©Michael Mueller

First of all, to avoid any confusion: the Michael Mueller who shot these images is not the same photographer who shoots sharks and invents waterproof Profoto heads. No, this is the Michael Mueller who shoots action sports and brings Profoto strobes with him to a snowy mountaintop.

“I like being outside,” says Michael. “I also like photographing people who are outside, and I find it rewarding to try to capture all the positive things I associate with this: the adrenaline, the forces of nature, the changing weather, the feelings you get when you’re riding your bike or skiing down a slope.”

It all started when Michael was in his early twenties and his snowboarding friends asked him to take some action shots of them. Michael soon realized that not only did he enjoy the assignment; he actually had a knack for taking photographs that inspires people to get out of their seductively comfortable sofas and head out into nature.

Needless to say, the encouraging, positive feel of Michael’s images has made him sought-after amongst brands that want their customers to feel just that – encouraged and inspired. The images in this article were shot during one such assignment, and the client in question was ski mountaineering brand Dynafit.

“The current trend in that particular market is quite realistic photographs, shot with available light only,” says Michael. “But Dynafit wanted something different. They wanted something that felt natural yet extraordinary. So, after discussing it with my agency Pascher & Heinz, I decided to bring strobes with me to the shoot.”

Said and done. Michael and his crew packed an Pro-B3 battery generator, spare batteries, a ProHead and a spare Pro-B Head too, just in case. Then they headed for the slope. (more…)

Water and electricity are not good for humans. We don’t condone or encourage in any way the act of Profoto heads held over the head of a brave assistant standing in a river. We’ve covered other water-related stories, such as when Marcel Lämmerhirt shot some stunning photos of wakeboarding for us using the new Pro-B4, but that was all from the safety of dry land.

That wasn’t enough for Michael Muller, who customized a 1200 watt Profoto head to be entirely waterproof. He then built a barge, really a floating cooler, to house the Pro-7b generators and threw them, his assistants, 120 feet of cable, and some talented surfers into the sea.

Michael only exploded one light, but got some pretty unique shots. His creation, he says, allows him to take an entire studio setup into the ocean. Pretty cool—and dangerous—we might mention. Don’t try this at home!

See more of Michael Muller’s work (now with more sharks!) on his site. For more details, see the post on Transworld Surf. If you prefer your photography features in print, check out the December 2012 issue of PDN Magazine. (more…)

Today is the official release date of the Pro-B4– the fastest, toughest battery generator ever made available to the public. The Pro-B4 is capable of firing up to 30 flashes per second and delivers flash durations down to 1/25,000 second. Needless to say, this opens up creative possibilities that yesterday’s photographers could only ever dream of.

Award-winning action photographer Marcel Lämmerhirt was the first photographer to ever lay his hands on the Pro-B4. Marcel recognized its potential and decided that he wanted to do something that could not be done with any other battery generator. After giving it some thought, he decided to bring the Pro-B4 to Wakelake at Wörth an der Isar in southern Germany and take sequence shots of the world champion in wakeboarding, Dominik Gührs, and the junior world champion, Freddy von Osten. (more…)

Biddeford Big Air | ©Chad Doyon

It is always nice to see that it is not only established photographers that decide to invest their time and money in professional lighting equipment. Chad Doyon, for instance, who happily admits that he is still just learning the art, has already equipped himself with a set of battery generators.

“At the moment it’s just a hobby,” says Chad. “But I’m working hard on making it something more than that.”

When and why were these shots taken?

“These images are a genuine case of the phrase ‘it can’t hurt to ask’ having a real effect. I found out about this event on a Thursday morning with it taking place on the very next night. I contacted one of the coordinators assuming that they already had an event photographer. As luck would have it they didn’t and they were more than happy to have me shoot the event. The event was put on by a local church with nothing but good intentions for the kids involved. They spent over a month building the big air jump in the corner of the church parking lot. A positive event for the community, combined with my desire to shoot an event like this with no limitations, I gladly volunteered my time.” (more…)

Basketball | ©Richard Booth

You have probably already heard that the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games will take place in London. To celebrate this event, the British Olympic Association asked photographer and fellow countryman Richard Booth to photograph all of the athletes. These portraits would then be collected in a lush coffee table book entitled Power and Movement – Portraits of Britain’s Paralympic Athletes.

“The initial plan was to shoot both the Olympic and Paralympic athletes,” says Richard. “But as it turned out, the logistics of shooting all the Olympic athletes would be horrendous. The publisher just didn’t have the budget for it. We then decided to focus on the Paralympics. This turned out to be brilliant. The Paralympics are such a positive thing. There’s no talk about drugs or cheating or any of that. It’s all about them – about real, struggling athletes. And that was what we wanted to portray in the book.” (more…)