Another Year Passes in a Flash

The last week of the year is special, and one to be taken advantage of. I spend it balancing time between family/friends and looking back at the past year while preparing for the next one.There are some cool things lined up for 2012 already, but today's post is about looking back. Herewith, the favorite posts of 2011 -- mine, and yours... Read more...

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Shooting Holiday Lights, Redux

A lot of you have been tweeting or otherwise sharing the 2006 post on How to Photograph Christmas Lights (thanks!) so I thought it merited a refresh. Included are updated photos, tips on dealing with LEDs and a video that should totally make sense to your your point-and-shoot friends.We are hunkered down and in full-bore holiday mode -- including,...

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Making a Case for the Beauty Dish

When posting on my four favorite soft light mods, I included a beauty dish but lamented the necessity of a dedicated case to keep it from getting scuffed up. Dishes aren't cheap to begin with, and neither are decent cases. Problem solved... Read more...

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Five-Digit Studio Flash Catfight: Broncolor vs. Profoto

As Profoto and Broncolor battle for supremacy in the high-end studio flash world, things are getting all like, "Rawrrr, nice sweater. Does it come in your size?"And just like Lexus and Infinity luxury car ads, they each want to point out their being better in some measurable way. Witness this Broncolor-produced "real-world shootout"… Read more...

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Brad Trent's In-Camera Digital Man

I didn't see this on Damn Ugly Photography (sorry Brad) until it was picked up by the Profoto blog, in itself a Damn Good Blog. (Especially when you consider it is run by a buncha tie-wearin' corporate weenies…)Brad Trent's "Digital Man" was created in-camera with a mix of surprisingly simple lighting, some crucial on-axis fill … and a $10,000 light...

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Rewind The Flash Bus: Now on Video

Above: Flash Bus Busted, Phoenix, AZThis spring, for reasons still largely unknown to the logical side of my brain, I signed on to a 42-day, 12,531 mile road trip. It was not a decision taken lightly. On the one hand, we'd be getting up at oh-dark-thirty every morning after sleeping in a coffin-sized bunk on a moving bus. On the other hand, I'd get...

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Q&A: Controlling the Sun When Using Flash - A Comparative Guide

After Monday's post lighting a soccer player into the sun at a wide aperture, several questions came up via comments and Twitter about the relative benefits of doing this in different ways.Yes, there are different ways to do it -- namely ND, high-speed sync and special-chip cameras. Each method has advantages and disadvantages. The full how-to and...

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Read Strobist on Google Currents

With a dozen SB's and a shoe box full of AA's, Strobist is all about being mobile. Google has just launched their answer to Flipboard, and for those of you mobile readers who choose to download the app, the site is available on that platform.The app is free for iOS or Android users, and you can download it here.Once installed, hit the magnifying glass...

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On Assignment: Soccer Through Sunset

Any time I am shooting an outside portrait and the start time is up to me, I am for an hour before sunset. The reason is simple: You know the light is gonna just get better and better until it is time to wrap it up.That's exactly how it was with a shoot last week of local soccer standout Zach Johnson. But this time we veered away from the normal afternoon/sunset...

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Speedlinks: 'The Office' Edition

I'm still an old-school guy when it comes to developing projects. I like to keep my ideas on physical surfaces. And without whiteboards in The Cave, we revert to stickies. Like, everywhere. Today's speedlinks are office-themed; one an actual shoot-in-a-boring-office solution and another to show what can be done with … a lot of stickies. Read more...

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Dean Bradshaw: Putting the Pieces Together

Photos © Dean Bradshaw"Photography has taken me to some amazing places and allowed me to meet people I would never have had the opportunity to otherwise meet," says Aussie transplant Dean Bradshaw, who now works in Southern California. "For me it has been a lifestyle and a way of interacting with the world more than just something I do to pay the bills."Bradshaw...

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Giving Back With Your Camera

It's Thanksgiving, a day when many people in the US will eat way too much food and then collapse on the couch to watch the Baltimore Ravens beat the San Francisco 49ers on the teevee. (Heh.)But thoughts of giving thanks often prompt thoughts of giving back. And there is a lot of collective talent among the readers of this site. So today, a bit of an...

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Parabolic Activity

Ever have a problem with onlookers nosey-ing around on a shoot? Photographer Radu Dumitrescu (that's his voice on the tape) was shooting in an abandoned house in Bucharest, Romania when a couple of intrepid guys noticed flashing lights inside the house and decided to investigate. When they raised their cell phones to capture hard proof of the afterlife, Radu laid down on the remote trigger and gave them a show. They only got one reaction on tape, but Radu said the guys repeatedly came back to the house only to be scared back off again by the flashes....

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Learning to See Light

As photographers, we are pretty intuitive about recognizing interesting ambient light when we see it. But stick a flash and umbrella in our hands and we tend to default to much more standard styles of lighting -- especially at first. In the real world, great light rarely comes from 45 degrees up and to the side. So if you want to be able to create...

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Sony Users Finally Get Some Remote Trigger Love

I don't do a lot of reviews or gear announcements on this site, but I think the Sony version of the Strato II is notable just for the frustrating gap it fills for Sony users.Sony's deciding to go with perpetuate Minolta's nonstandard hot shoe after purchasing the company has always left me scratching my head a little. As a result, there has been precious...

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Bucket List: A Visit to San Francisco and TWiT

This week I enjoyed my first-ever visit to the city of San Francisco, which is truly an amazing place. On the agenda was lots of hiking, plus trips to Google and Flickr. But I also traveled north to the picture-perfect small town of Petaluma, home of This Week in Tech. I drove up there on Tuesday to appear on the TWiT Photo show. For those who missed...

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Christian Colberg's Orchestrated Coworker Portraits

If you get the chance to visit Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore, take a moment to view the collection of portraits of BSO musicians on the wall. (Pictured above is violinist Yasouki Tanaka.) The photos were done by one of their own, violist Christian Colberg. Shot with minimalist gear over the course of a summer, the project is a template for any...

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Nick Fancher: Run-and-Gun with Hard Lights

Columbus, Ohio-based photographer Nick Fancher shoots for JackThreads, which means manic spurts of product, apparel and shoe photos. To that end he shoots guerilla-style, scrounging multiple locations and setups on the quick.Which is no problem, as he travels light with RadioPoppers and speedlights, preferring to work without modifiers. This means he can light at modest ranges and easily match or overpower the sun as needed.Check out the vid above, in which we follow Nick through a typical multi-product day of shooting. Neat stuff -- I like the...

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A Flash of Inspiration: The Accidental Backlight

Strobist reader Philip Rasmusson, from Göteborg, Sweden sent me the above photo, along with a tweet asking:"This totally happened by accident, with someone else's flash going off in the back. What do you think?"Well, I can tell what you think, Philip. I think you like it, 'cause you were happy to claim it and stick a logo up on it. (Smart man.)And...

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Heinz Maier's Insanely Beautiful Water Droplets

For those of you who like to tinker around with the art of water droplet photography, the bar has just been raised. Significantly. Using the hydraulic setup you see above, German photographer Heinz Maier captures the tiny slices of time in which multiple drops of falling water interact with each other.The lighting tools, which are not shown here,...

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Boot Camp III Assignment #4: Results

Results from Boot Camp III, Assignment #4, in which you were asked to create a "36 Hours In…" style travel package about a place near you.This was a more demanding assignment than the first three (which is why it was saved for last) and that really showed in the number of entrants. To those who completed the shoot, congrats. And I hope that you learned...

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Imitate, then Innovate

Brownie points to whoever can name the (very famous) artist who created the painting above. Extra bonus points if you can say why it is relevant to how smart photographers can learn their craft. Read more...

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My Favorite Portable Background Stand is On Sale

Just a quick heads-up to anyone looking for a portable-but-sturdy BG stand/crossbar setup on a budget: LumoPro is doing an instant rebate on their MF613 background kit. A good deal at $150, the rebate takes it to $125.Mine sees near constant use (in several different ways) and has held up great. The rigid crossbar can be used in 2, 3 or 4 sections....

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Backsplash on a Budget: Jaroslav Wieczorkiewicz' Water Angel

The best compliment I can give to a photo is to think of it as a "stopper," meaning that it absolutely demands your full attention when you first see it.A couple weeks ago I made a quick trip to London to serve as a lighting consultant on a very cool photo project (more on that later). While there, I worked alongside Polish photographer Jaroslav Wieczorkiewicz...

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What White Balance for Flash Photography?

Strobist reader Gabriel Bratescu, of Bucharest, Romania, asks:"What white balance setting do you use when you shoot with 1/4 CTO filter, flash or sunny? I find that my indoor pictures that I shoot with Flash WB tend to be a little to warm so I shoot with flash but with Sunny WB."Great question Gabriel, and the answer comes down to global color control...

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BrakhaX2: Sketchy Mondays X 52

So, remember the Sketchy Mondays project, by father/son team Moshe and Eddie Brakha?A refresher: Totally self-generated, no-boundary work done every Monday by an A-List commercial studio. Just for the creative spark; just for the hell of it. All of this done with a DSLR and few complementary-gelled hot lights. (Yeah, I know it's not strobe. Just go with it.)Check out what happens when you say, "What the hell, let's just shoot something cool on our own, every single week," by scrolling through a few pages on the Sketchy Mondays website. Awesome...

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Emily Knudsen's Baby Veggies

©Emily KnudsenBy David Poller -- As a Boston-based commercial food photographer, Emily Knudsen likes to make sure the groceries are the star of the show. But for a class assignment while still a student at the Hallmark Institute of Photography, bright and silvery metal was on the menu. Her task was to shoot a shiny metal subject so the light would...

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On Assignment: Theresa Daytner, Pt. 2

Having shot the section front photo of Daytner out in the lobby, we quick-walked the lights into her office area. Working from the back and by swapping just one light mod, we were able to get something pretty different for the inside pages. Read more...

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Learn Java in Easy Steps

Here are the alternate short links :http://tinyurl.com/6595flqhttp://tighturl.com/3k34http://goo.gl/XgDlxhttp://tiny.cc/fsamnhttp://bit.ly/pcy8uBhttp://is.gd/fT62DJhttp://url.ie/dbl3http://snipurl.com/17t2v4 http://cool-cute-clever-crazy.blogspot.c...">http://doiop.com/c9e...

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Learn Core JAVA in Easy Steps [Page 5]

Conditional Constructs :-SwitchIfIf ElseIf Else If laddernested IfLooping :-WhileDo WhileForFor each--> Switch :=switch(expression){case 1:statements;break;case 2:statements;break;.... default:statements;}--> If :=if(condition){statements;}--> If Else :=if(condition){}else{}--> If - Else - If :=if(){}else if(){}else{}--> Nested...

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Learn Core JAVA in Easy Steps [Page 4]

Operators:1. Arithmetic - Assignment - Increment - Decrement2. Relational - Boolean3. Logical - Short Circuit - Long CircuitPriorityOperatorsOperationAssociativity1[ ]array indexleft()method call.member access2++pre- or postfix incrementright--pre- or postfix decrement+ -unary plus, minus~bitwise NOT!boolean (logical)...

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remedies to prevent the common cold

Ayurvedic remedies to prevent the common cold and relieve symptoms?The ayurvedic approach to preventing illnesses is by building up the immune system and toning the body to withstand viral attacks. The following remedies not only help to prevent catching a cold but also help in relieving symptoms naturally if you already have a cold.Every morning make...

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On Assignment: Theresa Daytner, Pt. 1

For a long time, business portraits have been my bread and butter. Specifically, run-and-gun, no-assistant, modest-amount-of-gear biz portraits.The editorial clients I have do not have a ton of budget. Thus, my goal is to work efficiently and still produce something that works well for the publication.A good recent example was an assignment to photograph...

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Hair Color Styles At Home

Get Rich Quick: In the new economy, highlights are out and single-process color is back with bold, shiny shades that won't break the bank.Into the WoodsLooking forward to fall's golden, crimson, and russet hues, stylist Thomas Hintermeier thinks the best single-process shades mimic nature. For brunettes wanting more drama, he suggests adding a warm...

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Long Hairstyles for Upcoming year 2010

Girls nowadays have been so fashionable with their hair styles, I hope these teen hairstyles can give you some ideas .by the way some of the hair styles are for celebrity hairstyle , the hair styles are : straight, curly, layered,long hair,bangs,bouffant ponytailVanessa-Hudgens Hairstylebouffant ponytailPonytail HairstyleVanessa Hudgens long layered...

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Latest Party Updo Hairstyles

Create a French TwistWhat you need: Volumizing spray, comb, small U-shaped hairpins, bobby pins, maximum-hold hair spray. How to Get the LookStep 1: Spritz the hair with volumizer. Use a comb to part the hair across the back of the head, from ear to ear. Gather the top section of hair at the crown, twist it one time, and secure with hairpins. Step...

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