I've never been an ambassador or a spokesperson for any brand or product, but when I heard that SunshineCo. were teaming up with the local distributor for Kupo Lighting, grip and accessories, I reached out to Willem - who is always ready to help out - and after initially opening talks between us (myself and my friend Ett) and the local distributors, Movievision, it was off to the races and off to Switzerland for me with the Kupo 20" compact C-stand in hand (or rather, suitcase).
Sometimes you gotta make a plan real quick with random shit at your disposal.
Last year I traveled to Switzerland without any lighting gear, other than my speedlights. No stands, no light modifiers, just me, my camera and some bare flashes. I made it work though, as can be seen above.
Back to the Kupo stand though. I could not believe my eyes when the entire stand with legs, arm, center column, and knuckle fit in my suitcase. I'm not going to lie - it takes a bit of dedication to travel across the world with lighting gear, but I was committed to doing so (and I should probably be *committed to a mental institution for that). Hahaha.
*send (someone) to be confined in a psychiatric hospital.
"you guys would have had me committed"
synonyms:hospitalize, confine, institutionalize, put away, lock away, lock up;
certify
"her husband had her committed after her eccentricity became dangerous"
Yep! That's right. An entire C-stand in my suitcase, along with an 80x80 pop up softbox and bracket.
The stand in use.
In use though, this baby is great although I wish it could extend ever so slightly taller. One thing I love about it is the turtle base and quick release function of the the legs/feet! I feel so cool when I flip it open without any hassle or fuss, and the same when I close it again. And let's face it - who doesn't want to look a little cool in front of their client? So bonus points for that.
This is just a very short write-up on my initial experience traveling with the Kupo brand and having worked with their gear back in 2014, whilst interning with Zack Arias in America. I can still say that they make a damn good product and I'd recommend it to anyone looking into buying some good grip and accessories. And if you wanna travel with it, you can do that too :)
Thanks for reading.