I use a wide variety of lighting in my photography. The transformational quality of light brings many of my images to life, especially portraits. When I travel I often use speedlights in my work. The trick is getting beautiful, soft light from a speedlight, and having enough power for the job. There are three softboxes Read More
Blog
Pro Media Gear Elinchrom ELB 400 cage
If you are like me, your gear gets pretty beat up. Since I shoot on location in remote areas in harsh conditions, I am constantly testing the ‘waterproof, dirt proof, shock resistant’ aspect of all my gear. I rely on my Elinchrom ELB400s for many of my location shoots. On a recent ‘cliffside wedding’ shoot Read More
speedlight diffusion dome
Most speedlights come with a diffusion dome. This small white translucent dome snaps onto your speedlight and diffuses/softens the light. Or does it? Here is a quick guide when to use the dome, and what it really does. A fundamental lighting principle states that the soft quality light on your subject is directly related to Read More
Elinchrom 190cm Indirect Litemotiv Octa
Elinchrom rocked the photography world when they first introduced the indirect octabank. This six foot octabank used a flash head aimed back into the light, not forward like most soft boxes. With the flash oriented indirectly (back into the octa), the light is evenly bounced and softened creating beautiful light coming out of the octa. Read More
Goal Zero Yeti 150; Solar power on the run
I’m often shooting in the backcountry away from power, or maybe in my trailer without power hookups. My solution to power on the run is Goal Zero. Goal Zero makes a variety of solar powered batteries and panels, and they work great. I’ve used the Sherpa 50 on countless backcountry trips. Combined with the small Read More
Alien Skin Exposure X2
There is some terrific software being introduced that will give photographers some new editing options, including non-destructive editing similar to Lightroom. I’ve long been a user of Exposure, and they have really added some great new features in recent updates including Exposure X2. Exposure is best known for its brilliant analog film action presets. If Read More
EL Wire light painting
After being inspired helping Dave Black teach a light painting class, one thing I knew I wanted to try out was light painting with an EL Wire. The wire looks like a fiber optic cable that is glowing red, green, purple…you have lots of color choices. How does this work? As with a lot of Read More
D500 quick selection of flash control screen
Last spring I wrote on this blog about how to set a control button on your D810 to bring up the flash control window with one click. If you were using the popup flash as a commander, this gave you one click access to the flash control window to adjust your flash setting. Recently I Read More
SnapBridge available for iPhone
If you own a D5 or D500, and use an iPhone, you have been anxiously waiting for SnapBridge to work with your phone. SnapBridge connects your phone and camera via bluetooth to allow direct transfer of your images to your phone. In other words, you can post quicker onto all those social media outlets. I Read More
Rogue grids and softboxes
Rogue has been putting out some great speedlight accessories recently, updating and adding to their extensive line of products. I have been using their XL Pro Reflector, grids and their large flashbender (as a snoot) with great results. They recently added a soft diffusion screen to put over their XL Pro, creating nice soft light. Read More
Figuring out the best light on your trip
Most photographers travel to get their images, sometimes to a nearby town, other times to the other side of the globe. But how do you know when that Barvarian castle is going to be in the best light? I use an app called Light Trac. Basically you punch in the name or address, the date, Read More
Speedlight modeling light
I was recently on a portrait shoot and was talking with my assistant about how convenient a modeling light is for portraits and landscape flash. If I want to make sure my flash is aimed perfectly at my model’s face, using a modeling light will show me where my flash will hit. The same can Read More