Elise Vatsvaag on Youtube

Elise Vatsvaag just posted a video with a couple clips from our shoot!

To see images from the shoot go here.

Alaska

2011 © Brian Adams

Above are a few photos from my trip to Alaska last week. I am waiting on one more roll of film from the trip, so stay tuned!

For more info on my trip to Alaska check out Brian & Ash.

Carry On: Burton Zoom Bag

2011 © Brian Adams

Yes, I love bags. And not only good shoulder bags, but also backpacks. I have always laughed when talking about my Burton Zoom Bag because I think that it's funny that a snowboard company makes the best camera backpack there is. It's practically perfect in every way.

When I was in high school, my parents bought me my first Burton Zoom Bag as a gift for Christmas one year. I loved it so much that they bought me the one in the photograph above for Christmas the following year, which says something about the bag's durability (I still use it today). At the time, one bag was dedicated to video equipment (back in the days when I filmed skateboarding) and the other (above) was purposed for still equipment.

What makes this backpack surpass the rest is not just one but many things. For one, the Zoom Bag is physically longer than any other backpack I have used, so the weight of the camera gear is spread more evenly across my back, unlike other backpacks that I have used that were too short and put all of the weight on my lower back. At the end of a day of a long location shoot after wearing one of those shorter packs, my back would be killing me.

In addition to its size, the Zoom Bag is superior in design than other packs, especially for photographers like me that have no idea what conditions they'll find themselves in. The main compartment of the pack is accessed from the face of the bag that rests on your back, so when you have to lay it down in some dirt or snow, you're not laying it down where your back will be, which is an important aid in keeping your clothes dry and clean while shooting outdoors.

Although I typically like to keep things simple, sometimes there are just a lot of things I have to pack for a shoot, especially for those bigger assignments that take several days or weeks. The Zoom Bag was made for these assignments as well as for everyday use; it's the Mary Poppins bag for photographers. There are many pockets and straps, and I have often loaded it with camera gear, a laptop (sometimes two!), clothes (even Ash's shoes), and snacks with room to spare. And for how much this bag can carry, it is incredibly light. Other backpacks that I've picked up in camera stores are filled with so much unnecessary padding and even roll bars that they feel like they have a full camera setup already in them, almost like a suitcase instead of a pack.

And, for you outdoorsy photogs, the Burton Zoom Bag carries not only camera gear, but it is made to have a snowboard attached to it for backcountry skiing! If you don't ski or snowboard I am sure you will find some other use for this feature. The Burton Zoom bag is one bag I know I will always carry on and on--in fact I'm carrying it on a plane today!

To view the latest Zoom bag check it out on Burton's website here.

Elise Vatsvaag

© 2011 Brian Adams

Early last week, my friend, music producer Erik Braund, emailed me a short but sweet message. "Hey," he wrote, "I want to hire you to shoot a Norwegian girl. Hasseblad, the Adams touch." Erik had me at Hasselblad. The "Norwegian girl" was singer/songwriter Elise Vatsvaag. Elise recently moved to NYC from Norway to work on her debut album with Erik. Elise is here on a 70,000 NOK grant she recieved from the Kjetil Wold Memory Fund in 2010.

The morning of the photo shoot, Elise and I met on Surf Avenue at Coney Island, and from there we photographed on the beach, the board walk, and under the peir. From Coney Island, we hopped on the F train to Manhattan and continued the shoot while the train was above ground. We got off the F train at 23rd and worked our way over to the Flatiron District, where we finished the session. Elise was wonderful to photograph and I can't thank Erik enough for setting it up!

Preston Pollard, Round Two

© 2011 Brian Adams

Another skate adventure with Preston Pollard. More images and words on Brian & Ash.

Carry On: Hasselblad CF 50mm Distagon F4 Lens

© 2011 Brian Adams

Hasselblad and Zeiss--what else do I need to say. You can't go wrong when you're toting the finest Swedish-made cameras with the best German-made optics.

The Hasselblad CF 50mm Distagon F4 lens was introduced in 1982, replacing the C lens line. At F4, the CF 50mm is not the fastest lens out there, but because I normally use it for portraits, F4 is fine. The 50mm on a medium-format camera is equivalent to a 28mm lens on a 35mm camera. One of my favorite things about the lens is that it can focus as close as 19 in. At 1 lb 12 oz, it gets a little heavy after a full day of photographing, but the images produced with it make it worth the extra weight. My CF 50mm was made in 1984, (A year before I was born!), which makes it 27 years old. I am hoping to be carrying it on for at least another 30!

If you're interested in seeing the newer version of the CF 50mm Distagon F4, check it out here.

Preston Pollard in NYC

© 2011 Brian Adams

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of photographing my old friend from AK, Preston Pollard, who is now living in LA and pursing a career in acting. Preston has been skateboarding for 14 years and has been featured in various publications, commercials, and music videos for his talents. And he's true-blue through and through; at the age of 19, he started speaking at schools in Anchorage about how to avoid the negative influences that drag most adolescents down and how to follow one's dreams and ambitions, and he did so incorporating skateboarding demonstrations into his speeches. And, even with his busy schedule, he's coached at the world-famous Windelles Camp and toured the country with Boarders for Christ. At the young age of 22, Preston knows who he is and what he stands for, and he's always been an inspiration to me.

This weekend was Preston's first time in NYC since he was 18. He is currently working in Connecticut as an assistant to one of the lead actors in a new film by Steven Spielberg, Super 8, so this was our first opportunity to get together for a shoot in a long time. We walked all of lower Manhatten in the morning and finished our day at Times Square. It was fun to show someone the city who was as excited as Preston to see and appreciate it; it was his first time seeing Times Square, the Brooklyn Banks, the Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero, and Battery Park. "It's amazing how much you can do in a day here," Preston said to me around five o'clock.

It was wonderful hanging out with a familiar face from back home and seeing him doing so well. If you would like to see more images from our day, go here.

And, to see two of the published pieces we did together check out the In Print section on baphotos.com.

From Ground Zero

© 2011 Brian Adams

A frame from the Blad.

More images and words from Ground Zero on Brian & Ash.

Carry On: Westcott Reflector

Photo by Marian Call

© 2011 Brian Adams

In life, we often forget the imporance of little things, but in photography, it's usually the little things that help get us through the day. When I bought my Westcott reflector, I bought it because I thought it was something that portrait photographers are required to have. I had no idea how much I would use it over the years or how much I would love using it.

Pictured above is my Westcott Illuminator Gold/White Reflector. The reflector is a modest 20x20 inches, but it is perfect for a single portrait. Not only do I use my reflector to create fill light for portraits, but I use it for white balancing my camera and controlling the sunlight on my subject. The photograph above is an example of this; my assistant (one of Sarah Palin's right-hand men) held the reflector in the path of the sunlight so that I could control the light that was falling on her face. A lot of photographers I know bring black foamboard on shoots to block out the sunlight, but I like to have something that can be packed and set up easily. At a reasonable price of $25.45, it's worth the investment. Carry on folks!

Osama Bin Laden Dead

© 2011 Brian Adams

Osama Bin Laden was found and killed by U.S. forces yesterday. After President Obama announced his death to the country, celebrations city-wide ensued. More on Brian & Ash

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