SpeedLinks - My Flicker Faves

Here is a short list of some of my Flickr Favorites.

Rob Hammer Photography

James Rubio

Joel Grimes

Kelly Lambert

Michael Hawkins

Andrew Kung

I have a lot more, and just wanted to list a handfull.

Enjoy!

Speedlights + Iphone = Easy

Usually I just wing it when it comes to shooting with my speedlights. Power up, scoot 'em back, adjust my aperture a tad......Hold on one more shot. I can get pretty close in around 3-5 shots.

But sometimes you want to nail it. you don't want to dork around with all that. This is where most will say, "get a flippin light meter!" I know, there is just other gear I would rather have.

Anyway, Emmet Photography did some great research where he tested the actuall guide numbers for the Canon 580ex, and 430 ex seperate and firing together and made handy little charts with guide numbers for different flash zooms and powers.

Days Later.......

I find the neat little Iphone app called PhotoCalc.

So I plugged in a few numbers, Aperture, ISO, distance to subject, and the guide number for the appropriate zoom on my speedlight and it spit out Flash power = 1/16.

I shot a variety of test shots from different distances up to 20 feet and different subjects, and they all came out perfectly exposed. I even used a shoot thru, and a stofen, and used the numbers from his deductions page and they were perfect.

Good Luck!

Senior Session

Just wrapped up a Senior session with a "couple" of Seniors from Green Mountain HS.

Though photographing multiple seniors is quite a challenge, when your all done, it's very rewarding. It helps when your clients are as easy going as these two!

I have a Senior session next week, and will be photographing one subject. :)

Three Seniors - One Session

Just recently I booked a Senior session. The catch is, all three boys wanted to do it at the same time. YIKES! I usually allow 2 -3 hours for one Senior, so this was way out of my comfort zone. The day went great, and after this experience, I would probably book 2-3 seniors again if the client wanted me to.

I would have to say that the biggest challenge of the day was going from one one personality to the next. Having to change the way I interacted with each individual just seconds after working with the last was mentally exhausting. But by the second half of the session the transition was much smoother.

This session took place in a barn on one of the sujects property and at the Sol Terra Community.

Below are a couple others from the day.

The 50-50-50 slump buster

Ok, so you've hit it the dreaded slump, that place where no photographer likes to be. You're creative juices are at an all time low. What used to look like a great photo-op now is just the dog you have to feed, or the apple you are saving for tomorrow. Light is just something hindering your vision, the world has gone "blah". Do not fear the 50-50-50 is here. I ran across this photographer in a group I moderate called S.U.M (setups mandatory) over on flickr.

He just completed  this little project where he took 50 photos, for 50 days, with a 50mm lens.

He had to use flash for each photo and he had to photograph the setup shot for each.

So for all you Strobist out there looking for a little spark, besides the one that come from your speedlight, this might just be what the Dr. ordered.

DIY Ring flash

I have made 2 or three different ring flashes over the last two years, and have finally found one that I think makes the grade. With that being said there are a few things to mention.

POWER - DIY ring flashes that incorporate speedlights will not have the power of a commercially made one.

AESTHETICS - It probably will not look as cool either.

USEABILITY  - Not being tethered to a wall or larger power source will give you freedom to grab and go anywhere!

"THE LOOK" - You still get that same great head on light with the full subject shadow like the commercial ring flashes.

$$$ - And this one is huge compared to some of the more affordable models ($399), you will only be spending around $ 20-30.

I could explain how to make this but the videos explain it so much better.

I did  two things differently. I used flat stock aluminum instead of galvanized steel. I thought it might be easier to work with. The bends on the flatstock were different due to the fact that I do not use the hot shoe sync cord he uses, instead I use STE-2 or radio triggers.

Below is his 2 part video tutorial.

Another (Super Cheap) Shoe adapter

For those of you wanting to experiment with off camera flash. Here is an affordable way to hep get you there.

I ran across US Camera while I was looking for cheap sync cords. At $7.95 this has to be the cheapest shoe adapter I have seen. Turns out this guy is right down the mountain from me in Centennial, CO. 

I think he has all the parts to make your own flash as well!

It is constructed of metal for years of use. Has test button and two PC outlets.

 Lets any camera, digital or film, with a standard hot shoe have a  PC terminal to connect external flash via cord.  

Great for testing of flash shoe operation for technicians. 

DIY Strip Light on the cheap (well sorta)

There are times when a huge soft box just provides too much coverage. Thats when a strip light would be nice.

The problem you  just can't justify another couple hundred dollars. 

The solution, just make your existing gear do the job for you.

This is assuming you already have a med or large softbox.

This is great, cheap, effective way to add a strip light to your arsenal of gear.

Here is the link to the  DIY strip light

PS - This site Krolop-Gerst has alot of cool stuff on it. So make sure you have time before you hit the link.

Taking the guess "work" out of Grids

Not sure bout you, but I have glued coroplast, glued straws, glued cardboard pieces, and even glued my fingers together a few times. I ran across a site that sells a variety of round cell, and honeycomb grid. It's a site called Saxon PC. The owner sells rough cut pieces (2"x3")  in small sets of different degrees ( 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 65 degrees), you can also order larger sheets (7", 16", 22", 24") All the pieces are black, and I find the plastic versions easier to work with.

He also offers pre-made grid-spots.

He has a small flicker group made up of what seems to be primarily Saxon PC customers.

If you're somewhere between "tired of gluey fingers" and not really wanting to splurge for turn key grid-spots, this product may be just the thing for you.

Link Blast - Dressing up your Speedlights

So, Here is my feeble attempt to make this blog kinda interesting.

I call this Link Blast. Basically I list the topic, for example the topic for the week is "Speed light Gear".

Here goes.

Honl -  honeycomb grids, gobos, snoots

Speedlight Pro Kit - mini soft boxes, gobos, snoots

Lastolite - Small soft boxes

PhotoFlex - small to large soft boxes, lightweight connecting rings, mounting brackets, stands

Lee Filters - Colored Gels

ExpoImaging - Ray Flash (speedlight Ringflash attachment)

Orbis Flash - Orbis speedlight ringflash

Lightspere - Speedlight diffusion system (Here is a cool mod from zarius)

Wescott - Speedlight softbox kit (also a wide range of umbrellas)

Lumiquest -  reflectors, mini softboxes

Alien Bees - CyberSyncs ( affordable radio receivers and transmitters

Pocket Wizards - Not as affordable radio triggers (industry standard)

B & H Photo - The photographers "candy shop"

Adorama - Another all things photography store.

SaxonPC - Honeycomb gridspots

Midwest Photo Exchange (MPEX) - Lots of speedlight and strobist goodies, including complete strobist kits from mild to wild.

I'm sure this list does not even come close to hitting everyone. But I think it's a great start for all the "Strobies" out there who are looking for gear to get them off and running.

The term Strobist, which I use often can be better explained here.

I would like to thank David Hobby  for sharing all he knows, all he knows who know, and for all that he will know.