Lesha is a 19 year old electronic musician and vlogger from the Philippines and a proud JOBY Ambassador. She’s always using her GorillaPod and JOBY gear on the go to capture every beat of her world. Check out her current vlog setup and latest music video where she puts her gear to use.
#JOBYAmbassador Valentina Dang gives you a comprehensive tour of the new Griptight ONE line and shows you how to unlock their potential to capture the best content on your smartphone. She features the GripTight ONE Magnetic Impulse, GripTight ONE Micro Stand, and GripTight ONE GorillaPod Stand.
Professional BMX rider and #JOBYAmbassadors Rob Darden gives us a tour around his BMX life, how he sets up for a bike shoot, and how he uses his JOBY gear. Hop on and enjoy the ride!
Can you give us a quick bio of yourself?
My name is Rob Darden. I am 35 years old, originally from Concord, CA now residing in Greenville, NC. I am a professional BMX rider, husband, and father of two. I have been riding BMX Freestyle since 1992 and have a long competition history in BMX Park and Dirt I have ridden at major events such as X Games, Dew Tour and Fise. Throughout my professional career, I have participated in numerous tours and produced many video segments and continue to do so.
What’s your greatest achievement?
X Games Bronze Medal, Year End Park CFB Jacket, Nominated for Rider Of The Year.
What’s your go-to JOBY gear and why?
GorillaPod Hybrid. It’s not too big and supports all of my gear great. The GorillaPod Magnetic is the other tripod that is a must have for me. I always find myself in weird situations filming BMX. With the Magnetic feet, I can pretty much set my camera up at any spot. The Magnetic feet are also a nice security feature if it’s a windy day.
What camera gear do you use?
Sony A7ii, GoPro Hero 5, iPhone 6s
What’s your favorite image you’ve posted and why?
I don’t have a favorite photo of mine. I shoot so many different things it’s hard to narrow one down. Long exposure photos are always fun and interesting to me because you don’t know what you’re going to get until the camera is done processing the photo. I love the anticipation! Also going out at night and working in the dark is always an adventure.
What’s the next piece of gear on your wish list and why must you have it?
I want to add the DJI Mavic Pro to my gear.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to an up and comer?
Just get out and shoot as much as possible. It doesn’t matter what it is, just learn your camera, and it’s settings. Remember the best camera is the one that is with you. Have fun out there.
With winter in full swing, #JOBYAmbassadors Seth Hill is in his element out on the slopes. Here he shares with us a little about himself, what gear he uses, and some tips on how to capture the perfect shot.
Can you give us a quick bio of yourself?
My name is Seth Hill, and I am a professional snowboarder and emerging filmer/producer. I have achieved a top 20 ranking in the world for professional snowboarding. I also produced, filmed and starred in a full length snowboarding documentary presented by RedBull called Really Gotta Wanna (currently available on iTunes). I also create content for Monster and my sponsors Sims and Phunkshun. I have found a fun place in mixing my love for action sports and videography.
What’s your greatest achievement?
My top snowboarding result was a second place at the ride shakedown in Canada; I was also Snowboarder Mag Super Park 16 Stand Out in 2012 and ended my career as 18th in the world. On top of my snowboarding achievements, I am also very proud of graduating from Colorado University in 2010 and the debut of my first full length snowboarding documentary, Really Gotta Wanna in 2014 (currently available on iTunes). All in all, I have had a very blessed life, traveled the world snowboarding and filming and am now starting to get my company RGWproductions.
What’s your go-to JOBY gear and why?
I use the GorillaPod Focus daily; I like the event photo kit with the clamp and the suction for action camera timelapse shots. The UltraFit Sling Strap and Hand Strap are always on my camera and have taken out the jib kit to create some more unique video shots.
How do you setup for a shot with your JOBY gear?
With the array of shots and styles of shots, it’s hard to narrow it down to just one set up. I tend to keep the hand grip on my DSLR for running around and quick mounting to my GorillaPod Focus. I also like to use the clamp for a second angle while using my stabilizer.
What camera gear do you use?
I have a wide variety of camera gear, Canon 6D and 60D for most of my photography, Panasonic GH4 and FZ1000 that I filmed ReallyGottaWanna with, 2 GoPro 4s, and my newest addition of the Sony FS700 with Odyssey Q7
What’s your favorite image you’ve posted and why?
Below is one of my favorites from a random trip to London, even though it has nothing to do with snowboarding.
What’s the next piece of gear on your wish list and why must you have it?
The next piece of gear on my wish list is the Lowepro Pro Roller x200 AW. I travel lots and love that the bag can be both inconspicuous for travel and can detach to run around with the backpack.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to an up and comer?
I have always been a learn from experience kind of guy and feel like its taken me pretty far. Get out and just shoot nothing compares to the first-hand experience.
JOBY Ambassador, Valentina Dang shares three helpful vlog tips on how to use GorillaPods to make your videos more watchable.
No one wants to continue watching a shaky video. The GorillaPod acts like a buffer to dampen your arm movements for a smoother video.
Give some context to where you are vlogging from. You’re telling a story and you need a setting. Make sure the viewers can see where you are and not just an up close selfie.
Having multiple angles in your video will help make it more entertaining. Using multiple GorillaPods setup around your shot location will go a long way to creating a better overall final video.
My name is Neal Kumar, a Chicago-based photographer, focused mostly on urban photography. I usually shoot with both a Canon 6D SLR and an iPhone, and I have the extra gear to help me shoot with both of those. While my Canon body isn’t too heavy, some of the lenses I use can add a lot of weight which makes having a sturdy tripod essential.
The Gorillapod Focus is perfect for this setup and is very stable despite harsh conditions. In Chicago, it can get quite windy, and in those situations, I like to spread the legs of the tripod out wider to increase stability. To be safe, I often adjust the legs without the camera attached, so that I can ensure the set up is secure before resting my camera on the tripod. Once I have the legs set, I will make fine adjustments using the ballhead. Sometimes I will even use Live view on the camera screen so I can make adjustments without having to look through the viewfinder. I use the Gorillapod for light trails, moving clouds, and night shots.
Ever since the iPhone first came out, new apps have been developed that allow the phone’s camera shutter to stay open longer to capture motion, light trails, and night shots. In most cases, I will use my Gorillapod with the iPhone attachment and ballhead. Again I like to get the Gorillapod legs set up before attaching my phone, and then make small adjustments with the ballhead. The beautiful part about the ballhead is that you can take both landscape and portrait shots with the iPhone by tilting it 90 degrees.
For night shots I like to use Cortex Cam which has fast focus and a relatively short shutter speed which decreases the chance of blurriness.
AvgNiteCam is great for capturing motion during both day and night. To capture the action of moving clouds or bodies of water, I like to use 16-64 shots depending on how much movement I want. However, the more shots I take, the long the shutter is open and the higher the chance of getting a blurry shot. Be sure to turn on the timer so that when you press the shutter button, you aren’t shaking the phone while the shutter is open.
Lastly, I like to use SlowShutterCam to capture light trails from moving objects such as cars or trains. This app is also useful for capturing motion while shooting from the very back window of subway trains in cities like Chicago and NYC. This is the one occasion where I don’t need a Gorillapod since I’m able to firmly hold the phone against the glass looking straight-on with the tracks. You can adjust how long you want the shutter to be open, but I like to keep this on “bulb” which allows you to stop the shutter whenever you feel like you have captured enough motion. I almost always keep the app in “Light Trail” mode, and use a sensitivity of ¼ or ⅛.
Check out JOBY Ambassador, Neal Kumar’s photography on his social channels.
Capture your holiday memories with some great gear for your camera. We have everything on your camera’s Wish List to start vlogging the holidays away! One winner will win this amazing prize package.
To enter on Instagram, find the sweepstakes post on @jobyinc. In the comments tag three of your friends, you’ll capture the holidays with, and follow the following brands.
Sweepstakes runs from 12/5 to 12/12. Check out the Official Rules for details. Have a Happy Holidays and good luck!
The JOBY GripTight POV Kit reviews are in, and the community is discovering how useful it is in their daily vlogging, video creation, and photography.
The Impulse Bluetooth shutter, cold shoe adapter, and added stabilization are all welcomed features and have been put to the test.
Check out these informative reviews and get a grip on your own!
“The Joby Griptight POV kit is so much more than just a selfie stick. This portable smartphone mount has so many functions, despite its small size. Multiple viewing angles combined with a removable Bluetooth remote ensures that you will always capture the perfect picture.” Review from the AndriodGuys
“The GripTight Pov Kit is a great tool for new videographers, iPhone photographers, content creators, or weekend warriors. At only $49.99, it is well worth the investment and gives great value for the features and functionality that it provides.” Review from the Brotographer
This month we’re featuring our #SchoolPridePOV Ambassador, Trevor Mahlmann. Trevor creates wondrous long exposure shots of the stars and beyond when he’s not in class at Purdue. Listen to what he has to say about his gear and check out his channels for more!
https://www.instagram.com/tmahlmann/
https://twitter.com/TrevorMahlmann
https://www.facebook.com/TrevorMahlmann
Don’t forget to get your entries into our #SchoolPridePOV Sweepstakes, for a chance to win $1,500 worth of camera gear! Details here: http://joby.com/schoolpridepov
What’s your favorite JOBY gear and why?
My GorillaPod Focus w/ BallHead X is my favorite because I use it the most. It is a very sturdy and easy way to set up a shot quickly without getting out a bulky tripod, allowing you to get in lower situations you couldn’t reach without it.
What gear do you use?
I use a Canon 7D MKII, Canon Rebel T5i, GoPro Hero 4 Black, and a DJI Phantom 4 as my primary capture devices!
What is your favorite image you’ve posted and why?
My favorite image has to be the one below because of the craziness of it all. I still wonder to this day what made me think of that when I sat down on my flight.
What drives you to create?
Sharing awesome scenes I can be a part of with anyone and everyone I can so they can enjoy it too!
What’s the next piece of gear on your wish list?
5D Mk IV, definitely a full-frame body.
What’s your life outside of photography?
Student at Purdue, busy engineering student! During my summertime, I chase the photography projects I dream up during the school year.
What’s your dream job?
Astronaut. Flying in space, maybe step foot on Mars one day.
Any advice to those starting out?
Shoot everything, find what you like to shoot and hone in on it, perfecting your skills. Share those beautiful scenes with as many people as possible!
JOBY advocate Dale Mears took some time to walk us through his world of steel wool spinning photography. He’s been perfecting his style for a while now and recently came up big, winning a popular online competition versus many other talented spinners. Read his journey to spark some ideas in your photography!
I started spinning steel wool after seeing a shot online and instantly knew it was something I wanted to try. I went and bought myself a metal whisk, some steel wool, and some rope and called up a few friends.
I didn’t have a clue exactly what I was meant to do or what would happen, so I set my camera up on a GorillaPod and headed out to our local park at night to find some tunnels. With cameras set up and on a release shutter, we lit the wire wool, and I instantly knew it was something that I would have to do again. Sparks flying everywhere and the whole tunnel lit up was a real thrill. Back to the camera and waiting for the exposure to finish and up flashes the preview, we thought “wow, let’s do it again” and again and again. Our images got better each time and over a few months we tried a few locations and left it there.
A couple of months later I had a conversation with a friend of mine who said: “I know where there are some fields full of helicopters.” We had to visit the field, so we went a few times to grab some new steel wool shots.
We have since visited some cool location here in the UK based in Nottingham.
I have always had a thing about light painting and seeing what I can do with a camera and some cool toys, so this is the perfect hobby.
Earlier this year, I was asked if I wanted to take part in a UK competition called Battle of the Underdogs, an invite-only steel wool spinning competition over on Instagram. Of course, I had to say yes. The competition gives twenty contestants who have been spinning steel wool but were are not well known for it, a good chance to get some exposure.
It all started over at @steelwooldaily_uk and was a knockout format head to head. It was the best thing having to shoot specifically for the competition and go up blind against a competitor. The competition was judged by two well-known judges one of which Sergey the founder of Light Painting World Alliance so had to go large with the shots.
The competition went well and pushed me to travel with friends to some cool locations like a church carved into sandstone recorded to exist from 1658, some fresh graffiti ridden tunnels and a disused railway where we used the signal posts to club up high.
I ended up winning the competition thanks to the judge’s votes and, of course, a number of JOBY fans who gave some of my images a vote. A massive thank you from me!
If you haven’t had the chance to check out steel wool spinning, go and give it a go. If you need any tips check out the JOBY labs video guide!
My main piece of advice for someone wanting to start is to buy a nice comfortable dog lead and a good sturdy medium sized metal whisk. The dog lead will prevent you getting some real sore blisters. Make sure you have a sturdy tripod – I love to use my GorillaPod Focus + Bullhead X or SLR-Zoom as I can pack them in my bag without the hassle of carrying a big tripod and you get a nice low perspective. Use grade 00 or fine steel wool as this burns much better. Make sure you have some old clothes; a hoodie works nicely, so sparks don’t go down your back. Please be sensible and keep an eye on your surroundings, so you don’t burn anything.
Check out my channels and feel free to get in touch.
