I have to be honest. When I opened my Gorillapod GP3 as a gift last year, I wasn’t terribly excited. I already had an Ultrapod II and it was working just fine for my needs. I really didn’t see where I would use it in place of the other one. Now, over a year later, I see it for what it is and what it can do.

The unique design of the Gorillapod enables you to make micro adjustments to the height or tilt of whatever you have sitting on top. Not as smooth as a pan/ tilt head, but it isn’t meant to replace a full fledged tripod. The GP3 is the model designed to hold DSLR’s, but they have a range of models for different size cameras, and at different prices.

Mine has been used for taking macro shots, mounting the camera to odd objects (the rubber feet hold it on windows well, as long as you straddle it that is), even wrapping the legs around small fence posts and such. Just the other day I was doing taking some pics in a warehouse and didn’t have a lightstand with me. There was a small step ladder nearby, so I grabbed the Gorillapod, put the Cactus trigger and flash on it - instant lightstand with great “fine-tuning” ability.

It is also quite a conversation piece. I keep it latched onto my Caselogic Hardshell Backpack at all times, even while traveling. People are always asking me “how do you like that? I have been thinking about getting one.” I understand their curiousity and, perhaps, hidden skepticism. I felt the same way. But now I am a believer. If you don’t have one, you don’t know what you are missing, but I would encourage you to get one and try it for yourself.

This weekend I decided it was time to build the homemade softbox featured in my article of Do It Yourself Ligh Modifiers. With shopping list in hand, Natalie and I went to Michael’s to get everything we needed (and a craft for her to do at the same time).

Once we were at Michael’s, I had to make some substitutions. They want $35 for a piece of mat board, so I opted instead for a 3 pack of white poster board pieces. Also, the staff there had never heard of mylar drafting film. Wasn’t totally sure what to do, but as I was walking down the drafting/ needlepoint supply aisle, I spotted something called “plastic canvas”. I grabbed a couple sheets of varying sizes and hole densities and figured that would work.

Than I got into the construction phase. Cutting the foam was pretty straightforward (the authors tip about using a thin sheet of plywood for a cutting board was perfect). Then I started cutting the posterboard. In the authors revised directions, he indicates you should leave extra around the edges (on the trapezoidal pieces). I did this, but I am not sure what function that serves. As I was finalizing construction, These oversized pieces were difficult to work with and I still don’t see the point. Somehow I managed to get it all together though.

Since I wasn’t using the drafting mylar (I’ll check Hobby Lobby next time), I needed a different way of adhering the diffuser. I used 12 velcro squares and cut them all in half. I then mounted the hook pieces to the 1″ strips of foam on all the sides of the box. I glued two pieces of the plastic canvas together (hot glue is awesome) and trimmed it to fit the opening in the softbox. Next I mounted the loop parts of the velcro on the plastic canvas to match the locations on the softbox frame. Pressed it all in and voila - softbox done.

The photo above is one of the sample pictures I took. The photo at left is another. Since I was using the flash off camera with my Cactus remote trigger, I had to fiddle with the flash settings a few times. The photo at left is still overexposed, but a quick treatment in Lightroom makes it suitable, as you can see in the photo at right.

In the time since I made my original post, I think the author of the instructions for this softbox has made some revisions. I’d love to see more detail on why the trapezoids should be oversized, since it caused me problems. But overall, I am happy with the output from this box. I am actually going to be playing with it later today when I do “class photos” for my daughter’s small preschool class here in Lakewood. I’ll post up another time about how that shoot goes.

Within the photography world, as with the rest of the world, there are people driving Ferrari’s and people driving Geo Metro’s. With respect to off camera flash equipment, the Ferrari’s would be Pocket Wizards and the Geo Metro would be the Cactus Radio Triggers - also known as eBay triggers. In fact, there seem to be some different versions of the eBay triggers that all work together. For the purposes of this review, I’ll just deal with the Cactus V2s.

I purchased these in July in anticipation of doing Real Estate Photography here in Lakewood and also for whatever portrait work I might start.

My best test for these was when I was shooting the Ferringway condo we stayed in recently in Durango. The layout of the unit was such that there was an open loft over the main living room. I wanted everything there to be lit well, so I got out the Cactus remote and attached my flash. I put the whole contraption on the included stand and took it upstairs. I bounced the light off the ceiling, so it diffused a little, but you can still see that shadows were cast in the final product.

For the one transmitter and one receiver, I paid roughly $40. I should have gone ahead and ordered a second receiver at the time, and have since acquired another. I have yet to test the full range, but I am suitable impressed with what I have seen so far. If you have been thinking about getting a pair, go for it. At this price point, you can use them for a few years to get comfortable before you invest in the Pocket Wizards.

This yellow jacket was flying around in my office the other day, and not doing a good job of it. I decided he would be a good subject for a macro, so I put a coffee cup over him. Not sure how long that cup had been sitting in my office, but it must have been awhile. If you look close, you can see all the dust on this thing. But I was happy to have a chance to do a macro of one - I don’t like messing with them when they are alive.

It also gave me a chance to try off camera flash on a macro, using my Cactus Wireless triggers. Always like to get some practice in.

A few months ago I took some photos of a very corporate restroom, thinking (for some crazy reason) that they might make good stock photos. I put them up on iStockphoto and pretty much forgot about them. In fact , over the last several weeks, I pretty much forgot about stock photography altogether. I have been travelling for work, trying to figure out how I want to do the real estate photography thing, taking senior pictures of my daughter, taking pictures of the Lakewood High School cheerleaders, and still trying to have a family life. Yep, pretty busy, just like you.

Then I came across a blog post about fotoLibra. I checked it out. I liked what I saw. I made some uploads and then wrote about it briefly yesterday. And in that writing, I made a mistake.

I said I hadn’t made any money off of my stock photo endeavors so far. After I wrote that, I checked in at iStockphoto (haven’t done that for a very long time). Sure enough, I have had some sales. 3 to be exact, garnering me total commissions of $3.92. For the bathroom photos. That’s right - the bathroom photos. Not the pretty picture of golf carts all lined up in the morning, not the pretty cactus or the corporate biz jet. The bathrooms.

It’s kind of funny really. Some friends of mine thought I was crazy taking a photo of a bathroom, much less a few of them. But you never really know what people want (which is why I like fotoLibra), but apparently I must have at least a little bit of an eye for it. To the tune of almost $4 right now. Woohoo. I might go buy a Chai at Starbucks. That’s only enough to pay for a small though.

Hopefully this is the start of something wonderful. Hopefully fotoLibra is more successful. I really want them to succeed. But as long as my photos are selling somewhere, I guess I am happy.