A Fairly SFW* Look at NASTY CLAMPS...

Despite their name, appearance, and whatever NSFW** sites might pop up while during a Google search, Nasty Clamps aren't really all that nasty -- have proven themselves to be extremely handy -- and are very, very safe to use at work...




Funky looking flexible clamps, designed by a photographer, built by a photographer, and useful to just about anyone who's involved with cameras, lighting, or imaging work...

Suitable for most portable strobes, smaller LED lighting panels, several of the Wi-Fi enabled security cameras, ALS flashlight set-ups, POV cams, point 'n' shoots, etc, etc...






About a month ago or so, a flood of traffic ended up coming over to this blog (Thanks Udi!) after I'd posted a brief article about portable coolers and how they could be used for storing lighting equipment. Though the main theme of the article (i.e.: food coolers make great containers for storing camera gear) generated just a few comments from readers, a whole spat of other comments and private e-mails ended up coming my way -- all in regards to a piece of equipment that showed up in one of the article's photos.

Obviously ('cuz it's the main topic of the article that you're currently reading), the equipment that generated so much commentary and traffic was/were my Nasty Clamps, and people were really interested in knowing just what the heck those "nasty things" were, what they could be used for, just how nasty were they, and where could they be purchased...


Capable of supporting about one pound of weight (just slightly less than half-a-kilo), Nasty Clamps can hold most portable strobes quite well.

Vivitar 285's -- which are the type of flash seen in this picture -- weigh in at about one pound each when loaded with batteries, and so they're about the heaviest strobe that the clamps can fully support. BTW, the Vivitar/Nasty combo is my preferred set-up for doing quick lil' run 'n' gun projects.





Nasty Clamps are a tool that -- let's be honest -- look really, really nasty... Jaw-droppingly nasty... Obscenely nasty... Dirty mindedly nasty... But at the same time, they're also the final result of about a year-and-a-half of tinkering, DIY-ing, playing with Dremel tools, talking with machinists, working with epoxy resins, talking with other photographers, investigating local powder coating resources, negotiating with suppliers, and just trying to come up with some sort of really cool (though really nasty looking) device that would make camera and lighting work easier. They're certainly not the right tool for every situation that's out there, but they're often the perfect tool to use when the need arises for a small, portable, flexible, clampable mount of some sort.




One of the early "proto-Nasties" being used to hold a point 'n' shoot camera.

Though the flex-arm material of the Nasty Clamps isn't strong enough to fully support a large DSLR camera, the clamps can easily be used as a stabilization device (much like a mono-pod) with larger cameras, providing a quick and easy "shake reduction system" of sorts







I am slowly -- very slowly -- getting the word out about Nasty Clamps, and currently have them available for purchase at two retail locations within the Portland, Oregon area: Blue Moon Camera and Machine, and Pro Photo Supply. Obviously, I plan on expanding the number of retail outlets that sell the Nasties (expanding way beyond the Portland metro area) and -- yes -- a Nasty Clamps website (with secure shopping cart and checkout system) is in the works. Please stay tuned for info regarding the official launch of that site.

For anyone in the Portland area who would like to meet some Nasty people, please mark May 1st and 2nd (a Friday and Saturday) on your calendar, as Nasty Clamps will be one of the featured vendors at Pro Photo Supply's big "Nikon Days" event. Plenty of nasty stuff will be on hand (stuff that hasn't yet been seen by the general public) so do stop by.

Matt

P.S.: And just in case you're wondering...

*SFW = Safe For Work

**NSFW = Not Safe For Work