Pelican Intros First Major TV Ad Campaign with Chris Burkard

Pelican has long been a name associated with gear transport and protection. I personally remember customizing their foam inserts to fit my camera gear and lenses as I transported them in their hard cases across the country and the world. I honestly never really looked to Pelican for anything other than their hard cases, but I have learned they actually offer a number of different camera bags and accessories. One of these camera bag series is called Aegis, and to help promote it, Pelican leadership decided to do something they'd never done before: launch a major TV ad campaign. 

The person they chose to spearhead this campaign was longtime veteran photographer and filmmaker Chris Burkard. Burkard has made a name for himself over the past 20 years by shooting photos and video in wild, remote, and often very cold and hot environments throughout the world. He is also an unapologetic user and advocate for Pelican gear. His notoriety helped get the attention of Pelican, which designated him a Global Ambassador for the company. When it came time to promote the Aegis line of bags, specifically the PX25 Travel Pack and the SX5 Padded Sling, Pelican chose him as their spokesperson and the face of the brand for the campaign. 

This initiative and partnership led to the creation of The Detour, a short film that acted as a commercial for the camera bags and a window into what it's like to be Burkard as he goes about one of his extreme shoots, which usually don't go as planned. Recently, I had the chance to sit down with Burkard to discuss this commercial, what went into developing it, and how he prepares for and executes photo and video shoots in some of the most remote and dangerous parts of the world. Check out the written interview below, or watch the interview at the top of this story at the link:

Background

Dave Murphy: Tell me about yourself in terms of your history with photography. 

Chris Burkard: Absolutely, yeah. I've been doing this as a career path for about 20 years. I'm 40 now. I started at 18, 19, and, you know, my path really emerged from action sports. I was a surf photographer for many years, shooting for magazines and cutting my teeth shooting for editorial, all kinds of titles, and that was really how I emerged into the craft. And then it kind of slowly evolved into more commercial work, more branded work, which is kind of now, still these days, a big part of what I do. And with that, making films—a lot of times adventure films, environmental films, kind of advocacy films around all kinds of different subjects—but that's kind of been, for me, probably the most exciting part of my work. You know, the ability to travel, it's taken me all over the world. It's been a real gift. And I think nowadays, the way I look at the craft is more of just, you know, photography is really just one tool in the tool belt, right? It's just one aspect of, I think, what I try to bring to the table when I feel inspired to share something or a place or a person that's bigger than myself. I'm thinking about how I could share that story. And yeah, that's kind of been what it's looked like for me over the last 20 years.

The Brand Deal

Talk to us a little about this collaboration [with Pelican]. How did it come to be? 

So, what I do best is beat the hell out of gear. And, sadly, many of my cameras have not lived to tell the tale, but most of my Pelican cases over the last 20 years have. And what's interesting to me is when I was a fledgling young surf photographer, there were a couple of key pieces of equipment. A water housing was one of them. And a Pelican case was another one that you had to have in addition to your camera gear, right? Because I was going on boats. I was always by the ocean. I was always dragging these things all over the world. I've spent nights in Russian jail cells with my Pelican case. I've been on boats that have collapsed and capsized with my Pelican case. So, needless to say, when they reached out 20 years later and were like, "Hey, we'd love to work with you," I was like, "I got endless stories." In fact, you know, even behind me, there's like a whole stack of them over there that I've had for longer than any camera I've ever owned. So, I guess what I'm saying is that there's this natural connection to the work that I've done and the products. And when they came to the table and they said, "Hey, we want to take that same level of quality that we've created in these hard cases and place it into, like, a travel line," I was like, "Epic, I'm your guy. Let me test it. Let me try it." And that's really what it started as, just testing product. And I took this new Aegis four-wheel roller, which is like what I normally would travel around the world with nowadays if I'm traveling carry-on, lugging, you know, $30,000-40,000 worth of gear in a small case. I basically entrust these things with my livelihood. And so that's what I did. And then, you know, the relationship grew and evolved, and there was this really cool opportunity to maybe create something a little more visual, a little more storytelling, which for this brand they've never had to really do because their products kind of speak for themselves, and they've always been really rooted in that kind of use case, you know, hardworking application scenario. They've never needed to, like, tell more of a lifestyle journey, which to me was exciting because, obviously, you know, these cases, these tools that we use, they have a life force, and in many ways, to me, they have some kind of a story along with it. And so we opted to go out into the Southwest, one of my favorite areas, the Great Sand Dunes National Park, and create this beautiful campaign. It was a landscape that really inspired me over the last many years when I've been shooting aerial photography there. And so it kind of just worked out. It was a seamless integration.

Developing "The Detour"

Talk to me about the creation of this actual kind of story and narrative that went into telling the story about this gear. Was this something you wrote, was this something Pelican wrote and gave to you, or was there a third party? How did this sort of story actually develop?

I would say that first and foremost, I was super honored that this kind of campaign was sort of built around my, I guess you could say, my livelihood, in some capacity. You know, The Detour, which originally was going to be called The Side Quest, which was kind of equally as funny, but it's sort of this sentiment that, you know, the best adventures are the ones that are unplanned, and if you have, you know, everything organized and sorted, you're probably going to leave a lot of mystery on the table. And so that was kind of the sentiment around the campaign. And it was a collaborative effort between Will Kutscher, who was the director—a really talented guy who shot a lot for Filson over the years—and the internal marketing team at Pelican, who have brought in a lot of really great new people to just breathe some life into the brand. And you can see it. And I was pretty honored to work alongside both of them to kind of bring this together. And it was a bit of a his, theirs, and ours situation where I really was pushing for this location, and then the team kind of came through with the idea, and we kind of built it around this whole inception of, like, you know, what happens if you just keep saying yes to opportunities? Where do you end up? And the point of it, which obviously is simple—it's not a long piece by any means—but it's meant to get you thinking, you know, that if you become somebody who's willing to say yes, amazing experiences could be out there just waiting for you.

Focusing on the Aegis PX25 and SX5 Specifically

Talk to me about the actual Aegis series camera bags, specifically the PX25 and SX5, the ones featured in the ad campaign. What do they offer to the photographer, and how do they kind of exude Pelican's well-known name in gear?

So, ultimately, the entire line is built upon, like, semi-rigid protection, right? So, it doesn't matter if you're using the crossbody or using the backpack or specifically the roller, which is my absolute favorite product in the line. It has some element of protection where, you know, if you have some sensitive lenses in there, a laptop, I've never utilized anything else that moves as easily through rough terrain or an airport that's still managed to keep your gear nice and protected. And if you're shoving stuff overhead or shoving stuff under a plane, the last thing you want to worry about is, like, you know, a lens getting cracked or something like that. Now, there are limitations there, for sure. But I would say that, to answer your question, the use case really is someone who needs an extra level of protection. You know, maybe they're sliding this backpack in the back of a truck, and there are other items around it. You know, if you need the hard Pelican case, that's kind of like the most extreme scenario, but for most of us, most of the time when we're just kind of driving around, you know, shooting photos from the car or occasionally doing a hike out somewhere, this is really that sweet spot, right? So, I think it's not going to be for those out-there, middle-of-nowhere, multi-day remote excursions because a lot of the bags are a bit more limited. They're more meant to carry just what you need. But with that incredibly intelligent design suited to kind of, like, take on any extra pieces—a tripod or water bottle, etc., etc. And I think that, at the end of the day, it's the protection that makes the biggest difference, not just in the panels, but in the zippers as well. You know, they're also just best when broken in. I'll just be honest with you. These things are meant to be worn, meant to get, you know, a little abused, I guess you could say. And we did that really well on the shoot. And I actually think that the patina is what makes them, like, really beautiful because, unlike most bags that you kind of wear down, they start to kind of fall apart. They fray. This thing was just epic the whole time. So, I'd say, like, that's really the use case that I've utilized them for. I think that where they really shine for me is in that kind of short-term, you know, travel stint when I've got to get from my house to the airport to a foreign country, and it's kind of something that's going to be on planes, trains, and automobiles in many ways, but I don't need necessarily that full-submersion waterproof protection, right? So, that's the only caveat that I would say.

Shooting the Ad

How long of a production was this to shoot [the ad]? And what were some of the difficulties you faced?

So, ultimately, shooting in the summer, anytime you're going to try to get into an ultralight aircraft, an experimental aircraft, which is what we did for this shoot. We filmed flying around Great Sand Dunes National Park, which is, for me, one of the most texturally beautiful places I've ever flown over. And full disclosure, like, obviously this is a scripted piece. These are activities I've done before, and I wanted to kind of roll them into a storyline that I felt captured the soul of the Southwest. And to me, that soul is the ranchers and the cowboys and these big landscapes and the people who have managed to, in some way, kind of not tame these places but harmoniously work with them, right? Which is what you get when you're crossing the sand dunes and you see somebody packing horses, or when you see somebody take off in an experimental trike and fly over the dunes, right? These are characters that kind of symbolize the ingenuity of the Southwest because, to me, that's what it's all about. And so I know that we're not telling a deep story, but as a storyteller and somebody that cares about that, I wanted to showcase people that kind of, to me, reflected the wildness of those places. One of the challenges easily was the thermals in the morning when it gets hot up in the San Luis Valley. It sits at about 8,000 ft of altitude. So, in the summertime, those thermals just start to shoot up, and you can't fly at all, basically, about 40 minutes after the sun rises. So, we had to get up at 4:00 a.m. and fly from the airport in Alamosa over to the sand dunes. And we had to do a couple of passes, and then basically the ride back was so bumpy and gnarly and not casual. I mean, you are in an open craft, right? And you're feeling all of that lift from the wind. So, I'd say that was one of the bigger challenges and just a little bit something we had to be thoughtful of. We weren't really aware going in that we'd only have, like, one hour in the morning to fly, but we made the most of it. And then, obviously, you know, getting up to the sand dunes, you are hiking with camera gear. There were definitely a handful of people that were a little bummed on me for motivating the crew to keep pushing because I wanted to get to, like, the really epic dunes that are back there. But you're hiking at 9,000 ft of altitude on one of the highest-altitude sand dune plateaus in North America, and they're carrying big, heavy gear. And so I felt like what made it special was the effort everybody put in to capture something that, in my opinion, has not been seen. You know, it's really rare that you're going to see a cinema camera out on those sand dunes because it is such a unique environment. So, to me, it was kind of all those little micro-challenges that actually made it really cool. And we had crazy rain. We had wild weather. We had super gnarly wind, and you're just kind of having to deal with that and move on the fly a little bit, which usually leads to something unexpected.

Cameras Used in the Shoot

What did you all shoot with, by the way, for this commercial?

I was shooting all my stills on my Sony camera. I want to say that the team was shooting on some RED cameras and then some smaller, like, DSLR bodies. But it was a mixture of a couple of different things, obviously. And then we were a bit limited shooting in the craft. The cool thing is, on the trike itself, you can put a couple mounts on the wings, but those are basically screwed into just that one tiny little thing, you know, on the bottom of the camera, right? Your little, like, mount, with a backup clip. So, like, it's not the easiest thing to shoot inside of, I guess you could say, you know. Yeah, and it makes it challenging, and it makes it fun, but I also think that's what makes it super unique. So, we had to rely on a couple of other, kind of smaller, action-style cameras to capture a couple of the moments and stuff as well.

Incorporating Multiple Types of Bags

[Since the ad featured a normal camera backpack and a sling-style mini-bag, I asked the following question.] How do you sort of incorporate multiple different styles of bags when you go out on a shoot?

So, typically, my go-to always—and obviously if I'm shooting a commercial assignment, you know—I'm going to need to have a slightly more robust backpack oftentimes and a larger shoulder bag that can accommodate, you know, a camera and three lenses or something like that. So, normally I would have a plus-sized version of what was in that campaign, right? If I'm out on assignment somewhere, I think that, you know, that was more visually to showcase, like, okay, you're just throwing it all in a bag, and you're trusting that gear. This is what you need. And what's cool about that tiny side-carry bag is that it does hold perfectly one camera, one lens, and an accessory or something. But I would say that usually the way that I'm operating is I will have a 40-liter backpack of some kind that has an easy top entry or something like that. And I would be putting my entire waist pack, which is usually also like a kind of lumbar pack, right? It would have a waist clip as well as a shoulder strap. And the reason being is because when I'm shooting, when I'm actively shooting, I want to be able to get in and out of my gear as fast as possible. There cannot be any putting a backpack down, you know, and I'm typically oscillating between three lenses: a 16-35mm, a 24-70mm, and maybe a 70-200mm. That would just be, like, the general range. If I didn't have one of those, I might have a prime or two, but that would all be in my waist pack. And what I like to do is have my backpack just half-packed so that I can take this whole thing and shove it in there, obviously. And then when the terrain gets more challenging, you've got to hike up to some mountain, or you've got to hike up to a dune. The last thing I want to do is have weight on the front and on the back, right? Because that feels unstable. And so I think that for me, I'm oftentimes trying to build out my daily kit thinking about, like, okay, first and foremost, what do I need to survive, right? What do I actually need to survive? I need some food, some water, some layers. Okay? And then beyond that, what is the camera gear that's, like, critical? I have to have this. And then I would look at the space I have left, and I'd be like, what are the extras that are going to be, like, good to bring? What's maybe an extra thing? If I have enough space for a longer lens, maybe I'll bring that. If it's a specialty lens, a night lens, a tripod. And so I kind of try to build my kit the same, where every time there's a jacket, there's some food, there's some water, there's a headlamp in there, there's an extra camera charger or a battery charger that I could charge my camera with, there's a watch. And that doesn't change. And it doesn't matter if I'm traveling halfway around the world for a speaking assignment or if I'm going somewhere to shoot a camera assignment. My backpack and what is in that is usually the same. I could show you—I wish I could pull out some examples and show you because I actually love talking about the art of packing. I think that it's something that I've tried to refine over the years. I think what's really helpful is this one mantra, which is that the best camera is not the one you have with you. Because if it's buried in the bottom of your pack, you're not going to pull it out. If it's hard to access, you're not going to use it. So, the best camera is the one you're willing to use. And if that's your phone, great. If that's something that's right here, wonderful. If it can be pulled out and utilized. I really like to make my gear super easily accessible. I think that if it's not easily accessible, then I try to leave it at home.

Testing Gear for the Future

Where is someplace you would love to photograph and test all this gear? Like, is there sort of a mountain you want to climb, either literal or metaphorical, in terms of just putting yourself and your gear to the limits?

You know, I would say in my experience, photographing volcanoes and volcanic environments is the place that truly tests your gear the most. I mean, imagine being in a place where, like, you can't put a camera bag on the ground because there's too much ash or that ash is going to spread everywhere, or it's burnt ground, or whatever it is. And I always think back to that experience photographing in Iceland for National Geographic during the first, second, and third eruptions and realizing how hostile and inhospitable the environment was. So I always picture, like, when I want to test gear, I think about that environment. How would it work if I have to, you know, get into this thing quickly? I don't want everything spilling out. I have to be really thoughtful about, you know, maybe the materials on the backside. Can I spray this bag down at the end? Can I rub it in the dirt and it's going to, like, look okay or still function? And can it take a beating? Like actual scuffing, you know, can it rub across rocks or trees or whatever? And so I think that's what I like to think about, that volcanic environment in Iceland. And then contrasting that with, like, being on a glacier, photographing on a glacier. I had to shoot a documentary piece for Netflix six months ago on top of Iceland's largest glacier, Vatnajökull. And that was a polar opposite, no pun intended, environment that tests your gear in the total opposite way. So, I like to think about those two as the contrast, which is why Iceland, I think, is such a perfect testing ground for these things because you're finding both oftentimes right next door to each other. And so that's usually, like, a good marker for me. Like, if it can survive that kind of trip, being laid on the ice or the snow, you know, being laid on the ground, being dragged, being thrown in the back of a car, like, then it's good. Then it works for me.

Author's note: Some of the text from this interview was edited for clarity, readability, and grammar. All images courtesy of Pelican.