I carry a bunch of seldom-used gadgets that rumble around the bottom of my gear bags. Some have been around for years. I can’t find the courage to remove them because they might come in handy one day. Last week, it was the Cardellini’s turn to come to the rescue.

I was shooting on location – 30 miles from my studio. My assignment: photograph Frank Cullen – an environmentally conscious contractor who is building a large, straw bale house. My client, a home building magazine, wanted a photo of Frank and the straw bales. Turns out that the perfect corner for the shot – in terms of interesting geometry – was also being blasted by the midday sun.

The first line of attack was to fly a Westcott Scrim Jim with a full-stop silk. Essentially I wanted the sun to act as a fill light on Frank. To get the scrim in the proper position, I had to fly it high – using the two C-stands that I had in my truck.

The next step was to light Frank at a level so that the fully sunlit house would not dominate. I also had to light him so that his deep-set eyes would not fall into shadow. I’d just used both of my C-stands for the scrim. How to support the Chimera softbox and Quantum Q-flash? That’s when the MacGyver nerve started twitching.

“Let’s see. Use the scaffold. No. The step ladder! And the spare arm from the C-stand with the… baling wire?” Rather than look like a total hack, I pulled the Cardellini Clamp from the bottom of my grip bag and used it to turn the ladder into a stable lightstand for the softbox. [Detail shots below.] I added a couple of Canon 580EXs with a shoot-through umbrella on the other side of Frank and voila!

About The Cardellini Clamp

The Cardellini Clamp was invented by Steve Cardellini – a veteran of the film industry. Basically, it’s a 5/8″ threaded bolt, two wide plates and a large star-nut.

Cardellinis are versatile creatures that will grab onto almost anything… pipes, fence posts, large lumber, doors and yes, ladders. The width of the plates provides plenty of grip surface. You can use them to hang heavy lights. At the other end of the spectrum, you can use them to hold a piece of lightweight foamcore as a fill card.

Cardellinis come in a wide range of lengths and with different pin and plate configurations. When made by Matthews Studio Equipment, they are also known as “Matthellini Clamps.”

Need to add one to your gear bag? Click here to see the range offered at B&H Photo. Click here to see them at Adorama.