Centennial: A New Era in Photography Tripods

Thomas Cassaro and Graham Clark Redefine Landscape Photography with their Award-winning Design

What sets Centennial apart from other tripods is its unique design and functionality. The tripod's legs are made from 10-layer carbon fiber, chosen for its superior strength-to-weight properties. The leg joints and top apex are CNC machined and hard anodized, providing a smooth finish and resistance to corrosion. The contoured holes in the aluminum parts reduce weight while maintaining structural rigidity. The tripod also features twist locks for quick and easy leg deployment and spring-loaded levers for one-handed leg angle adjustments. It can be used with or without a center column, offering flexibility to photographers.

The inspiration behind Centennial was to create an everyday tripod for landscape photographers that focused on ease of use and stability, while maintaining a clean and minimalistic aesthetic. The designers studied carbon fiber weaves and construction to optimize the tripod legs for strength and weight, addressing a major concern for photographers who carry their tripods in the field. The result is a tripod that is not only lightweight but also incredibly sturdy.

The Centennial tripod is designed for intuitive interaction. Its legs can be deployed using the twist locks, and the angles adjusted using the spring-loaded levers. This allows users to level the tripod on uneven ground and adjust the height as needed. The center column can extend the height to its maximum or be removed to take pictures very close to the ground. Regardless of the angle or height, the Centennial provides the stability and rigidity needed to produce sharp photographs.

The design and engineering of the Centennial took place in Denver, CO, starting in mid-2018 and completed in June 2018. Every aspect of the tripod was carefully considered to provide landscape photographers with a stable, intuitive camera support. The focus on function and accessible operation eliminated extraneous features, resulting in a tripod that looks as smooth as it feels. The precise tolerances achieved from the machining and finishing processes contribute to the fluid movement and reliability of the levers and twist locks. The carbon fiber leg sections blend with anodized aluminum to create a unified, monochromatic style that is understated yet eye-catching.

Centennial's innovative design and functionality have not gone unnoticed. It was awarded Silver in the A' Camera and Photography Equipment Design Award in 2020, a testament to its outstanding design, technical characteristics, and artistic skill. The award recognizes top-of-the-line, creative, and professionally remarkable designs that showcase a remarkable level of excellence and introduce positive feelings, amazement, and wonder.