My VW bug was chugging its way up Telegraph Ave, like the little engine that could.
And it did!

That afternoon, on Sproul Plaza at UC Berkeley, Talking Heads were doing a free concert.
As a new fan, it was not to be missed.

They did the hits, and in a very strange timing, they sang Psycho killer as we all found out that Mayor George Moscone & Supervisor Harvey Milk were murdered by Dan White, a former supervisor in SF.
Because of this tragedy, Diane Feinstein succeeded Moscone as acting Mayor.

The concert was crowded, and afterward and I found myself backstage. Don’t ask me how.
I ended up capturing this portrait of Tina Weymouth, the bassist.

A couple of years ago, there was a screening in NYC of Stop Making Sense, attended by Tina and her husband Chris Frantz, the drummer for Talking Heads.
I had my advance ticket, so I got a 16×20 print of the portrait to give to her on the night.
Decades later, the story came to a right conclusion.

While at CES 2023, part of the goal is to see what’s coming out new, that could be of use to all of you.
When I saw this Pivo Max, I couldn’t wait to give it a go, and see if it performed as expected.

What you have, basically, is a base that has a bluetooth connection to an app, which allows you to track your movements while shooting. Your camera will move with you.

The thing that brought me to their booth and impressed me the most was the strength of the motor allowing the use of a mirrorless camera.

As a content creator, you know that you need to push out your work in a variety of formats.
The most common being the 9×16 Vertical for social/smartphones, and the 16×9 for platforms like YouTube.
You may have thought that you need to shoot twice, once in each format, or compromise the framing to lean towards one or the other.
The Pivo Max  does indeed have a strong enough motor to allow you to mount both a phone and a mirrorless camera to capture your content at one time.

It worked as expected! When I see products in a trade show, you never know how a production unit will behave. This did not disappoint!

Sure, you may say that anyone can mount both units and get the same.
But the critical difference when using the Pivo Max is the dynamic look when you add motion tracking to the equation.
By connecting via Bluetooth to the app, you can have your cameras track you by face, or body.
Now, if your content includes moving around a gym, in let’s say, a training video, or even a horse riding instructional this set-up will track you easily and make sure your shoot captures your vid.
Of course you can hire someone, to be the camera person.
This setup lets you shoot as a solo creator!
The tracking on this app is so good, it was tough to get a product shot as I moved around to get the right light! It kept following me.
I’m showing a specific set-up getting all content in 2 cameras at once.

The Fuji X-H2 has a flippy screen so I could see the framing on the camera, and then I used the phone in a front facing camera so I could see what was being captured there. Like I said, a one person set-up. We all know that the front and back cameras on a phone have diff resolution, but for social, the quality is good. The Fuji gets the 4K files.

To activate the phone I use the included remote control. The camera was activated on the body, knowing I’d be editing that first part out.

You can just mount your phone, or tablet, horizontal or vertical on the base, or a tablet, and keep it simple. Probably a way most people will use this.

Maybe you just want to live stream, and a less complicated set-up is best.
I would also suggest connecting a good wireless mic system to complete the system.
For this review, I was just shooting video, no audio.

OK, you have a dual capture set-up, a single capture set-up, and there is more.
With a remote control included, you can also control the base via the app, or even without the app!
So, if you want that 180º or 360º shot you can easily do that with the remote. Either direction.
You can also adjust speeds of any of those movements.

I have looked at this category for years, going back to something called a Swivl, which used a large bulky tracker that you wore. Unwieldy at best.

The tech in this may appear simple, and it may be. It just works.
If capturing content, as a solo creator, with the ability to add dynamism to your video with a moving subject, I highly recommend this Pivo Max.

It does all break down pretty small and the phone mount has a ¼-20 standard screw mount as does the base. I just screwed on the camera, and as you see, added a cold shoe adaptor to the phone base to complete my set up. The Max does not come with that, but I’m sure you have one in your kit. If not, a cheap add-on.

I do use a Zhiyun tripod adaptor so the bottom can live on the base, and the top lives on the camera. I didn’t have to remove my fave wrist strap, the SpiderHolster wrist strap, my wrist strap of choice/

This can also be a great tool for real estate sales

With this, an agent can give a virtual tour of a property. I think content creation is where we live, but that is just another use case.

The main base unit is rechargeable, with 10-12 hours of battery life. You can also charge your phone/tablet through the base while you record as well.
the remote uses 2 AAA batteries.

One thing I will say that you should look at your motion and see how how is all tracked.

In a closer , let’s say 6Ft distance, try to do smoother movements as the tracking is so good, it will stop and start moving as you do. No lag, but immediate.

There you have it! from the trade show floor, into a real world situation, the Pivo Max does exactly what it promised. It costs about $250, but I have seen it on sale for as little as $175 USD.

BTW, here is a video for another product on the line, with a motor best suited for a smart, not the full combo. You may want to look at the whole line to see which unit is best for you

(please note, there is a possibly disturbing photo at the end of this post)
I had just seen/photographed St. Vincent perform at Stubbs, and it was an incredible set.

Making my way out, it was on to the next venue to hear some new music.
While walking on the street, the camera’s exposure was set for whatever may be seen on the street.
There was a rope blocking the sidewalk, making us all walk in the street.
All of the sudden we hear a car’s screeching tires, bursting through the flimsy barricade with a police car in hot pursuit.
The camera came up to my eye, with the continuous shooting sequence in action.
The driver plowed through the crowd of these poor young kids, just trying to party and get to the next venue.
The things I saw, are etched in my mind forever, and I’m not sure about posting some of them here.
I know I saw a young woman bleed out, while being attended to by paramedics.
There was a facility close by that had dispatched medical support immediately.
This one shot has stuck in my memory as it reminded me of Kent State.

Continue Reading »

Sitting in a friends living room, it was fascinating to hear the writer talk about interviewing a Manson Family member in max security, in a morbid way.
Then she said the photographer she took with her, totally screwed the assignment.
One camera, dressed a bit off, and was scared witless. Missed most of the possible shots.
She needed to find another photographer.
My buddy suggested me.
After looking at some of my photos she agreed.
I asked her when we would be going, and she said it would just be me, as she had already wrote the interview.
I did as much background as I could, and got notes from the writer.
With an official letter from the publication, a plane ticket, and my camera bags filled with his favorite cigarettes, I took off.
Nothing like hearing the actual door of a prison close behind you to know the truth.
While walking the line, my accompanying guard told me how much he respected my work from Nam.
I had never been to Nam. I said thank you.
Meeting with BB, I started to lay out my gear. There were some other inmates in the room, and I asked them all what they were in for.
The last one said I didn’t want to know.
I agreed, and gave him a smoke.
The guy knew his poses and we started to shoot.

During the process I asked him for his side of the story.
His freedom had been challenged, so he had to kill.
My gear was a Nikon F3, FM, and Nikon F that I always carried. Fully manual, and as the expression goes, I could hammer nails with it all day, and it would still be in focus.
And both of the other cameras did go down.
The final set-ups were done with the F. Whew!
Yes, I had a speedlight, changing bag (used when the cameras went down) and tons of film, B&W, and ektachrome.
There was one shot that I wanted to do, and the guard was a bit concerned.
With the lights out, or very dim, I wanted to spray the scene with a fire extinguisher for atmosphere and hit the scene with a flash. Hell, he had an automatic weapon.
So, we did it.

Throughout the shoot we talked a lot.
“When did you get those tattoos?”” In here” “Really, how?” “Broken guitar string and ink from a pen” “damn, that had to hurt!” “You know how long I’ve been in here? THAT hurts”
As a self-taught musician, we discussed his music, styles, etc.
After the shoot. I met with his therapist who told me he was really a good guy.
I sent him contact sheets, and transparencies, as I had promised.
A short while later, I was at home, and I get a collect call from the prison.
He wanted to chat.

Loved the photos, but unfortunately couldn’t get the slides as they were in plastic mounts and could have been made into a weapon.
How did he get my phone number?
The writer said he really like meeting me, and wanted to let me know he liked the photos.
Yes, I did change my number.
This was perhaps the most exhilarating, single photo shoot I had done.
The magazine came out and it was great to see the full page spreads of the photos.

One of my favorite assignments was covering concerts at the Greek Theater in Berkeley.

Being a young, low on cash, photographer, Nikons NPS Service was always great about loaning me gear to supplement my owned kit.
The greats were there, and honestly, loved to photograph jazz musicians especially as they were the most chill.

I was hanging backstage, cameras slung on my body, with a bag loaded with extras.
Leaning against a wall, having a smoke, and one of the musicians came up to me.
“Say, are those Export A’s?” said Dizzy Gillespie.
“Yes they are” , I stammered back
“That’s my brand! Can I get one?” “Tell you what, if I can photograph you, I’ll give you a pack!”
He happily agreed, and we started to shoot!
Of course there was the classic puffed cheeks with the upward bell, which all went to just joshing around, playing congas and hanging out.
He ended up giving me a calendar from a Chicago jazz club, and some other things.
Most importantly, we had formed a photog subject bond, and through out the next three days, I was able to photograph him on stage, connect from the wings for more personal shots, And catch moments backstage with some of the other mega stars of the world of jazz.
Because I was hanging with Dizzy , it was assumed I was a “right “ guy, and the access was
invaluable getting moments with these other musicians.
Joni Mitchell was also on the bill, playing with Jaco Pastorius, Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams and Don Alias.
The list of talent was incredible, and the archives from that shoot are invaluable.

Remember when I told you that I was not a wealthy guy? Well, I was bulk loading film, and reusing film cassettes to save some dough. There was a roll that had unfortunate scratches, due to debris in the cassette, and through the years I have had those images worked on and ready for printing.
Just a cautionary tale.