What is Lee Friedlander Using In These Pictures?

[pushto1600]

Hey y'all. Was doing a bit of a deep dive into Lee Friedlander the other day and I came across a treasure trove of my hero on Getty Images. They're all press photos of Mr. Lee at various events and gatherings. One set stood out though, it was him at work, which is a rare sight considering how much he shied away from the public eye. He's almost certainly making the pictures that would become his book Dressing Up, which I think were pictures assembled from an assignment for NYT Magazine. Anyway, in these Getty pictures, what is he shooting with? Here's the links:

https://www.gettyimages.de/detail/n...alvin-nachrichtenfoto/604826572?adppopup=true

https://www.gettyimages.de/detail/n...shion-nachrichtenfoto/605642580?adppopup=true

https://www.gettyimages.de/detail/n...pring-nachrichtenfoto/604822518?adppopup=true

https://www.gettyimages.de/detail/n...-2006-nachrichtenfoto/605565120?adppopup=true


That's definitely his signature Hasselblad 903SWC, and I think that's a Metz 40 MZ-something on the top. Ring light on a SWC though? Is that a battery pack on his waist? Why is the Metz up on a pole? Quite the setup indeed. If anything, here's a chance to see a living legend, despite being in his 70's, shooting like he wasn't a day over 30. Long live Lee. And his amazing pictures.

 

[raydm6]

Quite a rig!

 

[capitalK]

Hasselblad SWC with a ring flash and accessory flash... on a stick?

 

[Larry Cloetta]

That’s wild, thanks. Would love to see what the images looked like which resulted from this. Not the norm, I’d imagine.

 

[pushto1600]

That’s wild, thanks. Would love to see what the images looked like which resulted from this. Not the norm, I’d imagine.

https://www.google.com/search?q=lee...UP_RQKHboGAaAQ_AUoAXoECAwQAw&biw=1536&bih=754

here you are my good sir, from his book Dressing Up

 

[pushto1600]

Hasselblad SWC with a ring flash and accessory flash... on a stick?

pretty unusual. it's like a mobile light stand perharps?

 

[pushto1600]

Quite a rig!

indeed! wonder how he decided on that assemblage of gear.

 

[Dogman]

He's been using SWC with flash for years...decades maybe. Even his photos of the Sonoran desert was done with flash.

I think the only thing I've seen by him recently with smaller format (Leica?Voigtlander?) was his book "Mannequin".

 

[jsrockit]

Such an original character... thanks for these!

 

[pushto1600]

He's been using SWC with flash for years...decades maybe. Even his photos of the Sonoran desert was done with flash.

I think the only thing I've seen by him recently with smaller format (Leica?Voigtlander?) was his book "Mannequin".

since the early 90's I want to say. I think I read somewhere that Frank Gohlke recommended to him.

And yeah at every event he's shown up at, a Voigtlander Bessa (Probably a R4-something cuz he uses 25mm's and 21mm's) is around his neck with a nikon speedlight.

https://www.gettyimages.de/detail/n...-2016-nachrichtenfoto/617861146?adppopup=true

I think he must have hung up the old hasselblad before the mid 2010s. that bessa and nikon flash are probably alot lighter for an old fart like Lee. He's still shootin though!

 

[benlees]

Thanks for these. I'm a diehard Freidlander fan and have seen the shadows, and effects, of his rig (I always thought it was a tripod with a ring flash! lol) in his photos that span decades but few of the man in action. Cheers!

 

[pushto1600]

Thanks for these. I'm a diehard Freidlander fan and have seen the shadows, and effects, of his rig (I always thought it was a tripod with a ring flash! lol) in his photos that span decades but few of the man in action. Cheers!

I'm a dyed in the wool Friedlanderhead too. When I found these pics I was estatic. I'm always scouring the internet looking for info on the guy.

 

[35photo]

Interesting double flash setup... Can't say I've heard many people use a set up like that on camera

 

[pushto1600]

Interesting double flash setup... Can't say I've heard many people use a set up like that on camera

I'm still trying to figure out how he was able to sync to flashes into one PC sync port. I was able to find the ring light flash, to my surprise it's a unit that's older than dirt!

 

[benlees]

I'm a dyed in the wool Friedlanderhead too. When I found these pics I was estatic. I'm always scouring the internet looking for info on the guy.

There's a new book where Friedlander discusses every one of his books with his grandson. For a historically taciturn figure, this is quite something.

 

[pushto1600]

There's a new book where Friedlander discusses every one of his books with his grandson. For a historically taciturn figure, this is quite something.

First 50? I've been meaning to pick that one up

 

[pushto1600]

[/url]Lee Friedlander's Mystery PC Sync Device by Cole Turner, on Flickr[/IMG]

This little device right here, plugged into the lens's PC terminal, is how he's got all these devices plugged into a single port. Does anyone know what it's called?

 

[Dan Daniel]

splitter. I'm sure there are a variety of ways to call it, but 'flash sync splitter' pulls up options. e.g.-


https://www.ebay.com/i/283870726772?chn=ps

 

[PKR]

Hasselblad SWC with a ring flash and accessory flash... on a stick?

Yep, correct !

 

[pushto1600]

Yep, correct !

do you have any inclination as to why Mr Friedlander would mount a flash atop a pole on his camera?