust your settings as necessary.

See the two pictures below, the first uses just available light and the second adds a pop of flash to the upper left corner. Your eye is naturally drawn to that area, and the light adds dimension and interest.

Tip #3: Change Your Perspective

Walk around your subject and explore different angles and distances. Try a shot at ground level, vertical versus horizontal, wide versus cropped – be creative! The more you can move around, the more interesting perspectives you will find.

We love the look you can get when you get far from your subject and then use a telephoto lens. It compresses the image making the background appear much closer than it really is.

The E Release Can Help Your Images Stand Out

We created these images using PocketWizard Plus III radios that were upgraded with the E Release, our new firmware that dramatically improves the triggering distance of your PocketWizard radios. This enabled us to try many different perspectives and ultimately get the look we were going for by allowing us to create a lot of distance between the camera and our flash – almost a quarter of a mile! We think the end result is an image that really pops and stands out from the rest.

Try the E Release Today and Expand the Possibilities of Your Creativity

Learn more here!

The post 3 Tips to make your Photos Stand Out appeared first on PocketWizard.

E Release Test drive

2020-03-28T20:45:12Z

Daniel Schenkelberg is a professional photographer based in California who has a passion for motorsports. His experience and dedication to the motorsports community is unmatched and gives him great insight for how to set up an epic shot for eye-popping shots whether it’s captured with a handheld or remote camera. Daniel likes to use remote cameras triggered by PocketWizard in order to get an unusual perspective close to the action while staying safe.

The Super Bowl of Off-Road Racing

In September, Daniel made a trip to capture the Crandon World Cup in Wisconsin – often called the “Super Bowl of short course off-road racing”. We gave him an early version of the E Release to see how it would perform.

Typical RF Challenges

Something that Daniel knows is that setting up remote cameras isn’t always foolproof – especially in a crowded and RF noisy environment like a racetrack. The radios communicate with radio waves and radio signal interference can impact the success of a remote camera set-up causing missed shots. A set up done early in the day, might not work later in the day once the environment fills with cars, people, and more electronic equipment. Some things that can interfere with signal transmission include:

Metal objects
Concrete or rock objects
High water-content objects (People and trees are mostly water!)
Electronic “noise” (In a racing scenario, there might be high voltage ignition systems that create electronic noise not to mention a sound system or television crew.)

The E Release is more Resilient to RF Interference

Because of the track set up, Daniel had to set up his remote camera a little further than he usually does – about 250 feet away – almost the length of a football field. The non-ideal conditions and the distance might trip up another radio trigger – but not PocketWizard. The truth is that the E Release upgrade has new technology that makes our PocketWizard radios particularly resilient to RF interference and noise.

Map showing location of Daniel (lower dot) and his remote camera 253 feet away.

More Shots than Ever

Using the E Release, Daniel came out of the event with some epic shots. His feedback was short and sweet.

“The radios were incredibly reliable. I came home with more shots than I have ever captured before.”
~ Daniel Schenkelberg

Thanks for taking it on a test drive Daniel! We don’t want you to miss a single shot! You can check out more of Daniel’s work on his website and get your daily dose, be sure to follow him on Instagram @danielschenkelberg!

If you would like to learn more about how to set up your own remote camera, check out this quick video.

E Release now Available Worldwide!

Users of the PocketWizard Plus III and Plus IV can now benefit from the E Release! Check out our E Release landing page for more information.

Remote Camera Set-up

The post E Release Test drive appeared first on PocketWizard.

PocketWizard’s Moonshot

2020-03-28T20:52:21Z

You never know when creative inspiration will strike. Our Sales and Marketing Manager, Sarah Lavoie, was inspired by Michael Heeney’s amazing photos from Lone Rock Point and had the creative idea for an epic family portrait at this beautiful location.

Inspired by the PocketWizard’s E Release Range

The new E Release firmware upgrade is a simple way to get incredible range for off-camera flash and remote cameras. The extended range in regular mode is up to 5 times further than our legacy firmware. Sarah wanted to put it to the test by taking an epic family photo in front of a rising full moon. In this case, she wanted to be far away so that she could use a long zoom and she needed a flash to light the family at twilight. A zoom gave her the compression she wanted for the full moon appear closer and larger. PocketWizard Plus IIIs upgraded with the E Release gave her the power to trigger two speedlights from a distance.

PocketWizard Made the Distant Triggering Possible

The speedlights were triggered from a distance of about 2300 feet (700 meters). It is also worth noting that the distance was spread over water and with an elevation rise – both of which are notoriously challenging for any radio triggers. That is, any radio trigger other than PocketWizard!

Behind the Scenes Video with the E Release

Press play to watch this video to see how this photo was taken.

Tips for Long Distance Off-Camera Flash

Update your PocketWizard radios with the E Release. Learn more here.
Have a way to communicate with your subject(s). In this case, Sarah was so far away that the family could barely see her and they felt like they were posing for no one. They also could not see the moon and needed to know where to stand and when to smile.
Train your subject(s) on how to set up and test your flash and radios. Send them with spare batteries just in case.
Use technology to help you plan. Sarah used an app called PhotoPills to help her plan when and where the moon would rise.
These photos were taken in TxRx Mode – Sarah did not need to use Long Range Mode (LR) to get this distance. When using LR with a flash, you may lose a stop or two of sync speed. Sarah was using a 200-500mm lens on a canoe – she didn’t want to reduce her shutter speed any more than necessary – and she didn’t need to!
Be creative – the E Release opens a world of opportunity!
Tag us! #whypocketwizard

Explore the Possibilities!

With PocketWizard, we can help you Make it Possible!

Shoot this Look

3 PocketWizard Plus III Upgraded with the E Release:

Plus IIIe on the camera
2 Plus IIIes attached to speedlights with a flash sync cord mounted on light stands

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The post PocketWizard’s Moonshot appeared first on PocketWizard.

E Release Makes everything that PocketWizard does best even better

2020-03-28T21:29:32Z

Introducing the E Release! The E Release is a firmware upgrade for select PocketWizard radios that improve their reliability, range, and performance. Basically, everything that PocketWizard does best, made even better.

When we needed someone to test our E Release firmware upgrade, we thought immediately of local photographer Michael Heeney. We love his outdoor adventure photography and we wanted to see what he could do to push the limits of our E Release in challenging environments. He did not disappoint.

Challenging the PocketWizard E Release

by Michael Heeney

Michael Heeney

Vermont is my home and it suits my outdoor lifestyle. When I’m not working in my studio, I enjoy rock climbing, ice climbing, biking, canoeing, and basically any activity where I can be outside.

I’ve used PocketWizard radios for my whole career. They are always on my camera. I use them in my studio to trigger my lights and I also use them when I’m shooting outdoors to trigger remote cameras and remote flashes. They are very versatile and they are always in my bag.

When You Only Get One Chance, Use PocketWizard

When I’m shooting outdoor adventure photography, I usually only get one chance to capture the moment. That’s one reason I choose PocketWizard as my trigger. I know that once I set it, I can rely on it. When I’m using remote cameras to capture multiple angles, I need to trust that they will fire because I don’t have time to check on them.

When PocketWizard told me about the E Release, a firmware upgrade for my PocketWizard radios to allow them to trigger from even further distances, even in difficult environments, I told them about a project I wanted to do. We all agreed that it was a perfect opportunity to challenge the upgrade.

The Project

A new rock-climbing area called Lone Rock Point recently opened up here in Burlington and my friend Tim Heaghney was working on an unclimbed route there. Once I heard that, I knew I had to document it.

The spot is gorgeous and gets beautiful light around the golden hour. The golden hour is short, and I knew that the climb was tough so I couldn’t ask Tim to try it again and again. I needed to get it right the first time.

The Set Up – Multiple Cameras for Multiple Angles

Main camera with me above Tim showing him climb
Remote camera mounted on the rock wall showing the action at a tight angle
Remote camera at the base of the rock wall showing Tim from the bottom
Remote camera on an island which was at a distance to show a wide angle of the entire scene to really give a sense of place.

Setting up the remote camera on Lone Rock.

It was the camera on the island that I knew was going to be the most challenging. Not only did I have to swim to get it in place, but I had to set it up hours before Tim even showed up. And to top it all off, it was several hundred feet from where I was going to be with my main camera.

If you have ever worked with radio triggers, you probably know that getting them to fire over water or in environments like Lone Rock Point with rocks and other obstacles can be a challenge. (PocketWizard note: water usually dramatically limits radio transmission.) Using the PocketWizard E Release, I was able to capture four perspectives with one click of my shutter. I didn’t miss a shot.

My Gear is my Lifeline

When I’m climbing, I rely on my equipment to do its job and keep me safe – it’s my lifeline. Same with my camera gear. During a shoot, I can’t be thinking about the gear, I need to be focused on my subject and getting the shot. That’s why I choose PocketWizard. It’s the most reliable trigger I have ever used and now with the E Release, it’s more reliable than ever.

Check out the Video of the Shoot!

About Michael Heeney

Michael earned his B.A. degree in 2002 from the University of Vermont where he studied Studio Art and Art History. From 2004-2005, he attended The New England School of Photography in Boston, where he graduated with honors in both Advertising and Fashion Photography. His client list includes Swarovski Lighting, Comcast, Burton Snowboards, New York Magazine, Gordini USA, United Way, GX Magazine, Anichini, Navali, Edible Green Mountains, Gardener’s Supply Co., and Scarpe di Bianco. When Michael is not working for a client, he enjoys travel, canoeing, rock climbing, archery, going to the fair, feeding stray cats, and adventures, big or small. You can check out his work on his website. https://michaelheeney.com/.

Learn more about the E Release

For more information about our new E Release, a firmware upgrade that delivers significant benefits for photographers including a tremendous triggering distance that is more than double our current range and more than double the number of available channels, check out the E Release Website. The E Release is available now for the PocketWizard Plus III and Plus IV (FCC units only In North and South America).

The post E Release Makes everything that PocketWizard does best even better appeared first on PocketWizard.

PocketWizard – What’s on the Horizon?

2019-09-06T13:27:26Z

Stay Tuned for an Announcement from PocketWizard!

PocketWizard is 29!

In July, we celebrated our 29th anniversary! We couldn’t have done it without you – thank you to all our loyal customers and dealers for helping us to achieve this milestone. As we enter our 30th year of doing business, we are looking for ways to evolve as well as delight and inspire our customers.

We don’t make Disposable Products

For the past 29 years, PocketWizard has used the same reliable radio technology and it has served us well. We have a reputation of making quality products that withstand the test of time and offer backwards compatibility. Our users know that if they buy a radio today, it will still work with the radios that they may have purchased 10 or even 15 years ago. Backwards compatibility is important to us because we care about our customers and we care about the environment. We feel good that our products are not ending up in the landfills due to obsolescence. Our radios are not designed to be disposable.

But, We Want New Features AND We Want Backwards Compatibility

Our current technology has limited our ability to make enhancements. We want to add new features and allow photographers to do even more with our radio triggers. But we want to keep backwards compatibility. We want it all.

Can We Have it All?

Stay Tuned for a Big Announcement Next Week!

Subscribe to our E Newsletter

If you would like to be the first to know about product announcements, promotions, educational opportunities and more , subscribe to our E Newsletter! Click here to subscribe.

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