COOPH, maker of photography-oriented merchandise, accessories, and the COOPH Magazine, has launched a new backpack on Kickstarter.

COOPH says the HelioFlex is the “only backpack you will ever need.” The bag’s name is derived from the ancient Greek god Helios, the personification of the Sun, and it sheds light on one of the backpack’s essential features, a built-in solar panel.

The “Solar Front Bag,” which COOPH developed alongside Sunnybag, allows photographers to charge their cameras and other electronics. The 8.5-watt solar panel is modular, meaning it can be detached entirely from the rest of the backpack.

Modular backpacks are hot these days. Earlier this month, PetaPixel covered the Zipble, another modular backpack on Kickstarter.

Returning to HelioFlex, the solar panel can charge a tablet over USB-C with about eight hours of sunlight. A typical dedicated camera can fully charge in five hours, while a smartphone takes about four hours. As a result, it could be the perfect companion for adventure photographers who go off the grid for days at a time.

“HelioFlex adapts to you,” writes COOPH. Everything begins with the “backpack base,” a somewhat traditional backpack with a top flap opening, a handle, adjustable shoulder straps, and side pockets.

Users can attach one of the three add-on bags using counter-arranged hooks and Fidlock buckles. Aside from the Solar Front Bag, there are also Tablet Front Bag and Camera Cube Bag options.

The Camera Cube Bag fits inside the backpack’s main compartment and includes adjustable internal dividers. The camera cube is accessible from inside the HelioFlex Base Backpack and includes a separate shoulder strap.

The Camera Cube Bag’s adjustable dividers “fit any device” and should work well for mirrorless cameras, DSLRs, drones, and action cameras. While it does not look like a larger telephoto lens would fit into the Camera Cube Bag, it seems capable of holding a camera body and a few smaller lenses.

COOPH says the HelioFlex is water resistant and delivers “maximum comfort.” The backpack has a ventilated back, two main compartments, and 16 gear pockets. The two internal compartments are five and 10 liters in capacity and one of the gear pockets is designed to hold a water bottle or a camera tripod and includes a strap to keep longer tripods safely attached.

Pricing and Availability

The COOPH HelioFlex backpack is available in three colorways: charcoal black, granite gray, and moss green. The base backpack starts at €149, which is just over $160. This is a €100 savings compared to the eventual retail price.

An “Ultimate Bundle” option that includes the HelioFlex Backpack Base and the Solar Front Bag and Camera Cube Bag add-ons is €299, or about $330. Individual add-ons start at just over €50.

COOPH expects the HelioFlex to begin shipping in March 2024. Full backer options and details are available on Kickstarter.

Disclaimer: Make sure you do your own research into any crowdfunding project you’re considering backing. While we aim to only share legitimate and trustworthy campaigns, there’s always a real chance that you can lose your money when backing any crowdfunded project.

Image credits: COOPH

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The Office of University Relations Photography Studio invites faculty and staff to schedule a free session to update your professional headshot. New sessions have been added on: 

• Tuesday, July 11 
• Thursday, July 20 
• Monday, July 24 
• Tuesday, Aug. 1 
• Tuesday, Aug. 8 

Marquette University uses professional staff and faculty headshots in various vehicles, including Marquette Today, Marquette Magazine, news releases and social media, among other outlets. It’s helpful to keep these photos up-to-date, high-quality and standardized across the institution.  

After your headshot session, participants will receive a copy of their chosen photo for their own use as well. OUR recommends sharing your photo with your department for website updates and updating your LinkedIn profile. Photos will also be available to the college’s respective communication specialists.

Use the online scheduling tool to schedule your appointment. Begin by identifying which service you are scheduling to see available time slots. Once you have selected a day and time, scroll down on the screen to add your name, email and Marquette department or organization. Click “Book” to secure your day and time. More dates and times will be added throughout the academic year. 

Headshot sessions are held in the OUR Photography Studio in Zilber Hall. Your session will be 20 minutes in duration and will include time for you to be photographed and to view and select your final image for further editing. After creating an appointment, you will receive a confirmation email with a calendar invitation, both of which include helpful details to prepare you for your session. A reminder notification will also be sent.  

If you have any questions, please email OUR.

Polish photographers have taken their art to new heights with their stunning creations being awarded at the Drone Photo Awards 2023, an annual international competition dedicated to aerial photography.

The contest received thousands of submissions from countries around the world, with gongs handed out in nine categories including Urban, Abstract and Weddings.

Warsaw’s Sebastian Piórek took first place in the Urban section with his incredible photograph entitled Playground.

Described as being a ‘pearl from the ground and also from the air’ the photo shows a “playground full of joy hidden somewhere deep in the south of Poland” which “shows its beauty in the first flash of sun from above.”

‘Playground’ by Sebastian Piórek took first place in the Urban category.Sebastian Piórek/ Drone Photo Awards 2023

Sebastian who specializes in capturing minimalistic shots of architecture and landscapes says intention is “to prompt the audience to perceive reality from a fresh perspective, encouraging contemplation on time and existence.”

Recently, his photographs have been published in renowned publications such as “100 [HUNDRED] Best Selected,” “Photography in the Visual Culture,” “We Contemporary 2022,” and “Black, White & Infinite Colors.”

Runner-up in the Urban category was landscape photographer Paweł Jagiełło with his haunting ‘Sunken Church Tower’.

The 14th-century church tower in Italy stands as a poignant reminder of the sunken village of Curon Venosta. In 1950, the entire village was submerged following the construction of a dam, resulting in the creation of the artificial basin known as Lake Resia.

Today, only the church tower remains.

‘Sunken church tower’ by landscape photographer Paweł Jagiełło was runner up in the Urban category.Paweł Jagiełło/ Drone Photo Awards 2023

Paweł, who is also from Warsaw said: “I have a deep passion for photography and combine it with my love for travel. Nature serves as a constant source of inspiration for me, as it never ceases to amaze with its beauty, vibrant colors, and remarkable diversity.

“Throughout the past few years, I have been fortunate to explore and photograph numerous breathtaking and distinctive locations across the globe.

“Through my photography, my aim is to capture the essence of these exceptional places and share them with a wide audience.”

Meanwhile, Marek Biegalski’s eye-opening aerial shot entitled Arctic Forest was runner-up in the Abstract category.

Marek Biegalski’s eye-opening aerial shot entitled Arctic Forest was runner-up in the Abstract category.Marek Biegalski/ Drone Photo Awards 2023

Capturing incredible glacial rivers while exploring Iceland, Marek said they were called ‘”braided river systems, as they often resemble an intricate jumble of patterns, intertwining in an almost inexplicable fashion.”

He added: “My work captures sublime moments of light and surroundings, resulting from meticulous planning and preparation. I’m looking for patterns within the landscape and the hidden link between reality and imagination.”

Now living in Ireland where he collaborates with Cannon Ireland, Marek has organised a series of photographic workshops in Norway, Italy, the Czech Republic, Poland, Sweden, France, and Ireland, the award-winning photographer has also been published in eminent titles including  National Geographic.

In the Wedding category, Krzysztof Krawczyk from Bełchatów scooped a hattrick.

In first place was his beautifully romantic ‘Swim in the stars’.

Krzysztof Krawczyk/ Drone Photo Awards 2023

Krzysztof Krawczyk/ Drone Photo Awards 2023

In the Wedding category, Krzysztof Krawczyk from Bełchatów scooped a hattrick with his first place ‘Swim in the stars’, a Highly Commended  ‘Abstraction in Ferns’ and a Commended recognition for ‘Road Among Nothing’.Krzysztof Krawczyk/ Drone Photo Awards 2023

Describing the image on its website, the Drone Awards wrote: “Under the heavy clouds, thousands of dry leaves glisten like stars from this vantage point, while gentle waves ripple beneath. The bride and groom find themselves in a boat adorned with beautiful flowers, creating a truly romantic scene.”

Krzysztof also received a Highly Commended recognition for his ‘Abstraction in Ferns’ showing a couple on a white bed surrounded by a sea of green, and a Commended recognition for ‘Road Among Nothing’.

Set on the island of Lanzarote, the image shows an “amazing slow sunrise and only two people among nothing. Volcanic island painted with the first rays of the sun.”

Starting his adventure with photography in 2013, Krzysztof is now considered one of the Top Three wedding photographers in Poland.

To see all of this year’s winners and awards click here.

Steve Maanun’s image of a loon and its chick is the subject of this year’s award-winning photograph for the Loon Appreciation Week poster, an annual contest held by LoonWatch at the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute at Northland College in Ashland, Wis.

“Silently Waiting” captures the educator’s favorite subject.

Maanun volunteers on Big Mantrap Lake, a loon management site that started in the mid-1980s where 20 aluminum rafts are placed each spring in loon nesting territories — an alternative to natural nests that are prone to predation, Maanun said.

It starts the day the ice melts off the lake.

“This year we had twenty-one nests that produced 45 eggs and at last count we had totaled 24 chicks,” he said.

Maanun uses an ethical approach to his subject — which starts with learning the animal’s behavior.

“Give them space and if you notice signs of discomfort with your presence, back off,” he said. “I use photo blinds and a long lens most of the time.”

Loon Appreciation Week is held annually in May to promote education about the popular birds. There is a contest each year to find a loon image for the event’s poster.

He also won the contest in 2019.

She wears a black coat, a black headscarf and black boots in compliance with Iran’s Islamic dress code. But her gaze is direct and on her hands are red boxing gloves. This is the modern Iranian woman on the cover of a new photography book, Breathing Space: a woman ostensibly complying with the rules, yet standing defiant and ready to fight.

Edited by the curator Anahita Ghabaian, who founded the Silk Road Gallery, Tehran’s first space dedicated to contemporary photography, Breathing Space showcases the work of 23 female Iranian photographers across three generations. The images span documentary and reportage to portraits and staged scenes, and offer a female lens through which to see the country at a time when Iranian women’s fight for their rights has come to the attention of the world.

Recent protests have highlighted the depth of repression and discrimination. When 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died last September after being taken in for “bad hijab” by the nation’s “morality police”, the demonstrations that followed were led by women, and their repression has shown the world the brutality with which the Islamic Republic of Iran controls its people. And yet how is it that in Iran these women can produce work, exhibit and even find fame at home and abroad?

On a call from Tehran, Ghabaian explains that “in Iran, no one accepts all the restrictions. It is a very particular and peculiar situation here. Of course, there are many difficulties and challenges. But artists circumvent the restrictions in order to express themselves, to say what they have to say, to push the limits of what is possible. Sure, it is not like being in the UK where you are free to say what you like, but it’s also not true that because there are restrictions, everyone just shuts up and sits at home and does nothing.”

Iran’s long history has seen many dictatorships and invaders, and much repression, so its art is traditionally indirect, using metaphor and symbols to say things that are otherwise outlawed or unacceptable. The work of these photographers shows the latest development of this sensibility.

Common themes include the Iran-Iraq war, the sense of nostalgia and loss within modern life, and a land and climate in crisis. “The Iran-Iraq war,” says Ghabaian, has left “a deep scar on the Iranian psyche”. She points to the work of the photographer Shadi Ghadirian, who was a child during the conflict and whose series Nil Nil juxtaposes articles of war with everyday objects; Maryam Takhtkeshian’s series No Soldier Has Returned from War reflects on the personal loss her family suffered by using expired black-and-white film to create overexposed, blurred images that make the soldiers pictured unidentifiable, eerie and ghostly. Meanwhile, Solmaz Daryani’s The Eyes of Earth series is an ongoing project that charts the impact of the rapid drying up of Lake Urmia – once the Middle East’s largest saltwater lake – with apocalyptic shots of bird skeletons and discarded tyres lying in dry salt.

Although photography, especially by women, is a young art form in Iran, its evolution is apparent. As Ghabaian points out: “This is an artistic book but it’s also a historical book. We have three generations of women photographers, and what’s interesting is that the first generation, who were shooting from the late 1970s onwards”, focused on the “public: what happened in the street, what happened in the university, what happened in the factory. They don’t focus on themselves.”

From the 90s, the second generation of photographers such as Ghadirian and Newsha Tavakolian “speak more of the condition of women but without really talking about themselves”, says Ghabaian, “while the third generation, whose work is from the last few years, are really only speaking of themselves.

“I think the older generations wouldn’t have given themselves permission to talk of themselves,” says Ghabaian. “They were documenting what was happening, looking outside of themselves. Then the following generation started to set things up, to stage what they wanted to say, to look inside. We have come out of pure reportage and documentary and gone towards a sort of staged self-expression. Now our young people are like young people everywhere: they see things on the internet, on social. This generation is really open and self-aware, and they have shifted their gaze inwards.”

In spite of the breadth of the work, and the different ages and styles of the photographers, “there is a bitterness to the book, a sadness, to all the works,” says Ghabaian. “Because in Iran we have these problems and difficulties that everyone here knows about, that we don’t want to be silent about any more. This book also serves to tell the world about these challenges. It is an act of resistance.”

View finders: five female photographers from Iran

Rana Javadi’s When You Were Dying, 2008
“Javadi is part of the first generation of female photographers; during the 1979 revolution she was photographing what was happening in the universities. When she was not given permission to photograph the Iran-Iraq war because of her gender, she turned to studio work. This picture, with traditional textiles, represents the past and emphasises the power of nostalgia. Yet she has placed a mirror on the image, too, and reflected in there is a plant, a sign of hope.”

Nazli Abbaspour’s Reincarnation, 2017-2019
“Several photographers have nostalgia; maybe because the present is so difficult. Abbaspour uses her own family photos and adds elements such as the butterfly, representing delicacy and brevity of life.”

Malekeh Nayiny’s Updating a Family Album, 2004
“Nayiny takes old, faded pictures and adds strange elements to them, making them bright and colourful,” says Anahita Ghabaian. “So while it contains much nostalgia – which we all suffer from in Iran – it also brings joy and hope, taking away the bitterness of our yearning for a better past.”

Shadi Ghadirian’s Like Everyday, 2000-2001
“Ghadirian is a committed feminist,” says Anahita Ghabaian. “This was her protest about women not just in Iran but also the world. She realised all her wedding gifts were pans or Hoovers or colanders – all objects for doing domestic work.”

Newsha Tavakolian’s Imaginary CD cover, from the series Listen, 2010 (main image)
“It is illegal for women singers to release music under their own names. They have been made voiceless. Newsha imagines artwork for imaginary CDs and puts the woman in the very centre of the frame.”

Breathing Space: Iranian Women Photographers by Anahita Ghabaian is published by Thames & Hudson (£40) on 6 July.

sukchulmok studio looks to children’s building blocks

SukChulMok Studio places a vast block-shaped building in Daejeon, South Korea, which integrates PTFE tents onto concrete walls, resulting in a space that exudes flexibility and showcases geometric shapes in a fusion of materiality and form. With sweeping interiors, a minimalist palette, and an optical illusion guiding the eye, Curving Block serves as a hub for employee welfare spaces within the baby products industry, offering both relaxation and filming facilities.

The complex’s design concept is a celebration of purity, deriving from childhood memories of building with toy blocks. Further encapsulating this simplicity, the design team limited the materiality to four key elements — red bricks, concrete, PTFE tents, and steel – which enabled them to maintain the integrity of the building’s curving shape and achieve a tent-like interior while concealing functional elements.

Curving Block from afar | all images by Hong Seokgyu

‘curving block’ celebrates simplicity with tent-like interior

Situated in Anyeong-dong, Daejeon, an industrial complex known for its developed logistics and distribution industries, Curving Block emerges as a symbol of communication between spaces. Adjacent to an interchange, the complex is neighbored by numerous factory buildings. In response to the client’s request for a design that facilitates product photography and creative and recreational activities, SukChulMok Studio transformed an empty space between existing headquarters into a multi-functional zone encompassing a private outdoor garden, a high-ceilinged internal hall, and a cyclorama wall which doubles as a product shooting studio.

two entrances formed between curved gaps induce internal and external circulation

to maintain the purity of the shape, the architects stuck to a refined image by hiding functional elements

tents and concrete separated by a height of 3 meters

red brick flooring following the gestures of the building, blurring internal and external boundaries

a space completed with a reference point gives a two-dimensional feel at a particular viewpoint

semi-circular toilet wall made by casting at the same time as the external bar table

the studio interior and a hall with a semicircular arch space

bocking outside light by blackout curtains

inside the studio

floor stand lighting with oval head

project info:

name: Curving Block

architecture: SukChulMok Studio
lead designer: Park Hyunhee

location: Daejeon, South Korea

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: ravail khan | designboom