Scott Kelby's Worldwide Photo Walk in San Jose

I had a great time meeting fellow photographers and taking pictures of strangers.  Architectural photography was less should I say engaging? 
After the walk we landed in Poor House Bistro - I just love the vibe of this place.  The food, drinks and  Kaye Bohler Band made it an enjoyable evening.

Event: Концерт Клуба Светлячок

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Flash Into the Sunset

Bay Area Strobist meetup at Alviso was a ton of fun despite the chilly weather.  We were lucky to catch two bikers who agreed to model for us.  What worked:

• Single bare handheld SB800 flash on macho bikers with harsh low sun light.
• Communication communication communication.
• Post processing in dramatic fashion with use of gradient filters and heavy vignetting.

What I did wrong

• Did not manage to underexpose the sky as I planned.  My plan to remedy this: (1) position model with sun to the side and NOT behind thus lowering sky intensity, (2) go faster than synch speed - use SB800 on a cord.
• Could not keep up with fast changing lighting conditions
• Should have keep shooting with sun below horizon - gave up too soon because of the freezing weather.

DIY: Diffusion Panels

This was my first DIY project which still exceeds the rest by its versatility and bang for a buck.

I currently have two frames of about 4'x7' made of 3/4" schedule 40 PVC pipes and joints.  I use these to stretch either diffusion/reflection screens made of white rip-stop nylon or a black canvas screen.  As I mentioned before,  build process is well documented on the Internet. Here is the necessary attribution to Dean Collins' tinker tubes with some BTS videos of this great guy. 

This is what my panels look like.

Shoot-through Umbrella vs PBL Photo Studio 40" Reflective Umbrella Softbox

I was intrigued by PBL Photo Studio 40" Reflective Umbrella Softbox promise:

• round catch-lights in the model's eyes;
• tight light control, just like a softbox;
• about $30 for two!

The softbox not only delivers on promise, but also offers:

• more than adequate fit and finish;
• extremely fast setup - front diffuser is permanently stitched to the umbrella, so all you need to do to set the softbox is to open umbrella and install the flash;
• full access to flash controls because only the head protrudes into the softbox.
• light emitting surface is flat thus making light more directional than shoot-through umbrella.

On the downside:

• When used bare, flash hot spot is way too prominent - I had to use a snap-on diffuser to achieve adequate light uniformity.  As a result almost two stops of light are lost.
• The stem is unnecessarily long and I almost poked my model when I tried to position the softbox close to her face.  I then had to cut off 5" of the stem.
• (minor) the stem is round - I really like an octagonal shape of the 43" double fold umbrella which prevents it from rotation.

Here is a comparison of light given off by a 43" double fold umbrella and a 40" umbrella softbox.  The latter, despite having a smaller advertised size, has larger diameter when opened (39" vs 35") because of the smaller curvature.  I am totally sold!  I am ready to pay 2 light stops for tight light control and round catch-lights.

Enjoy!

Right before I published this summary I found this video review.
Edit: Check out Zack Arias' Shoot Through Umbrella vs. Softbox

FlashBus in San Jose

Flash Bus happened in San Jose and it was amazing! David's methodical approach can teach flashes any poor soul, software engineers included. His and Joe's ability to control AND entertain the crowd will make any politician envious.
I was impressed with uniformity of the equipment used by Mr McNally: nothing but c-stands (really heavy I should say) with beams holding Lastolite Skylite diffusers or flashes on Justin clamps.  TriGrips and Triflashes made appearance.  The thought that Lastolite rules come to mind.
The crowd was also interesting - never seen so many nerds talking about their gear in one place. ;-)

DIY: PVC Light Stand

Recently I decided to build few light stands for all these flashes and workshop lights lying around. There are more than few examples of PVC light stands on the Internet.  I wanted however for only 3 points to touch the ground (thinking this will be most stable for a given amount of materials used) so decided to go with a C-stand design  made of 3/4" schedule 40 PVC pipes and joints.
I am pleased with the result.  As one might have expected the stand is not rigid (because of the flexibility of the PVC pipe) yet surprisingly stable.  Besides, because of the different height of the legs one can put two such stands very close to each other - try that with alternative designs!

Chinese New Year Parade in the City

I do not think I cracked this nut.  Combination of poor weather, limited access (or rather my lack of mobility - no excuse for that) and poor choice of the lens made this a fiasco.  I wanted to try the new 24mm prime so much I used it with too shallow death of focus.  By the end D90 had trouble auto focusing in such low light conditions.  Hand holding a CLS-driven SB600 worked though as expected.

What might have worked:

• use tele lens for shots like this.
• 16mm lens from inside the parade
• setting an area with soft light behind a big diffuser panel or just finding a location where flashes could be bounced off.

Oh well, you live you learn.

DIY: Wearable Flash Rig and Diffusion Panels

I just realized that I never properly documented any of my DIY projects - wearable flash rig, diffusion panel or light stand.  Consider this in place of a "proper" documentation.

I use a wearable flash rig to take photos in a bright sun and I built it specifically for Burning Man 2010.  It proved to be an awesome solution for fill flash in a bright desert sun.  Just put your subjects with their back to the sun,  "say I'm soooo cute" and press the shutter.  Majority of these photos were taken with this rig - Nikon D90 on-camera flash driving via CLS 2xSB600 flashes being controlled by TTL.  Manual control is also an option.   The rig is made of 1/2" schedule 40 PVC pipes and joints.  It is a great conversation starter but be careful if you decide to wear it in the club - please be gentle to your neighbors in crowded places.

After this post was published I found an even more grandiose approach to a moveable lighting rig: Human Light Suit.  Designed for exactly the same purpose, Eric Schwabel's rig can overpower the Burning Man sun!  And the catch-light is nothing short of amazing!

Headshots that Really Rule

The Best Portraits from TIME 2010 feature work of Marco Grob (7), Peter Hapak (2), Nadav Kander(1), Peter Yang (1), Robyn Twomey (1), Platon (1), Jodi Bieber (1), Dan Winters (1), Kate Peters (1). Of these portraits only those by Peter Hapak were shot in high key.
What's in:

• low key
• use of a relatively wide angle lens
• "spot" light, on-axis or slightly off, with soft boundaries
• extra sharp not sharp enough

Strobist on the subject:  Idea: SB-III Barn Door Mod.
Looks like a nice subject for a study here....