Happy Halloween

Yeah, I am expecting we will probably get a few of these today in the Strobist Flickr Pool. This one is by Bryan Mitchell, making use of a cheapo fog machine.If you do one, (or see a good one) tag it "strobistpumpkin" (no spaces) and we will be able to look at a set by clicking here. (This will pull the half-dozen or so pix from last year, too.) Bryan...

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RadioPopper Jr. Announced

RadioPopper just lit up a full website with specs and all. No pix yet, tho. They now have a couple of the afore-mentioned TTL radio extenders to choose from, but that might not be the big news, IMO.The "RadioPopper Jr." has just been announced on the site:• Non-TTL radio slave• 2000-ft range• $25 each (Wait, WHAT?)That is apparently not a typo. More,...

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Seattle Times' Rod Mar, On Assignment

Rod Mar has written a long-form post on the entire process of creating this shot of Sonics' newcomer Kevin Durant for the sports section of the Seattle Times. He takes you from the conceptual process to the logistics of the shoot to screen shots of post production in Photoshop.Really nice post, Rod. If makes me feel great to see other newspaper shooters...

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Detailed Cactus V2s Mod Page

The slickly named "Cactus V2s" wireless triggers have become the staple entry point remote for those with more enthusiasm than cash. Now you can prolong your "I'll never cough up for Pocket Wizards" fantasy just a little longer, as blogger/tightwad Jeremy Kuster has posted the most comprehensive Poverty Wizard mod tutorial to date.More pix, links after...

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Strobist/Zenfolio Deal Expires Tomorrow

Just a quick heads-up -- if you are going to take advantage of the discount Zenfolio has extended to readers of this site, it expires on Oct 31, which is tomorrow. So if you are up for it, chop-chop.Speaking of procrastinating, I have been gone the last nine days and all of the good pumpkins have been bought up. Now I have to go out and scrounge the leftovers.I'm thinking our Jack O'Lantern is gonna look a little goofy this year.-...

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James Balog: Icebergs with Speedlights

Nikon has posted another one of those pieces that show off the capabilities of their CLS system. This time it is natural history photographer James Balog, using multiple SB-800's to shoot icebergs at twilight.More pics and links after the jump. Balog is one of those cerebral photographers who always seems to be working on something significant, and...

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Back In the States

We are back from Paris and have the kids shipped off to school, where their jet lag now becomes the teachers' problem. Nothing says "welcome home" like a couple hundred unanswered emails, and I am slowly digging out of my pile of work. So info if you are somewhere in there, please be patient...(More Paris stuff and pix after the jump.)Photo at top...

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New Wizwow Video on Shooting Composites

Don Giannatti, whom you may know on Flickr as Wizwow, has a new DVD out which demos the process of shooting a "composite." And his preview for it (above) is actually useful on its own. You can see the resulting still photos here. For more info on the full DVD, check his site. Also, he has posted a tutorial jpeg on how to build a nifty V-card reflector. Two pieces of foam core and some tape makes you a huge, free-standing soft white reflector.Gotta like that.-...

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Saturday Speedlinks, 10-27-2007

One of the nice things about using light effectively is that it can save you money on your gear. You do not need expensive, cutting edge cameras to make high-quality photos. Ditto the idea of heavy, expensive, fast glass that is designed to look super sharp wide open. (I like to hang out at f/5.6-f/8. Just about any lens looks great there..)That said,...

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This Has To Be Unsafe is Some Way...

Somewhere, in Canon's headquarters, a shiver ran down the spine of one of the corporate lawyers at the moment this photo was being taken. That said, cool photo!... Warning: Do not attempt to fire the Canon e-TTL Wireless Flash System from *inside* of your body ...____________________(Photo by Darwin Awards Official Product Tester Grant Beecher)-...

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Home Depot Week: Foil-Backed Tape

The first time I saw this stuff, the word, "coool" involuntarily escaped my lips: Aluminum foil. And tape. All mashed together.Okay, the possibilities for light mods here are pretty much endless. Ringlight internals, beauty dishes, custom macro reflectors -- go nuts. The stuff is pretty cheap, too, depending on how big your project is. HD has is by...

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Vincent Laforet, Using Off-Camera TTL from Way Back When

I was Googling around this afternoon when I found this 2001 SportShooter article by (then) NY Times shooter Vincent Laforet. I had seen it before, but many of you probably haven't. He was basically just discovering ETTL wireless, and was already doing cool stuff with it for his daily assignments. Several NYT photos and lighting diagrams are shown.-...

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Home Depot Week: T-Nuts

So, you bought a cheap old flash on eBay with a busted hot shoe for $5.00. If you've got 69 more cents you can mount it to a light stand.That thingie mounted onto the back of the (perfectly good) Vivitar 285 at left is called a "T-nut." They are pretty easy to find in 1/4x20 or 3/8" sizes. It is fastened with "JB Weld" glue.Long story short, anything...

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Home Depot Week: Continuous Light Sources

Fortunately there are now enough people in the world who would like to be able to blind someone with a flashlight to where we can get a killer light-painting source for next to no money.Most hardware stores will have a good selection of rechargeable, one-million-candlepower+ spotlights at very reasonable prices. Amazon has them, too. There's even a...

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RadioPopper: Prices, Specs

If you are still waiting for the appearance of the Great Pumpkin RadioPopper (see original post) they are one step closer to reality.:: RadioPopper.com ::-...

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Home Depot Week: Fluorescent Lights and Accessories

This is another area I will be getting into when I have a little free time. Fluorescent fixtures are so cheap and so bright, you can use them as portrait light sources very easily.As you can see, there are lots of shapes and sizes. Normal people see kitchen fixtures. I see soft boxes, strip lights and ring lights.More on the lights and accessories...

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Matt Adcock: Drag King

Matt over at FlashFlavor.com has a how-to post up about working in a fluid environment and matching up your strobes to low ambient levels. These techniques are useful to just about anyone, but especially those of you who shoot (or aspire to shoot) nuptials.-...

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Home Depot Week: More Backgrounds

Ever wish your commanding officer significant other would let you have a section of the wall to paint as a backdrop in any style you choose whenever you want?You can, if you are willing to spend seven bucks. That's what a sheet of 4x8', 1/2" drywall goes for these days. If you are doing the home studio thing, or shooting in your garage, it's a no brainer....

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Home Depot Week: Backgrounds

This week we are working our way through the aisles of the Big Orange Store, but this stuff is not necessarily specific to Home Depot. Many of these things can be found at just about any big hardware store, and the idea is to think frugally and creatively when scrounging for lighting and photo gear._______________________I could spend all day wandering...

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Bert Stephani: Hard Light and Beer Goggles

Bert Stephani is back, with another episode of shooting a beautiful model in Belgium. In this installment he shows us how to use beer to previsualize a background.(See Bert's blog for jpegs from the shoot.)-...

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Saturday Speedlinks: 10-20-2007

Hopefully, by the time you are reading this, my family has arrived safely in Paris. If not, I depart this world leaving as my final words your humble Saturday Speedlinks, this week with video:__________________________• If you are a Dave Hill fan, he has lotsa new photos up on his website, and some new behind-the-scenes videos, too. That's him working...

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LumoPro LP632 'Shorty' Swivel

MPEX has been busy lately, what with the new 5-section compact stands and now this. The LP632 Umbrella Swivel will be a welcome addition to the gear bag of the space-conscious traveling shooter.Reader's Digest condensed version: Smaller, better lighting axis, less flexible and the shoe could be better. Some will like this better than the standard umbrella...

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Kodak, On The Attack

Alright, so this is a year old. But I just saw it for the first time this week, so maybe you have not seen it either.It was supposedly an in-house video that was so good it made the jump to the real world. But it smells more like a made-to-be viral thing to me. (They have since made another one, but it is not as good.)Either way, it is awesome that Kodak can simultaneously acknowledge their shortcomings and throw down the gauntlet in such a cool way.Boo-yah._____________________________(Via DesktopDarkroom.com -- Thanks, Mike!)-...

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Assignment Construct: Non-Stop 'On Assignments'

The On Assignment posts are on a bit of a hiatus lately, as I have turned that energy into shooting for the DVDs. But that project is nearing completion, and I look forward to reviving the popular series soon. It's gonna be a whole different ball game, but they are coming back.In the meantime, my friend John Harrington today launches Assignment Construct,...

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Eighteen Minutes of Your Life You'll Never Get Back

Photojournalist Patrick Smith, who likes to impress the ladies by hoisting bicycles, interviewed me for a podcast last week. He has posted it on his blog. Mom always did say I had a good face for radio.-...

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Joey Lawrence Tutorial: Review

If you read our chat with 17-year-old hotshot photog Joey Lawrence earlier this week, you probably made the jump to check out the new Tutorial he just released. And your first reaction was probably, "$299? WTF?"Well, I have spent the last few days digesting the material in the tutorials, and I'll tell you WTF after the jump. Plus, there is a sneak...

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Sweet-Lookin' DIY Ringlight

Whoa. This thing looks so good it is almost too purdy to be DIY. Profile shot, and link to full instructions, apres le jump.This is really slick. I am curious how even the light distribution is. But maybe it looks nice enough so's I don't even care.Even sweeter: Total damages - $27.29.(Props to reader Richard Melanson for the posting the how-to ar...

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Spray Paint: The New Background Paper

Kyle May is refinishing his floor soon. So came up with this cheap, easy solution for a studio backdrop to shoot a light bulb photo: He spray painted the floor. Seen in the Show Off Your Ghetto Studio thread, which could get very interesting depending on how many people ante up.-...

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Finally, A Little Compact Stand Competition

I have long been a fan of the Bogen 3373 compact, five-section light stand. Same goes for it's twin, the Manfrotto 001(b). They will stick a bare speedlight right up into an 8-foot ceiling (if you angle the legs right) and they fold down to about 19.5 inches.Add to that the solid legs (perfect for drilling for a strap) and you have an ultra-portable,...

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Young Blood: A Chat with Photographer Joey Lawrence

Canadian Photographer Joey Lawrence is kicking butt. He is doing killer still photography, shooting music videos and traveling the world. He has an agent in New York and another one in London. Pretty cool for a guy who shoots with a Canon EOS 5D and is as likely to be lighting with his speedlights as with Profotos.Oh yeah, and he is only 17 years old....

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Our Sponsors Rock - Zenfolio Running a Strobist Special

It is the time of the month where I bend over and firmly plant one right on the cheeks of the sponsors that make this whole thing work. In September, we were supported by MPEX, PhotoShelter, Zenfolio, Connected Flow and Catapult Stock. Thanks also to those of you who click through to Amazon from the links on this site when you shop there, as that painless act helps to support Strobist.Needless to say, we think our sponsors are special. And this month, Zenfolio apparently thinks you are, too, as they are running a special only for readers of this...

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Saturday Speedlinks, 10-13-2007

This week I took a day trip up to New York City (always fun) which led to two of today's speedlinks:• I was up there to be interviewed for Crossfader, which brings together people from the genres of photo, video and audio. Derek Mazzone, who is running the joint, has a pan-creative vision for sharing and mashup that is not unlike what we do here on...

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Get Creative for Additional Light Sources

If you only have one off-camera flash setup, you may feel limited in what you can accomplish by mixing strobe and ambient. But that all depends on how creative you are at scrounging for good ambient light sources.Take the computer-LCD shot above, shot by DBR Photography, which did not even make use of a flash. While I understand that many of you do...

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