Flymount on an SUP

The best thing about Flymounts, apart from their durability, is how versatile they are.

A Flymount isn't just for mast mounting on a windsurf board - it was designed for quick and secure attachment to a huge amount of action equipment, from racing cars to husky sleds, bikes to sailing boats, to canoes and paddles - so now SUPs. 

SUP Magazine did a useful review and this is their conclusion:

"Currently there’s no better product on the market that offers such durability, versatility and safety at such a competitive price. Achieving desired results while SUP surfing will take a bit of experimenting until you find the perfect position, however, the multiple choices of cam angles ensures you’ll get there. If you’re looking for a new dimension and fed up with the same old board attachment shots then give the Flymount a whirl, you’ll be pleasantly surprised."

Not something we'd thought of straight away but it makes for some great shots.

Here's one for tasters.

Windsurfing shot of the day by John Carter

Another great John Carter shot using a Flymount at the PWA Pozo venue

BMX shots with a Flymount and Braden Bradford

BMX is a tough game and Braden Bradford of Nottingham is one of the UK's best riders. We took some footage for our video from his runs at Bunny's track in Bulwell - he trounced the other guys on the day. Amazing. And the Flymount stayed put, even under extreme riding conditions.
Braden, BMX is hard on machine and man!

and here's the video

Zara Davis, fastest woman windsurfer, uses Flymount action camera mounts with JVC ADIXXION cameras

We went down to Weymouth to shoot some footage of Zara Davis sailing and being interviewed by the BBC's Mike Bushell on a tandem windsurfer - sounded great but the wind fell dramatically until it ceased altogether. Which was great in the sunshine on a RIB in the hot sunshine but not so good for action shots.
Eventually it was decided that Mike and Zara would be towed around the harbour, Mike would have a Flymount with a GoPro on the boom so he could talk directly to camera on the water and we also put a Flymount on a mast to shoot low level aerial footage from the RIB (looks like helicopter angle). Cameraman Ian Dacosta also had a GoPro on a short stick for low level shots and his normal video gear for the main programme footage. I was in the boat shooting stills and some video on a hacked Panasonic GH1 with the standard 14-140 lens alongside my Nikon gear.
Mike turned out to be a real trooper, despite continually falling in, because a towed tandem sailboard is not the easiest thing to balance on.
So what could have been a disappointing day turned out well and another BBC programme went out successfully.
Zara was on her way to Namibia to compete again in the speed trials and had become an ambassador for the JVC Adixxion camera which is turning out to be a GoPro competitor, and she uses Flymounts to place them securely on her rigs.
Here are some shots from Weymouth:

Setting up with Flymount

Mike and Zara with Flymount and GoPro for on-board footage

Aerial shots with Flymount and GoPro on a mast

 Mike Bushell

End of the shoot and just getting the hang of being towed!

Flymount action camera mount in the Arctic

Richard Harker sent this image in from his trip to the Arctic - he found that he could use the Flymount even at extremely low temperatures. The glass filled Nylon 6-6,  used to make the body of a Flymount, is strong and light and functions well down to -30ºC, which is pretty cold.

Flymounts have been used in the Arctic before on husky sleds and performed brilliantly.

Here is the Flymount and a GoPro camera mounted on the rails of Richard's ship.

and here is a shot of dogs looking pretty in the frost!

Flymounts supported the Papua New Guinea expedition

Richard and Patrick completed the first unsupported crossing of Papua New Guinea across the widest point, North to South, between the 11th March and the 2nd June 2014. It was quite a trek and it makes interesting reading. The guys used Flymounts to capture action on their various modes of transport - from foot to canoe - using Canon and Drift cameras in extreme conditions. There is a video of the crossing coming soon - I'll blog the reference when it happens.
Flymount supported the expedition and this is what Richard wrote when he sent the photographs:

"Please find attached onto this email some promotional photographs of the Flymount that was used for our recently successful Papua New Guinea Expedition. 

We hope these photos display the Flymount’s versatility to even the most rugged of environments. 

Throughout the expedition we attached the mount to various items, and even after it was dropped, scrapped, submerged and many other things it is not designed to do it still performed admirably. We were both extremely impressed with its durability. Thank you for supporting us and our expedition. "

Here are some of the shots:

Flymount action camera shot of the day

Airtime looks great with a Flymount, even better when you can see other sailors below.

Flymounts aren't just for racing cars, mountain bikes and windsurfers!

A nicely shot video of Monty Knapton in Tarifa using a mast top and a balance bike with a Flymount and GoPro 3+.
It brings that lovely Tarifa feeling to a home video, I wish I was there!

Switchbacks mountain biking video shoot with Flymount and GoPro 3

This was a first shoot with Switchbacks of Bubion in the Sierra Nevada, Spain.
Michael Saunders runs Switchbacks from the white village of Bubion in the Poqueira valley and takes his clients up through the high mountains with fantastic trails and great descents among stunning scenery (if you pause long enough to enjoy it!).
The Flymount and GoPro 3 were mainly mounted on the handlebars and the general opion is that this gives a greater feeling of action than the head mount. I've attached a short video to show how smooth the footage is and how much movement there is compared with that on the head mount. There's also a rearward shot mounted on the frame for variety and we'll have more cameras in different positions on the next shoot.

John Carter Flymount image at the 2014 PWA Pozo Worldcup ::: Wave

Another brilliant Flymount GoPro shot by John Carter at the PWA Pozo Worldcup

Look at how well the highlights have been held with the latest GoPro cameras giving us rich colours without burning out the tones at either end.