The Flash Bus & DVDs are Now Live

UPDATE: Several cities have sold out, and many more are getting close. Latest info: NYC, SF and Buffalo are probably next to go.Thanks so much for your patience over the last few days. As you can imagine, it has been quite the madhouse around here lately. Fun fact: I was scheduled to turn 46 years old yesterday, but that has been postposed until next...

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Immersion Training: Strobist Lighting in Layers

UPDATE, AUGUST 2013: If you are a member at Lynda.com, you already have access to these lighting videos for online streaming. They are here.__________Strobist has over two thousand articles and tutorials on off-camera lighting. But there is no substitute for actually watching someone produce and light a shoot. Lighting in Layers is a 6+1 DVD set that...

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Road Trip.

NOTE: This is one of two big announcements coming within a few days' span on Strobist. (Announcement #2 is here.)I don't really know how to set this up rather than just to come right out and say it: Dude, I'm going on a 13,000+ mile teaching road trip with Joe Fricken' McNally. We have cleared our calendars for March and April. We've got a totally...

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Watch this Space

Big news coming tomorrow.-...

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Rosco CalColor: The "Whatever You Want it to Be" Gels

At this point, most of us are probably pretty familiar with the gel fixes for fluorescent and tungsten ambient light situations. And for the trickier sources, you can check Rosco's free FIlter Facts booklet to learn what filter combinations can be used to balance lights such as sodium- or mercury vapor, etc.But what about really weird, non-standard...

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On Assignment: Inside the Black Box

Normally, a "black box" is a metaphor for the part of a process during which you cannot see what is going on. Much like the "show your work" section in my math tests in high school.But any long-term reader of this site will know that we do not take kindly to black boxes around here. So this OA is not about the metaphorical black box but rather the...

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NiZn Batteries: Long-Term Update

Remember those nickel-zinc batteries-on-steroids that came out a few months ago? Long-term usage reports are starting to come in. The short version: When you send your SB-800 in to get its fried PC board(s) replaced, you might not wanna mention your choice of battery.Longer version, inside. Read more...

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Mini-Rant: Screw the Critics

It's a new year, and I have been thinking a lot about this. There was even a long, rambling rant all written up, but I just spiked it. I'll save you the reading time by condensing it down to this:__________Don't try to please everyone. The more worried you are about pleasing everyone else, the less likely you are to ever please yourself. Nor are you...

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Sketchy iShoot Sniper Remote Claims 500m Range, Immunity From Copyright

UPDATE: 500m? Bzzzznt. More like 30m, if published reports are to be believed. And it can't hold a 1/250th sec sync, either. Surprise, right?Need to place that speedlight five football fields away? No problem. Or, at least no problem 90% of the time, according to the specs on the "iShoot Sniper" remote transceiver from the Chinese company McLovin'...

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Hack Your Grid II

Here is a quick-but-cool little hack inspired by the permanent way I altered my Honl grids a little earlier.Using a piece of elastic and two hooks (tiny bungee cord, hair band and two paper clips, etc.) you can mount any grid to any smaller sized flash. I use them to mount my old Paul Buff grids to speedlights.Why? Because if you are mixing speedlights...

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So, I Got Published in TechCrunch Today…

UPDATE: I answered some of the folks who found multiple other publications of this photo via a Tineye search below, in the comments. #WelcomeToMyLife__________I was trolling my RSS reader today during a break and saw a post containing one of my photos -- a golden egg shot originally done for J. D. Roth over at Get Rich Slowly. Funny, I don't remember...

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On Assignment: Stephanie Yezek

My ongoing partnership with the Howard County Arts Council has yielded a steady stream of talented, interesting people to stick in front of my camera. And dancer Stephanie Yezek, above, is a great example. She can pretty much disobey the laws of gravity whenever she wants. She has amazing strength and control.Regular readers will know that I love shooting...

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New Year, New Bookshelf

Three brand new additions to the recommended reading list include a book of DIY photo projects, a must-read for anyone selling their home and a long-awaited, uber-comprehensive manual aimed at Canon Speedlite users. :: Strobist Bookshelf ::-...

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