Jim Pollard’s Story

Apr. 102018 . Category:business, Encourage, growth, Guest Blog, How Do You HoldFast?, photography

From the get-go, HoldFast’s allegiance lies in this: steadfast dedication to professional photographers and the systems they utilize. Committed to paving the way, HoldFast gear accentuates style while also performing comfortably and efficiently. Responsible for creating a new genre within the industry, we’re changing the way photographers look and feel while doing their best work.

In this series, you’ll hear stories of HoldFast gear and the photographers–the pioneers, the adventurers, the originals–that use them. This is How You HoldFast.

When asked about how he first heard about HoldFast gear, Jim Pollard is potentially a bit taken aback. It’s not because it’s a ridiculous question, and it’s not because it’s none of our business. It’s mostly because he possibly can’t remember a time in his career that he wasn’t sporting a Money Maker.

“I’ve been using HoldFast gear for so long now, I have no idea how I heard about it! It was probably through a friend’s recommendation,” Pollard explains. A recommendation that’s turned into a game-changer for the New Zealand wedding photographer.

Over five years ago, when Pollard had just begun shooting weddings full time–with his wife, and the other half of Pollard We Are), the issue didn’t necessarily have anything to do with a demanding schedule and the pressures that might bring, but more to do with the fact that Pollard couldn’t keep his camera strap untwisted.

“I hadn’t used any special strap system except for basic camera straps. I was struggling with straps all over the place and getting all tangled up.”

This didn’t last for long, as Pollard needed gear that helped him, not hindered him. Pollard approaches photography from an informal and relaxed perspective, so having gear that weighed him down and got in the way was the antithesis of what he needed starting out. Diving straight into HoldFast, Pollard purchased his first, of what would become a collection of two, Money Makers. The first time he used it, he could immediately tell a difference.

“I’m a lot less stressed as I have two cameras ready to go, so from an ease point of view I have different focal lengths within reach. I have found myself since using the HoldFast Money Makers that I only shoot in landscape, which suits me fine!” Pollard says.

Pollard embraces a wild landscape when shooting, aiming (literally and figuratively) to capture the authentic moments that happen for his clients, weaving a story together with unique and creative photography. HoldFast has been with him every step of the way, where Pollard appreciates most the functionalism and stylishness of a carrying system that actually works.

“Just the usability of the whole Money Maker system is what’s most helpful! I can get the job done in a stylish yet practical manner.”