Category Archives: Lighting
Lighting Review: Rogue Flash Benders
One of the most common search criteria on Google that coincides with photography is that of lighting. It’s no surprise as photography really is all about the light, and when making and taking photos (yes, there’s a difference), one of the key things that people can grasp quite easily is the success of a photo is often very dependent on the lighting.
Five Ways to Deal with Harsh/Low Lighting
A common question I get here is how to deal with harsh or low light situations. This is a great question, and for event photographers, it’s simply part of the job to recognize various lighting conditions and address them accordingly. Today, I’d like to share Five Ways to Deal with Harsh/Low Lighting: 1. Cranking the ISO and hoping to fix in post With advancements in technology, noise handling both in camera and in post production has resulted in some astonishing results that in previous years would have been literally unrecoverable. While we should always endeavor to make our images shine … Continue reading
Free advertising from me today…
Being in Colorado, I am always one of the first to read the latest blogs for the day because East Coasters usually set their publish time to somewhere between midnight and 2am, which means between 10pm and midnight my time, I can catch up on all the news that is going to hit in the morning. (California folks got me beat by an hour…) So, when Scott Kelby’s blog went live a while ago, he was encouraging people to join the Kelby Training website with a video teaser compiled by his chief video guru, Jason Scrivner. It’s a pretty funny … Continue reading
Problems with Triggers
As mentioned yesterday, the example self-portrait I took had some misleading EXIF data. The thrust of the post was that EXIF data isn’t always right, and if you read through the comments, you’ll find out most of what was wrong (this is one sharp reading audience – y’all don’t miss a beat! ). What was most glaring though was that the radio trigger didn’t report itself to the EXIF data. I’d noticed this in the past from the Cactus triggers when I first purchased them. It could be due to the economical nature of the cirtuitry (i.e. they weren’t very … Continue reading
The Beauty of Bokeh Revisited
I know – the blog has not gotten much attention lately. My apologies – but after the job loss, and pounding the pavement, my schedule has tightened up considerably, so the “planned posts” have pretty much been exhausted as I let myself get behind. The good news is that with several opportunities on the horizon, I am a little less stressed about “real world” economics, and can dedicate some time back to the blog. A few items of note: #1 – The Year End Blowout Bash is underway – and LDP/Canon Blogger is giving away a ton of goodies. I … Continue reading
Show Notes for Episode #28
No cheeky title today, just a straight up informational one because the podcast was a super long one with all the news, interview time, and listener Q&A so I’ll stick to the meat and potatoes. On the Photo News Beat Canon Announces Hybrid IS technology Stock Exchange joins Getty Images Think Tank Photo Announces a New Bag System OnOne Software expecting to release a Remote Capture update soon LDP/CB Notes The OnOne Software Plugin Suite Ends Friday – last chance to get your best image in the Numbers Contest The August Prize is announced: A Bamboo Fun, courtesy from the … Continue reading
Painting with Light
About a year ago, Joe McNally gave a talk at Google where he referenced the roots of the word photography. The two roots are photo and graphos, and the meanings are light and write. We so often hear of people “painting with light”, and after seeing a few people demonstrating how they use flashlights to paint and write with light, I thought it might be fun to give it a whirl. So, I set up in my den/basement room/office/man cave with the camera on a tripod and went about the goal of writing with light. To set the scene, I … Continue reading
Sigma Lightstand – Hardware Review
This week’s hardware review is the Sigma Lightstand. Specifically, the Impact 8 foot Air Cushion Lightstand. While you may think that this is something that wouldn’t garner much discussion – I actually have found this to be a very handy tool. “Tool?”, you ask. Yes, a tool. Sure, it’s primary function is to hold lights, but look at the variety even there – I’ve used it for small flashes (like my 550 EX II), studio strobes from Smith Victor, and water bags. Lest you do a double take, that’s right, I used it along with a makeshift boom (arm that … Continue reading
Cactus, Trigger, Zebra, Oh My!
Remember the old game of password where you said a related word to one on your card to get your partner to guess it? Well, here goes: What do the words cactus, trigger, and zebra all have in common? If you answered “flash photography” you’d be right! As you may have realized, that does mean that the podcast will not come out today – I simply didn’t have time to get all my thoughts and notes together. So instead, here’s a review of sorts that I did just earlier this evening. A while back I decided to ditch the Canon … Continue reading
Artist Statement Appeal – the power of the pen
On this weeks show, I take a look at the power of the pen – the artist statement. For those of us with aspirations of sharing our work with others via art shows, galleries, and contests/competitions, the value of the artist statement can make the difference between getting into a show, gallery or other event and buying a ticket. So, if you want to learn what the artist statement is, how to write one, and things to consider, this is the show for you. Here’s the show notes: News Links – Ansel Adams Video Getty ventures into China for Asian … Continue reading
Come on Ride the Train
It’s somewhat fitting this week that yours truly is making serious use of the mass transit in Denver because a project that has finally come to fruition is a photo-themed shoot of trains. I’ve always found them quite interesting, and only recently did I come into possession of a very high quality model train to pose as I desired for specific types of compositional and focal impressions. Since the podcast isn’t quite finished, I figured now would be as good a time as any to share with you a sampling of my Train project… So, there’s the “Train Series”. I … Continue reading
Go soak your gear!
It pays to review your web traffic periodically because I just learned a way that your bathtub can be used for photography! Not only is it a good place to mellow out after a stressful shoot, but it also makes a heckuva softbox! I was on a forum that had referenced the blog and a guy had some product that he placed in his tub. I thought it was an interesting idea, and decided to give it a try. As it turns out, the tub is a great place to put your gear! Granted, not to soak it (sorry, but … Continue reading
Can ordinary be interesting?
A while back I took Tracy out for an afternon/evening in Denver. I agreed to leave my camera behind, but in case she wanted to catch a moment for posterity’s sake, I grabbed the P&S one she asked for as a Christmas gift. After her initial interest waned in taking pictures, I ended up with the camera in hand (go figure) and even shared a few here on the blog (remember the bottle caps in the grocery?). Anyway, it got me to thinking about how to take ordinary scenes and make them interesting. I guess that’s part of the role … Continue reading
Cactus Confusion
Well, I finally got the Cactus gear that I ordered online at GadgetInfinity last week. I had ordered their wireless trigger/receiver combo set and an extra receiver for the purpose of getting two lights to fire. I excitedly opened all the packaging and unwrapped it all, then – stop, hold the phones, and check this out – I read the directions! Yes, that’s right, an admitted geek read directions to make sure I utilize them right. After reading about these kinds of things on David Hobby’s Strobist site and over on the Flickr Colorado Strobist site, I wanted to make … Continue reading
New Podcast is Up!
That’s right, for two successive weeks now since our move, I’ve been able to find the time to record an audio podcast. Todays show had everything to do with the absolutely horrendus performance by the Broncos last night on MNF – their season turned to the toilet rather quickly. What ever happened to the fundamentals? Oh, sorry, this is a photo blog, not a football one! Okay, here’s the latest and greatest from CB. First and foremost, CB Episode #55 went up today. I took about twenty minutes to talk about off-camera lighting. I looked at the radio transmitters availabe, … Continue reading
Vivitar Auto Thrystor 550 FD
I got a few emails asking if they could see a picture of the flash as there apparently aren’t that many of them floating around the internet. Never one to deny an opportunity to take a picture, even if it is really old gear, here we are, the moldy oldy Vivitar Thrystor 550 FD:
Thrystor Thursday
Even though I primarily shoot with Canon gear, if a product comes along or crosses my path that can get the job done either better or more cheaply, then I will definitely consider it. Well, about a year or so ago, I was at this event in South Carolina called “Whale of a Sale”, where you can occasionally find some super good deals on merchandise that is either slightly dated, out-dated, or just no longer wanted. I happened across a Vivitar Auto Thrystor 550 FD and for the bargain basement price of $3, decided to give it a go. Well, … Continue reading
Wednesday Walk around the Web returns
As the final hours approach me here on Tuesday, I still find myself struggling to capture something of interest that would be a fun topic for the “What’s This?”, so, a rather easy one is up for your guessing pleasure. Truth be told though, this is kind of lame, and as such, I would like more of the focus for today’s post to be the traditional “walk around the web” Here’s what’s going on this week in photo land: First, stop over to Scott Kelby’s blog – guest writer John Nack from a little company called Adobe will be filling … Continue reading
Monday Muscle Failure
This was quite the weekend! Two of three bedrooms have been cleaned up, packaged, and taken to an off-site storage so we can “stage” the house. Apparently staging a house is very important when selling. It helps “define the space” for the prospective buyer. Anyway, as a result of all the lifting, bending, pushing, pulling, hauling, and shoving (oh yeah, we packed some boxes too!), we are very much in a state of “muscle failure”. For the more athletically inclined, you know what I am talking about. For the rest, when you push your muscles to the brink of not … Continue reading
What’s This: Week 4
Now in it’s last installment for the month of June, “What’s This?” has become the most popular subject for the blog. Gary correctly guessed that last week’s What’s This was a shower head, so props, kudos, and congrats to Gary! Let’s see if someone else can mount a challenge this week. Here we go (and no more hints)…this week’s What’s This is: Good luck to everyone! If the fun continues, I may be able to start offering prizes too (depends on whether any vendor would be interested in sponsoring the “What’s This Weekly”…so, Canon, Adobe, USRobotics, Apple, Microsoft, Joe’s Tire … Continue reading
Tuesday Tech Talk: Canon ST-E2
This week, the Tuesday Tip is more of a “Tech Talk”. I got an email from someone inquiring about the Canon ST-E2 asking about how to use it, and what it’s compatible with. Taking a cue from this, I decided to make it a video tip from the MacbookPro,and set things up to give a basic primer on what the ST-E2 looks like, how it mounts to your camera, and how it triggers off-camera flashes electronically. Hopefully this will help demonstrate the purpose of the ST-E2 in a better light (bad pun, sorry…). Because it was recorded from the Mac … Continue reading
The week in review
I know web links are typically done on Wednesdays, but a little schedule change was in order given the recent news from this corner of the internet. So, for this Friday, here’s some stuff I read around the web recently: Brian Reyman of Professional Snapshots has released a beta version of a neat Flash program for schematics of lighting setups. It’s a very helpful in documenting studio work and other such photo utilities. Best of all, it’s Flash-based so it will work on Mac and PC! Many thanks to Brian for all the time and energy he’s put into this … Continue reading
Hot and Cold Lighting
We all know that tungsten light is a warmer light (think regular light bulbs) and fluorescents and flash produce cooler lighting. While it makes sense, until I read an article by Peter Kolonia in Popular Photography, I have never thought of combining warm and cool light to produce different effects in a photograph. Since I’ve not tried this yet, I don’t have any sample pictures, but they should be viewable over at www.popphoto.com so stop over there to see samples in action. Basically, the article says that by lighting your subject with one tone and the background with another, you … Continue reading
Geographic Composition
Jason Moore has an ongoing activity where photographers from different parts of the globe capture their perspective on various themes. I was invited to join this group of photographers a short time ago, and this is now my second contribution to the activity. It’s quite a bit of fun as it challenges you to think in new ways, and in participating you get a chance to see other perspectives and ideas. This is probably one of the most useful ways that you can challenge your creativity and to find new sources of inspiration. Anyway, without further ado, the theme for … Continue reading
