Thanks for the notes about lighting, Michael! What I'm looking for is an easy, portable, inexpensive piece of lighting for a shot that I do with seven dogs indoors every year for a Christmas card. So I won't be close up. The shot is in someone's small living room and everything is always a little out of control, so whatever I use needs to be low-key. I have used a diffuser and bounced light off the
ceiling, but I think I need something more robust. Is there such a thing?? Rondi On Oct 30, 2011, at 11:44 PM, Michael Elenko wrote:
Thanks for the kind feedback compadres.One more request: I'd like to shots that others on our POV list are creating, so please feel free to share. It's quite OK just to include low-res jpegs as attachments.To answer a few questions:1.These were taken over a few days last week after the rains had hit. Often more mushrooms popup the next non-rainy day. I'm sure even better opportunities will occur this week.2. Rondi, here is the Amazon link for the ring light:http://www.amazon.com/Macro-Flash-LED-Light-lenses/dp/B0031AQ302/ ref=sr_1_9?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1320012704&sr=1-9This is not a flash, but a modeling light that stays on. Makes accurate exposure and focusing a little easier. LEDs are kind to AA batteries. But the index value is very low, (not much light is generated) so you need to be close-in. One of these days I'll get a replacement for the Sigma which was much more powerful--but suffered from poor quality control.An alternative for closeups, is to use a diffuser on an external flash, and place that off camera. I like to experiment by moving it around at literally a few dozen different angles for some added drama. Indoor effectiveness depends on what your subject is. Light tents are a lot of fun to use and pretty easy to make from PVC pipe and some opaque white material such as scrap Tyvek (house wrap). There are dozens of websites that show how. I've setup two synch'd external diffused lighting sources each at a 45-degree angle with additional lower-power lights coming in from the sides.Note that none of these are portrait ring flashes that produce a flat halo-ish image that comes in and out of style (I like the look personally). I've read about the Ray Flash and the Orbis Flash which convert your hot-shoe connected external flash to a portrait ring flash. Not quite as good as the Alien Bees product, but a lot cheaper.ME Michael Elenko Eye In The Triangle Photography 206-226-3315
Rondi Lightmark LIGHTMARK PRESS home of Great Dog Greetings/Cat Cards A Promise to Love you Unconditionally! PO Box 13215 Burton, WA 98013 206-463-0831 206-463-1803 Fax http://lightmarkpress.com info@lightmark press.com
