Ty Wivell gets hydrated at Tough Mudder, © Andrea Greeley

Editor’s note: Ty Wivell is an avid adventure photographer and Lowepro’s National Sales Manager for the Outdoor Channel. In our completely biased opinion, he truly embodies the spirit of the Lowepro brand. Just a few days ago he participated in Vermont’s Tough Mudder adventure challenge, and along with friends Andrea Greeley and Jerry Monkman (a pro photographer and videographer from New England) documented the nerve, verve, sweat and determination of some of the 6,000+ athletes who gave it their all.  Here’s his account.

Every photo assignment has its peculiar challenges, but when I signed up to capture the ‘Tough Mudder’ from the perspective of a participant, I knew I’d be pushing my body and my gear to the extreme.

Muddy course at Tough Mudder, © Ty Wivell

Billed as the world’s “premiere adventure challenge”, the Mudder pits enthusiastic participants against a 10-mile obstacle course designed by British Special Forces to test “all-around strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie.” And, with obstacles like “Everest”, “Devil’s Beard”, “Firewalker”, and “Electroshock Therapy”, the event certainly lives up to most of the hype.

The Electroshock challenge at Tough Mudder, © Ty Wivell

Firewalking at Tough Mudder, © Ty Wivell

But surviving the Mudder laden with an extra 25 lbs. of camera gear was  the least of my concerns. As a ‘participatory journalist’, I was mostly worried about ‘getting the shot’ while also protecting and readily accessing my camera gear in the midst of rock-strewn mud, bone-chilling water, dust, smoke, and fire. Not to mention running, leaping, sliding, crawling, falling, and getting zapped with 10,000 volts of electricity!

Thankfully, my Photo Sport 200 AW not only met the challenge, but proved to be a perfect companion for this shoot. The pack’s protective Ultra-Cinch Camera Chamber secured my kit in rough terrain and frequent water sprays, but also provided rapid, off-the-shoulder access to my DSLR. And, the dedicated hydration pocket was essential to augment my water supply in the 90-degree heat.  But, perhaps the pack’s most useful feature for this outing was the convenient side pockets on the hip belt, which provided quick, frequent access to my soft cloths to wipe the grime from my lenses.

Completing the Tough Mudder was an extremely satisfying experience. But, capturing its essence from the inside out was even more rewarding.  Of course, like any dedicated photographer, I’m a glutton for self-punishment, consternating over the shots I missed, and training my eye (and legs!) toward next year’s event.
Shocking…

- Ty Wivell

Watch Jerry Monkman’s Tough Mudder video and check out his site for a review of Flipside Sport 15L AW.

Photographers Doug Pensinger and Ezra Shaw, both of Getty Images, made a stop at the Lowepro offices on their way to shoot Stage 1 of the Tour of California. It was a great for all of us to meet these photographers and better understand their needs as they shoot some of the most challenging images in bike racing.

Doug got his start with his first camera at age 15 and has shot every Tour of California race, plus seven Tour de France races. Knowing he was going to be riding on a motorbike to capture images for the event, I asked him how he was going to prep for this California race. “Preparing for this event isn’t easy. You have to think about weather, the elements, the athletes and the course. My camera gear is the least of my worries,” he said.

Similarly, Ezra (Doug’s partner covering the race) echoed his sentiment and added, “I try to see the course and understand where the best photos can be made. Stage 1 is rigorous—one of the toughest I’ve seen for day one—and I can’t wait to see these athletes perform.”

Keep up with Doug and Ezra as they photograph the Tour of California!

Editor’s note: She’s an ultra-engaged, frequently booked photographer who also writes, blogs, explores and approaches each new project with her creative POV. Sustainability and urban food systems are of particular interest to Berkeley-based Simone Anne. She recently field tested our new Urban Photo Sling (and is the featured photographer in our campaign!) and has these impressions to share on her work, her gear and how she finds inspiration.

Q&A
How did you decide to pair your interest in urban food systems with blogging and photography?

I’ve always just shot what inspires me and frankly, for this girl, food is where it’s at. I love to eat, of course, but even more than that I love learning about the social and civil aspects of food production and consumption. Food plays such a huge role in our communities, our health, and our daily lives and I know that for me what I eat in a day makes such a difference in how I feel.
I started blogging back in 2009 because it felt silly to shoot but never share my images. I even had a mini crisis where I thought that if I wasn’t shooting for somebody to see the images, it wasn’t worth shooting! Yikes. Luckily I’ve grown past that and now I shoot for fun all the time; my favorite way to end the day is a simple sunset photo walk on the streets where I live.
As my life and academic interests have become more and more entrenched in our food system, it has been only natural for my blog to grow to reflect that. As an added bonus, blogging about subjects I love means that readers and people I work with often share my inspirations. I could have never anticipated how far blogging would take me and how many fabulous people I would be able to reach, but I am so thankful for all of the opportunities it has brought me.

What type of gear helps you gather the content you need?

I keep it simple and shoot with a 5dMarkII and 50mm for most of my work. I’m also a fan of the 35mm, but for most assignments I don’t carry around more than that. Sometimes I think that as photographers we get caught up in our gear and forget that you can take fab photos with just about anything; I know I’m certainly a culprit! A simple set-up helps remind me to get back to the basics and remember that it’s color, composition and, above all, light that really make a photo great.

Most unusual item you keep in your camera bag?

I’m partial to my Golden Half Camera, which is a small 35mm toy camera that shoots half of a frame at a time. I love having it on me for when I can’t be super engaged with shooting but still want to document the adventures I’m on and the people I love hanging out with. It’s always easy for me to get caught up in shooting and while I know this has helped a lot with my career as a photographer, it’s not always the perfect headset to be in when you’re just hanging out with friends. This camera strikes the happy medium—it keeps me happy with a camera that’s easy to handle and my friends love having me more engaged with the fun at hand.

What do you like about the Urban Photo Sling?
It really is the best of both worlds for me! I love that I can easily and safely store my gear when I’m on the go (even when I’m riding my bike or on crowded public transportation!), but I don’t miss shots fumbling for gear when I do need it. With the Urban Photo Sling, everything I use to shoot is always at my fingertips! It makes both a great transportation bag and a great shooting bag and for a photographer whose job always means shooting on the go, it feels like the bag designers at Lowepro were making just for me.

What current project is inspiring you?

Friends are always asking me for good spots to adventure in and around my hometown (I rep the Bay Area!), so I’m putting together a guide just for that. I’ve always been frustrated with the lack of real lifestyle photos in most guidebooks and have always wished that I could just have a local show me around instead. You can see a lot of my favorite spots on my blog, but when it’s finished this guide is going to be a really fab resource for expeditions in my hometown—I hope that instead of seeming like tourists, readers will feel just like locals who hang out in the hippest places in town.

You can view Simone’s web site, read about her culinary, travel, and musical adventures on her blog or by following her Facebook page. If you’re feeling hipster, she’s also on Instagram and can be found sharing little square images under the handle @simone_anne

Street shooting is a passion of mine, and I’ve never enjoyed it more than I do today. The convergence of mobile devices, social networking, and a plethora of coffee shops have created a fluid working environment. Using these tools, I can shoot photos, upload them to an iPad, edit my favorite images, publish them online, finish my cup of dark roast, and hit the streets again.

Lowepro is doing its part to facilitate this workflow. They have designed a variety of tablet friendly bags that accommodate my iPad or MacBook Air, basic DSLR gear, and all the gizmos and accessories that I would need for the day.

To give you a better idea of the workflow that I use, here’s a short movie that walks you through the basic steps.

This scenario works great with the iPad 2 or The New iPad, an Apple Camera Connection Kit, and iPhoto for iOS. There are other terrific image editing apps for the iPad, including Filterstorn Pro, Photogene, and Snapseed. Also, you don’t necessarily need a cellular-connected iPad (Verizon or ATT&T) to embrace this workflow. You can use a WiFi-only tablet. But then you are at the mercy of the network that’s available where you’re working.

Regardless of how you design your own urban photography workflow, the end result should be the euphoric sensation that results from having just captured a great image and then seeing it online before your coffee gets cold.

Derrick Story is the Photography Evangelist for Lowepro.

According to Ansel Adams, “There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer”.

This symbiotic relationship inspires us to design thoughtful, useful and inventive bags for everyone from hardworking pros to eager enthusiasts. We have great respect for those who get out in the world and create pictures.

When you take a moment to share a picture of you—or a friend—with a Lowepro bag, it’s very gratifying for us. And it’s a good way for us to get to know each other.

Take a look at the submissions from photographers and Lowepro fans at the mylowepro community section of our web site. We encourage you to share a moment with all of us: photographers and viewers.

It’s easy to submit. Just go to the Send Us Your Photos page to learn more.

Thank you!

Photographer Paul Morrison with the Limited Edition Flipside 500 AW at the Lake Louise Men’s Downhill races in 2009. © Nick Didlick

Editor’s note: Our friend and Loweprofessional Nick Didlick is a photographer, photo consultant and web designer who has tested and worked with our bags for many years. We relied on his expertise when we began the concept of our Flipside 500 AW in 2008. The Olympic Winter Games seemed like an ideal venue to test the mettle of a rugged, roomy and secure outdoor photo backpack, and Nick’s input was invaluable to the creation and reception of this purpose-built carrying solution. Here he shares the story behind the design.

“Back in 1984, while covering the Olympic Winter Games in Sarajevo, I realized that backpacks are the only way to go when covering major winter sports. Since then Lowepro has been on my back for some of the most memorable winter and summer sporting events.

In 2008, Tim Grimmer (Lowepro director of marketing and product management) came to my home in Vancouver, British Columbia on a research trip. His mission was to talk to me (really, he grilled me!) on what would be the best design for a backpack for sports photographers. The discussion was lively and included all aspects of what a winter sports photographer does and the changing roles of sports photography.

I wanted a bag that would let me ski down an Olympic Downhill course in the morning, walk up an Olympic Bobsleigh course in the afternoon, and then travel by bus and cover an Olympic Figure Skating final in the evening—all the while keeping my gear safe and dry while shooting and travelling between events. It was a challenge that I thought was going to be impossible for Tim and the team. ‘Oh, and I need this bag to carry hand warmers, sunglasses, extra gloves, crampons, and monopod,’ I added.

Tim asked what camera gear I would need to carry in it, which was really the point of the backpack and this was a difficult one to answer, because different winter sports require different lenses, and different photographers carry different lenses to the same sport. I thought about this for a long while, reflecting on all the sporting events I have covered and the sports photographers I had worked with around the world at events.

The bag, I concluded, would have to carry the following:
2 Pro DSLR bodies
A big lens: like a 400mm f/2.88, 500mm f/4 or 600mm f/4
2 or 3 extra lenses
A teleconverter
Spare batteries, CF/SD cards and a few other accessories

Nick's Limited Edition Flipside 500 AW filled with the pro-sized gear needed to cover winter sporting events. © Nick Didlick

The backpack had to have a different way of opening to protect the gear inside from blowing snow. And I didn’t want a million pockets as they are difficult to manage with cold or gloved hands. ‘Oh yeah Tim, one more thing: I need the bag to fit in the overhead baggage area of an airplane!’

I introduced Tim to my friend Paul Morrison, a Whistler-based photographer who covers extreme skiing and with whom I have spent many hours on the side of a mountain waiting for an event to start. Paul and I have different views of what a bag should be, but I always find his insights to be valuable. And we have the common vision that being ready for the picture is what counts, and that should be the primary function of the backpack. And so the challenge was laid down.

Lowepro took all of this information that Paul and I provided and months later produced the Limited Edition Flipside 500 AW. They shared these backpacks with more than 700 pro photographers who covered the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. And now, the Flipside 500 AW is available to all pros and photo enthusiasts who need a backpack that’s ready for those big moments. After all, it’s really ‘the picture that counts’.”

To learn more about Nick Didlick, please visit his web site.

Jacquie Nelsen's Lowepro backpack after its ordeal with a black bear

Editor’s note: It’s not backed by a scientific study, but we occasionally hear from our customers that bears like Lowepro bags. Perhaps they’re just fond of backpacks in general! Our newest story comes from Jacquie Nelsen. She attended a recent Vancouver Photo Workshop along the West Coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia and has this tale to tell. We are so glad that you and your gear are okay, Jacquie.

“While attending a Vancouver Photo Workshop in Tofino, BC, my Primus AW backpack (filled with more than $15K worth of camera gear) was ‘attacked’ (as in dragged, jumped on, bitten, rolled on, sat on, and the foam plucked out of it) by a black bear. I was taking long exposure shots on Long Beach with my bag (no food inside) right next to me. The bear came out of nowhere, grabbed my bag and proceeded to use it as a play toy.

I ran (I’m sorry to say—I had no time to back up or walk in a calm or cool fashion). I watched for 45 minutes with the hope that he/she wouldn’t drag my gear from the beach into the adjacent forest, never to be seen again. In the end, I recovered my beaten bag with all my gear inside. The bag is still useable, despite many scars, and a lost strap or two; however, the gear was untouched, thus protected by my Lowepro bag.”