Super-Cheap, DIY Ring Flash

UPDATE: Since this post was written, we have also featured a Ring Flash Week, with everything from a resources page to a tutorial on how to make a high-output, DIY ring flash adapter that can overpower sunlight. Ring Flash Week begins here.__________________________If you are like me, you want to experiment with specialized lighting techniques. But...

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Lighting Boot Camp Finale: Assignment #6 Discussion

Before I get into the discussion on Lighting Boot Camp Assignment #6, I want to give a heartfelt thank you for everyone who participated in this first-of-its-kind event.You all have done some amazing things as a group in the past three months. If you do not believe me, take a look at the Headshot Assignment results and scroll right through to the takes...

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Double-Fold Umbrella Winners Announced

Congratulations to Flickr user Flashyfeliz for winning the double-fold Westcott umbrella in the amateur division for this wonderfully evocative photo in the "room" assignment.And in the professional division, the winner is LGZ, for this photo from the "water" assignment.Both appear very simple at first glance, but were quite sophisticated in their...

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Holy Smokes! Pocket Wizards: $245 a Set.

FINAL UPDATE - SOLD OUT: Please note that these are gone. They went fast, as they were a screaming deal. In the event MPEX gets more in like this, you will absolutely know first on Strobist, so check in periodically if you are looking to scam some mark-down PW's. Thanks, DHSECOND UPDATE: As per US Customs, this is US addresses only. When radio freq's...

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Waiting for You: Photojournalism's New Frontier

I know you are all working on getting those Boot Camp lighting assignments in tonight. So we are going to take a few minutes to diverge from talking about lighting to introduce you to a journalistic universe that is still in the midst of its own Big Bang.I have spent the last two days at the Allentown Morning Call with about three dozen other photojournalists...

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Tag Your CD Photos Correctly, Please

Make sure you only have one CD entry with the appropriate tags ASAP. If you have several in there, I will not know which is the right one. Thank...

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First Come, First Served: Digital Life VIP Tix

UPDATE: The tix are all spoken for. Thanks much.The folks at the Digital Life expo next month at Javits Center in NYC have offered to extend to a few Strobist readers some VIP tickets.These are for a special VIP day, which is on the morning of October 12th. You'll be able to hit to the show floor before the general public, and have access to two keynote...

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CD Assignments Due Soon

Quick note to you boot campers, the final assignment is due on 9/27/2006 (tomorrow night) 11:49pm local time.The plan is to post the results on Friday, which is the first day I have with some air in the schedule. I am still on the road, this time for a seminar on multimedia web publishing for The Sun. It is being led by Brian Storm, of MediaStorm.org. I have learned a tremendous amount on the first day. Hope there is room left in my brain for the next two sessions.Check out his site if you have a minute. Neat stu...

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HTML Code to Link to Strobist.com

UPDATE: For some reason, Blogger is denying some domains permission to load the images. If this is the case for your site, feel free to click the image to grab its URL. Then you can drag it to your computer and upload it as you would any other photo. Replace the Source URL (it is surrounded by the quotes after SRC=) with the new location, and you are...

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Strobist Archives Get a Fall Cleaning

Spurred by a gentle kick-in-the-butt from reader Khalid S., I took a look at the Gear/Reviews/DIY page. Bearing in mind that this site is basically a blog template with a generous amount of duct-tape-and-clothes-hanger-wire enhancements, there is not a lot of coding a CSS luddite like myself can do to make drastic changes.But I did go in and clean up the list. At the same time, I categorized everything so it makes more sense.This page is where the archive-worthy stuff lands if it isn't a Lighting 101 or On Assignment post. The reorg should help...

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Bits and Pieces, Sept 23, 2006

• What Can 'Brown' Do for Baltimore?I'll be out of pocket for a couple of days as I travel to Cleveland for Week 3 of the NFL season to see if the Browns can be the first team to score a touchdown on the Ravens' defense. Posting and moderating of comments will be dependent on my having 'net access on the road. (In fact, I may have to log on from a...

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On Assignment: Working With the DIY Softbox Grid Spot

Here is the photo that I built the DIY softbox grid spot to create. The key to this photo is total control on the "white" background. The photo was done to illustrate a story about two sisters. One had written a play about the surviving Cone sister (major historical benefactors of the Baltimore Museum of Art) and the other was playing the lead role....

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DIY Softbox Grid for Under $10.00

Long-time readers of Strobist will know that I am not a big fan of softboxes.Maybe it is because of all of the light they suck out of my small flashes. (Umbrellas are more efficient.)Maybe it is their cost, by the time you get them hooked up to a stand and an SB speedlight. (You have to get the box and then go doohickey shopping to connect it to a...

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Off Camera Light from On Camera Flash

Is it a snoot, or the worlds smallest softbox?I don't know either. Thanks to graemo for this cool idea for lighting macro shots.By Mike...

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Too Good For a $10 Macro Studio? $15 Gets You PVC and Bed Linens

Strobist reader Craig has turned us onto an upscale version of the $10 Macro Studio, built and detailed by Bill Huber over at this page on PBase.com.Bill uses desk lamps as light sources (why not) and gets some good results.There are lots of detail shots and instructions, to boot. (Way more than my lazy butt supplied for you.)Looking at the dates on the long Q&A thread, this thing dates back to 2003, which long predates my cardboard-box-and-Kleenex version. There are advantages and disadvantages to each, depending on how you want to control...

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Free "Digital Life" Tix for "Strobist Readers"

Got an e-mail today from someone affiliated with the Digital Life expo next month at Javits Center in NYC. She is extending a free ticket offer to all Strobist readers. [sarcasm]I am sure this is a very exclusive offer, and will not be repeated anywhere else on the internet.[/sarcasm] So don't go spreading this one around, okay?To get your free tix,...

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Add a Synch Connection to Any Hot Shoe Flash

Here's a nice find, from the Flickr Strobist discussion threads: A Wein "HSH Adapter" which will convert any hot shoe flash to a "household" synch.This is cool for several reasons. First, you do not have to buy a new flash if you are already equipped with a decent, variable-manual model that does not have a PC jack on it.Second, it provides you with...

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AmericanPhotojournalist.com's Analyzed

Flickr user LeeLove tipped us off on the Flickr discussion group to a section of AmericanPhotojournalist.com called "Analyzed" where shots are dissected and the setup, well, analyzed. More in the Analyzed Archive. By Mike...

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Channel Your Historical Mentors

About thirty years ago I was 11 years old and sitting at the electric piano at the (Umatilla, Florida) home of my way cool, just-out-of-college piano teacher, Jane Trosper.Ms. Trosper was no knuckle-wrapping, wrist-posturing, scale-demanding piano teacher. She was different. She was a child of the 60's. She was laid back, happy-go-lucky and seemingly...

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Strobist Reader Spotlight: Cassander1963

Used SB speedlight: As little as $50.00.Used, off-camera flash cord: About $30.00.Controlling light well enough so that pictures of your curtain climbers look like Nike ads: Priceless.Props to Strobist reader Cassander1963, a man on a mission when it come to making cool shots of his kids.Time to beat the dead horse again: Don't just read Strobist....

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January Workshoppers: Please Let Me Know Your Synching Method

If you are signed up for January workshop, please let me know how you will be synching during the shooting part of the seminar.I am setting up a thread on Flickr, here, if you would take a moment to post some info.Please be specific, as in Pocket Wizards, eBay remotes, synch cords, Nikon CLS, Canon's equivalent, Quantums, etc. Let me know if you are...

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Strobist Reader Spotlight: Michael Sexton

I am so glad we set up this Flickr group. I love seeing the cool, off-camera-lit stuff that flows back upstream from you guys.To that end, I want to start occasionally pulling stuff out of the Strobist pool to showcase to all of the site's readers who do not use the Flickr site.(And to those very same people: Please join the group and show us your...

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