As you may have gathered, I have been taking pictures of some local glassblowers and the work they produce. I have also been trying to take pics of the guys in action, but I was missing one key piece of equipment - a proper lens filter.

The glass that these guys use for their artistic glasswork is called borosilicate. When it is introduced into the flame, you get a very long sodium flare, as illustrated by the photo at left. The best way to counter this effect is to employ a Didymium filter. The glassworkers have eyewear made from it, and you can order large square pieces of it to use as a type of shield for a glassworking station. But you cannot easily find a camera filter made from this stuff. So I contacted the company that the glassworkers get their eyewear from. Turns out that Aura Lens, based in Minnesota, can take a normal UV filter, remove the filter element, and replace it with Didymium treated glass. Mine arrived last week (cost was roughly $70).

Friday I went to the glassworkers studio and took about 150 shots. The picture at the top of this article was shot through the Didymium filter. Compare that to the unfiltered shot further down and you can really see the difference.

Lighting these situations can be pretty tricky, depending on what you want to show. For a few of the pics, I wanted to be sure I got the workers hands in the image, or part of their workspace. To accomplish this, I placed my homemade softbox on my Olympus FL-36 flash, mounted on my Gorillapod and fired with the Cactus remote triggers. I moved it around a bit during the shoot, and was pleased with the results.

I love the doors that photography and website management and consulting have opened for me. I have been able to travel to some interesting places (Detroit Auto Show, Toronto) and also meet interesting people and learn about new things (the glassblowing, a recent photo shoot about wine). I am especially pleased to be involved in the main project these glassblowers are working on - The Community Carbon Project. Cool glassware that is recycled and useful. Can’t beat that.

I don’t recall where I first saw mention of the PRESSLite VerteX bounce card system, but I remember being intrigued. I think it was about 2 weeks ago, and I was so intrigued, I ordered one immediately. Two days later I had a box in my mailbox, the VerteX had arrived.

The box contained 10 pieces total, 4 of which are reflective cards (2 white, 2 mirrored). Putting it together was very easy, and I didn’t need the included instruction sheet. When putting it together, I did leave the protective film on one side of the mirrored cards so that they would be all good if I ever needed to flip over and use them. I’d say it took me a total of maybe 5 minutes to put this item together.

Then I had to figure out what to shoot. I wanted a simple scenario where I could show the effects of angling the cards, the card holder bracket, and also a control for what it looks like without any bounce. I settled on a small table in a corner, shooting downward with the flash on top of my camera. The photo at left is my control case. Throughout this series of test shots, please feel free to click on a thumbnail to see the larger photo.
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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.

So I hesitate in sharing this, but since there is no way for anyone to know the identity of this young wrestler, except for the wrestler himself, I decided to share. 

There are some things you don’t expect to see. You shoot lots of things, and really, X-ray vision isn’t something anyone but Superman should expect to have the use of. Apparently, under the right circumstances, anyone with a camera can have this vision. You just don’t know it, and neither did I until Sponge Bob was staring at me while I was editing my take. 

There are certain things everyone should be aware of when shooting sports that involve lycra. Black is not opaque, and neither is purple, as is quite apparent. And when a flash hits purple, it could be considered downright non-existent. Be careful what you capture, and always check your sports edits closely before making them public. Watch out for cracks, crevasses and other unsightly areas. The humility you save may be your own. 

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.

Photo by Karl Zemlin
Ever since I got an external flash for my Canon Powershot G5, I have been researching and building home made light modifiers. Some are more elaborate than others, some look better than others, but they have all had the desired effect. Here is a rundown of the ones I have tried, with links to instructions (some might go to videos). The DIY softbox above is one I have not made yet, but you can get the plans here.

Milk Jug Diffuser

The milk jug diffuser is one of the simplest ones to make. Lop off the end of a milk jug, slot the edges so it will wrap around your flash head, and presto chango - instant diffuser. Not as pretty or professional looking as a Gary Fong Lightsphere, but it will get the job done. I haven’t made one of these yet. We have our milk delivered, and their jugs are much heavier gauge than the store bought ones. Hmm, that might make for better diffusion though. I’ll have to see if they are so thick as to not be pliable enough to fit on the flash.

MuzzBounce™ Ghetto Flash modifier

The MuzzBounce™ Ghetto Flash modifier is similar to the milk jug diffuser in that it uses a translucent jug (mine was from windshield wiper fluid). The effect is different though. It is designed to redirect (bounce) the light from a flash, while at the same time diffusing it. It works quite well in portrait and macro photography. I built my first one shortly after I got my new Olympus E-510 and FL-36 flash. My wife made a comment immediately, something about spending so much money on a camera only to put a jug on it. I thought it was a funny comment, but it didn’t stop me from using it around the house. Certainly doesn’t project a professional image though. Not really sure what the “professional” (store bought) equivalent would be, but if you spent enough time on this one, you could make it look professional.

DIY Reflector-Diffuser

I have a slightly different version (cannot find the site it was on now) of the DIY Reflector-Diffuser. It is on;y slightly different, and the results are pretty much the same. I like it so much, I keep it in my camera backpack all the time and use it fairly frequently. Construction is very easy, using craft foam from a hobby shop. The DIY Reflector-Diffuser site also includes plans you can print and use as templates when cutting the craft foam. This is a “must make” for the do it yourself light modifier. Other alterations I have seen include cutting a honeycomb pattern (with large hexagons) into the modifier to let more light escape vertically.

A Better Bounce Card

This was one of the first thing I tried. A simple bounce of light from my flash, that allowed enough light loss to spread the remaining light out properly. It worked OK, but I certainly liked the results from my Muzzbounce better. The plans for A Better Bounce Card have been updated to use craft foam. I think the original may have been something else, as simple as copy paper. It certainly served it’s purpose though.

The Finn Bounce

For those of you with a P&S camera that has a pop-up flash (or even a DSLR like my E-510 that has a pop-up), the Finn Bounce is an easy to make light reflector (bounce card) that, given it’s size, has a tremendous impact on the quality of your pics. Don’t take my word for it, find a piece of cardstock, rubber cement and aluminum foil, then follow the 9 easy steps to make it. You will be glad you did.

This covers the ones I have tried. Below is a list of ones I want to try, along with the softbox that led this article. Hope this has been worthwhile to you.

Miscellaneous Others I Have Not Tried

Here are some highlights of projects I plan to try at some point:

• DIY Softbox
• DIY Ringlight (Flickr groups, particularly the Strobist one, are a great resource for DIY light modification projects.)
• A different ringlight idea
• Homemade lightbox for product photos
• Inexpensive Light Tent for product photos

Model Jenn from the Colorado Strobist beginners workshop held at the North Denver Photographers Studio

jenn-9-web, originally uploaded by Dizzle @ 2*3 Photos.

I attended my first gathering with the Colorado Strobist group from Flickr. It was a beginners workshop put on by Curtis Bullock at the North Denver Photographers studio. I had a blast!

While I have been playing with flash photography for the club stuff I have been doing I haven’t really done much more than slap a flash on top my Canon 40D and go off to shooting.

Curtis showed me, in about 15 minutes an amazing world I have been missing and one that I plan to fully embrace. We played with wireless triggers, shoot-through umbrellas and soft boxes. Playing with how things as simple as changing your shooting angle can change the effects of the light.

The model for the night, Jennifer, was amazing and really fun to work with. This was also my first time shooting in studio with a Model Mayhem model and I have to say it was a great experience. I do hope to be able to work with more models like Jennifer.

As I say all the time, I am always learning and growing as a photographer and I think this 3-hour workshop has gone a long ways toward enhancing my work.

A few weeks ago, Microsoft Photosynth hit the Net. A few of the blogs I follow talked about it, and it looked interesting. I had some time during my conference in Phoenix, so I made a “synth” of my room at the Westin Kierland Resort in Scottsdale, AZ. I downloaded the PDF synth guide with instructions for making a new synth, and set about shooting the room. I wound up with 78 photos.

I shot them in RAW, so I exported them from Lightroom 2 and then started the upload process. This is where my frustration started. It took over 4 hours to upload those pictures. Luckily I had other things to do, like go to the pool and then a dinner engagement, so I left to do that.

When I came back after dinner, the little green box said it was done, and that my photos were “58% synthy”. Whatever that means. I proceeded to load the synth, and was not pleased with the results. For whatever reason, I had expected this to work like other synths I had seen, that acted like a virtual walk-through. I took pictures of the room, the balcony, and the bathroom. I took “approach” photos that I thought my be what synth needed to construct the next scene in the walkthrough. It didn’t do any of this.

You are probably asking why I did all this, and expected a result other than what I achieved. Fair enough. It’s because the PDF instruction set didn’t have specific directions for how to do this. In the absence of those directions, I made an assumption. I wonder how many other people are experiencing this.

Oh well. I don’t really see an application for this anyway. You have to download software to even view these things. When you consider that Flash is on 99% of computers out there, it makes more sense to do virtual tour types of things in Flash than this thing. It’s a solution without a problem.