Blimps and Photo Setups of the Past

Nov 02, 2021

Blimps!

Sound Blimps

I have realized over that past couple of years that I am a minimalist. I try not to keep all of the things. I just want photos, as my keepsakes. So a lot of the time my reaction to finding something that I no longer use is "get rid of it!" Today though, I found my old Jacobson Sound Blimp.  As you may or may not know, moving to LA was not for music photography, though I feel very lucky to have worked in live music photography for years! I moved there for movies! Minimalist or not, I cant get rid of it!

One of my first camera purchases when I realized I wanted to do on set (unit photography) was this sound blimp. What they do is make our loud click of our camera making a photo silent. It is also big, bulky, takes away some of our control and... they're a pain!

But! They were necessary! We need to be able to photograph through dialogue, through tense moments and we cannot be recorded in sound or be a distraction on set. The first thing I learned was: The second you get on set, become friends with the audio team!

I bought this blimp refurbished from the Jacobson family and from the looks of it, it went through battle. I always hoped that maybe it was used on Saving Private Ryan or something before it made its way to me. 

Now though, I have cameras that are silent and Jacobson Sound Blimp producers have retired. Even though I am a minimalist... I think it'll stay packed away rather than going away. Here are just a few of the photos that this tank helped me make. 

Cheers to you all and cheers to more photo adventures ahead! 

TameaTravels