What To Photograph In May 2012?

Check out ePHOTOzine's inspirational photo month calendar! Each day click on a window to see new photography tips, treats and techniques.

THERE IS ALSO A CHANCE TO Win one of Four Manfrotto's new pocket supports AND Win a Fantastic Manfrotto Photo Tripod and Bag!

For more information visit ePHOTOzine

For more information contact Manfrotto UK at Tel: 01293 583300 or email: info@manfrotto.co.uk

If you think about it, there is something we have lost since the introduction of modern technologies: the use of our imagination. Today, we do not have to try and picture what a distant place can be like. Take one of those mythical-looking places we heard about from the few adventurous men, who wrote memorable works of ancient literature, or from those, who had the extraordinary chance to visit such a place. Iceland, as the name suggests, is a land of ice, although it is no longer possible to imagine this country only as a white island. Its northern atmosphere and inhospitable land have now become a popular tourist destination constantly receiving travellers. That is how we all learnt, that Iceland is a land full of contrasting elements, rather than an icy island: Iceland shows a continuous and dynamic coexistence between extreme heat and cold, and contrasting elements such as water and fire, the sea and geysers, volcanoes and – finally – ice.

At this point of our considerations, another illusion might turn up. When you think about travelling across Iceland, you cannot just imagine Ring Road – the highway that follows the whole coast of the island measuring 1,339 kilometres – even though, to tell the truth, it offers an excellent and soft way to begin your tour, if you are looking for the comfort found in the main cities, and if you are interested in its cultural aspects. On the other hand, if you think that Iceland is smaller than northern Italy, you will also have to leave any form of prejudice behind, as far as travelling times and ways are concerned, especially if you decide to hire a car, as most people do. As you head inland for a few kilometres, after crossing shallow rivers, mud and dirt roads, you will be able to sink into the most inhospitable side of Iceland. This is the side – to say it straight – people could have imagined a century ago, while reading a few yellowed pages of a book by an adventure novelist.

In Iceland, nature is not only magnificent, impressive and ancestral: it still shows an authentic aspect of its environment, which can be described with one word – an adjective, which is often used inappropriately – uncontaminated. It remained intact, pure. Iceland’s very peculiar geographic position – the island lies between the northern side of the Atlantic Ocean and the Greenland Sea, above a latitude of 65°N, but its weather is mitigated by the Gulf Stream – has made it an inhabitable land, and has also favoured a significant urban development process, which has involved, most of all, the areas close to the coastline. In the inland areas, instead, although a few villages exist and most of the country is provided with a wide public transport network serving also the central plateaus, the landscape is dominated – in the word’s most literal sense – by its primeval nature.

This description of Iceland makes it look more like it was when people first dreamt about it. Volcanoes erupting in the night – in Iceland, summer nights are not dark at all, as the sun hardly sets; – impressive waterfalls rushing down, over green moss and lichen – Glymur, the highest waterfall of the island, is situated in the western Iceland, and it is as many as one hundred and ninety metres high – hot water and intermittent steam erupting from geysers, in a barren and desert land. The Earth’s crust, in this area, is much closer to the surface than in other areas of the world, and for this reason, Iceland’s geothermal activity is intense. The Icelanders’ exceptional awareness of this environmental aspect has resulted in the widespread use of distribution plants providing cities with heating and electricity. Lakes, rivers and rocky formations originating from lava are authentic natural monuments, which also play a part in making the environment so spectacular – quite often, you will come across craters and volcanic ash; moreover, the not always merry “marriage” between the island’s eruptive activity and polar ice causes continuous geological changes.

All these spectacular phenomena are shown in the photo reportage printed within this article. We intentionally took a tour of the heart of Iceland to look at its innermost essence, even though our journey would have been impossible without an appropriate off-road vehicle and without drivers trained for any occurrence. Our crew had not chosen a specific destination: they just decided to head south. And they left from Langjökull, and they journey soon turned out to be like the adventure they had been imagined to experience, both because of the difficulties they had to face on off-road itineraries, that often involved shallow rivers, and because they had to travel on a Jeep – suitably provided with a sleeper cabin – to stay in tents, and to walk along trekking paths.

Then, they arrived in Landmannalaugar, in the south-western area of the country, north of the famous and just as hard to pronounce Eyjafjallajökull volcano which, in April 2010, generated an ash cloud so large that all across central and northern Europe from Iceland to Italy airports were closed, and air traffic was stopped.

Looking at Iceland’s map, our route would seem rather winding and pointless, if our purpose were not that of experiencing the deep solitude of some parts of Iceland, where you will not come across anyone for hours, or even for days, even if you do not travel too far away from the residential areas and from Iceland’s warm welcoming inhabitants.

Let us try and follow our heroes – you will need nerves of steel – as they explore this wild land worn away by the wind, where scattered bushes and spontaneous vegetation are at their best in summer, and where sandy expanses recall extraterrestrial landscapes, whereas contrastingly, moving towards the coast, everything looks very green. It sounds unbelievable, but before you get to the coastline, dotted with charming villages – such as Vik, the final destination of our journey – vast volcanic areas will appear, as well as hot water pools and streams, where you can rest from your tiring trip and enjoy a thermal bath surrounded by nature (a unique experience, that no spa resort in the world could offer). Everywhere else, all you see is yellow mountains – their colour indicates a high concentration of minerals, mostly rhyolite – but also pitch-black lava streams and rocks red with iron and copper; plateaus and rivers, offering new views at every step you take and, finally, the fifth highest waterfall of Iceland: the Skógafoss, which pushes away whoever gets too close with wind blasts, from the impressive height of sixty-two metres.

Proceeding southwards, a different landscape will soon catch your eye, as you see farms, Icelandic horses peacefully grazing and a few small villages announcing your destination: you are getting closer to the coast. Highway 1 will take you to Vik, situated at the foot of the above mentioned volcano, which became known across Europe. Vik is a farming village known for its wool – which was named after it – and most of its inhabitants are sheep farmers, even though the village is situated on the coast. As you cast one last look down the cliffs, you will enjoy an astonishing view over lava-rock arches, which were once touched by the sea. Today, they are natural wharves hanging over black beaches.

Click here to see Mirko Sotgiu photos

Photographer: Mirko Sotgiu www.alpinfoto.it

The new Manfrotto MVT502AM video tripod with telescopic aluminium twin-tube legs is a lightweight, compact camera support for videographers who need an intuitively simple and user-friendly tripod.
The Manfrotto MVT502AM is a 2 stage video tripod with 3 telescopic-twin sections for reassuring compactness when the tripod is folded. It can support payloads of up to 15 kg (33.06lb), ideal for the latest Camcorders, HDSLR or light cameras equipped with accessories such as external lights, monitors or microphones.
The tripod has a 75mm bowl but a 60mm adapter is provided to widen the range of compatible professional video heads.
Innovative ellipse-profile aluminium twin tubes with newly redesigned leg locking collars give the MVT502AM excellent levels of rigidity and stability.
The new first stage spreader, with its rubber coated tripod connections, improves ergonomics and ease of use. The MVT502AM has new rubber feet which improve grip on all floor and ground surfaces. A new rubber strap ensures easier, safer transport.

MVT502AM
VIDEO TRIPOD-TELESCOPIC TWIN

If you need the catalogue, please download it here.

Empty spaces, nature greatness and good light are always a good mix to achieve a good shoot, that’s almost true if you like some aspect of the classical and emotive photography. I like to keep the “classical roots” in every picture as a base to build more “modern” or conceptual images like in that winter landscape I took at the sunset.

I was over the top of a mountain near my town (Monte Grappa – Italy is about 1700mt) waiting the sunset and searching for some good subjects in the snow when clouds over the plains started getting more compact. About two hours before the sunset all the plains was covered by the clouds and that’s was a good situation to stay over the top waiting something happening. Most of the people thinks that the coincidences that brings to a good nature shoot (or event shoot) are ruled by luck or prime-time but at the end the real rule is that you have to figure out what is (or can be) happening due to be ready in the right place. So if you’re thinking that something is going to happen then take your time and wait, most of the time, if your feelings are right, you’ll be rewarded.

Back to our shoot, the start of the sunset painted all the clouds with a nice pink warm tones that were working beautifully with the strong blue of the lower landscape. Just before the end of the sunset a ray of light flashed the small watchtower church on the smaller mountain just in front of me. I decided to frame giving more space to the sky and the clouds surrounding the peak with the watchtower to get a more aerial and wide view landscape. It lasted about 6 minutes, but I was there , ready to take that beautiful landscape shoot.

Aperture : f 8

Shutter speed : 1/250

ISO : 250

Focal length : 200mm

Place : Archeson, Monte Grappa, Italy

Hybrid HDSLR cameras and ever-smaller pro camcorders are changing videography dramatically; yet along with the obvious advantages and opportunities presented by smaller, lighter cameras, come new problems to solve: as ENG camera operators use smaller cameras, and photographers are expected to shoot broadcast-quality video footage on their HDSLRs, both groups are finding that their camera equipment doesn’t have the ergonomic form for steady shoulder-mounted or hand-held footage; nor the attachment points for monitors, batteries, light-modifiers or accessories; nor the inherent weight that helps minimise camera shake. SYMPLA is Manfrotto’s solution to those problems: a professional modular video rig system that extends and complements new cameras, allows for stable support and framing, supports essential accessories features, offering versatility and high performance as well as comfort, safety and much simpler and faster set up than existing rigs.

SYMPLA is built for flexibility and speed, so you can change anything and everything easily and quickly: hand grip positions, counterbalance, camera body, lens, accessories, filters, light-shielding angle; shoulder-supported, hand-held, or tripod/monopod-mounted… whatever you need to get the shot, the second you need it. SYMPLA is quick to fine-tune, so even when you need to make changes to your rig on-location and mid-shoot, SYMPLA’s minimal locks and tool-free adjusters will let you get back to shooting quickly. Thanks to our revolutionary camera remotes which fit the rig handgrips, SYMPLA allows precise fingertip control of framing and camera functions without losing the grip position and keeping your eyes on the frame, helping you capture stable, usable, creative footage. And SYMPLA can quickly be extended: whether you start from one of our kits, or from single components, you can build the exact rig you need for the shot, as soon as you need it.

	MVA511WK Sympla Shoulder Support System
	MVA512WK Flexible_Mattebox_System
	MVA513WK Long Lens Support System

MVA513W Sympla Fixed Plate	MVA515W Sympla Variable Plate	MVA517W Sympla Variable Plate
MVA516W Sympla Body Support	MVA514W Sympla Lens Support	MVA512W Sympla Flexible Mattebox
MVA518W Sympla Adjustable Handles	MVA522W Fig Rig Sympla Version	MVR911ECCN Hdslr Clamp-On Remote Control
MVR911EJCN HDSLR Deluxe Remote Controlfor Canon	MVA519W Sympla H-Offset	MVA524W Sympla V-Offset
MVA523W Rods - 150mm	MVA520W Rods - 300mm	MVA511W Sympla Shoulder Pad
MVA521W Counterweight
Sympla - Timelapse video
Sympla - Slideshow Video
Sympla - Behind the scenes with Bill Frakes
If you need the catalogue, please download it here.

The two Manfrotto winning products have been chosen by the international jury among a total of 4,515 projects, submitted by designers and companies from 58 countries.

According to the jury’s advice, both Manfrotto products stood out for their unique and innovative design, wisely combined with technology and using ease. More into details:

• The SYMPLA Rig System, an innovative, beautiful modular solution for HDSLR’s and camcorders. Sympla, which will be presented for the first time at the forthcoming NAB Show in Las Vegas, has already raised great excitement within the industry: thanks to easier, safer and more comfortable usage, it just makes videographer’s life simpler.
  
  
• The 502HD System, an innovative telescoping video kit incorporating the MVH502A fluid head and the MVT502AM tripod. The system, featuring lightweight, compactness and unexpected sturdiness, already represents a game-change in design and technology for all professional videographers.

Manfrotto products being recognized by such a prestigious international top class jury confirms, once again, the value of Italian quality design, positioning Manfrotto among the world's most valuable companies in innovation, research and development.

The awards schedule takes place on 2 July 2012, at the Aalto-Theater in Essen, Germany. The event is expected to be attended by more than 1,000 international guests from the worlds of design, industry, politics and media.

For further information and details, please visit: www.red-dot.de

For more information contact Manfrotto UK at Tel: 01293 583300 or email: info@manfrotto.co.uk

These will include the full range of Manfrotto tripods, bags, clothing and LED lights, the Gitzo Systematic Tripod range, Kata and National Geographic Bags and Lastolite products. Focus on Imaging is the most diverse and comprehensive imaging show staged in the UK and one of Europe’s biggest photo events, with over 200 exhibitors, attracting more than 35,000 attendees every year.

This year, the Manfrotto School of Xcellence (MSoX), the online tutorial platform that allows users to log on and access the expertise and know-how of some of the world’s most famous photographers and videographers, will take centre stage at the Manfrotto stand. Taking place in a 40-seat theatre area, the school will comprise inspiring and informative talks, along with the chance to meet some of the UK’s top photographers.

Drew Gardner, Michael Freeman, Phil Coates and Jacob James, will be among those hosting one-to-one sessions sharing their professional hints and tips. Budding photographers will also have the chance to bring their portfolios for more in-depth tutorials with the experts. Additionally, Manfrotto product experts from across the company will be on hand to help visitors find the right equipment to suit their photographic needs.

Visitors can take advantage of a range of exclusive promotional activities when purchasing Manfrotto products at the fair.  These include the brand’s new Gitzo Scrappage Scheme, which offers a saving of up to £100 when scrapping an old camera support. Additionally, there will be the chance to win limited edition Manfrotto products daily through a ‘Guess-N-Win’ competition and everyone can take advantage of a 15% discount online product voucher only available at the stand.

Manfrotto has joined forces with ePHOTOzine, the leading online photographic website with almost a million monthly unique users as the exclusive online partner for Focus on Imaging.  Ephotozine members will have the opportunity to experience an exclusive photo workshop with Drew Gardner on March 18th. 

For more information contact Manfrotto UK at Tel: 01293 583300 or email: info@manfrotto.co.uk

For more details please visit: http://manfrottoschoolofxcellence.com  and
www.focus-on-imaging.co.uk