adrian_byng_clarke

<p>Yeah.. AB800s are great -- to start out I would suggest you just get one + modifiers + background etc..</p>

<p>Thanks all.. I'm going to give the Alien Bees a shot. I'm interested in that silver interior baffle.. will look into that.</p>

<p>I have some Alien Bees Strobes (AB800s) and have gotten by happily with umbrellas and large (DIY) diffusion panels . I find myself in the market for a large softbox (looking to use my light more efficiently with less waste/spill and quicker setup) but finding it hard to come to a decision..<br>

While I have been really happy with the Alien Bee lights, I see mixed reviews about their light-modifiers particularly their softboxes. Also Paul C. Buff has recently discontinued his line of non-folding softboxes. I need to find something that works well for the price but also won't fall apart after a few sessions. The ABs seem like the cheapest thing around in part because they include the speed rings -- otherwise $29. A Giant 30x60" Foldable Softbox goes for $159 + shipping. But I'm concerned about quality and heard that the foldable boxes can oclude some of the light with the inner supports therby casting a shadow. Any advice? I've been very happy with my 'Bees.. i'm just not sure about the softboxes.. Are there any softboxes that provide as good bang:buck ratio as my AB800. I'm willing to spent a bit more .. but only for a tangible reason. </p>

<p>CLS is great but its true it can fail you in really bright light or can be triggered by other shooters. Pocket wizards are nice but hard to justify the expense for some. I think a lot depends on what you are shooting (indoors/outdoors etc..) . CLS is a great tool.</p>

<p>Bees.. very happy with my B800.. plenty of power for my needs. Flashpoint who? ;)</p>

<p>You can't go wrong with the Sekonic L-358</p>

<p>I don't think it really matters. I happen to be a Nikon user, in part because I was a Nikon film SLR user and had lenses. Nikon CLS is nice but Canon's have their strengths as well.</p>

<p>I second the nomination for Light, Science and Magic. Its a great book that I keep learning from.</p>

<p>It's nice to have a normal (and 'normal' AKA inconspicuous) lens to walk around. People on the street put up their guard when they see a zoom lens. The 35mm 1.8 G is an excellent lens.</p>

<p>Aperture 2 is lagging behind Lightroom 2 in several areas. Raw conversion, output sharpening and performance just to name a few. Even among mac users the adoption rate of Lightroom 2 is double that of Aperture 2.<br>

If Apple lets Adobe do another major release of Lightroom, it would be like getting lapped. This is a case were Apple's normal product secrecy backfires. There is no real evidence that a new Aperture 3 is coming out or when. Even the normal rumor sites are pretty quiet about Aperture.<br>

One concern is how hard it is to migrate an entire library from Aperture to Lightroom. As I understand there is no good way to transport edits. I love the Aperture interface philosophy but if the feature and performance gap widens much more and there is no sign of a new release, I might have to make the painful transition.</p>

<p>It's funny, I just bought 2 rolls of 120 film a couple of three days back for the first time in about 3 years. I've been shooting digital but found that I miss the 6X6 format and large physical negative/positive. Sadly it does look like things have changed in the arena of processing film. My favorite lab (Zona in Somerville, MA) shut down some time last year as well as a few other good local ones. Even where I bought the film, it just seemed that there were fewer choices of film (especially 120/220) available in the store although that's not a problem online. 35mm film can still be processed at just about any 1 hour photo joint -- but medium format seems to always be sent out further and further (and potentially lost).<br>

I agree that film will be around for a while but the decline is clear. Photograhers commited to the format will just need to be more flexible. More mail order (film/processing) and perhaps more at home processing/scanning. Those aren't necessarily bad things.</p>

<p>Slings/messenger bags are nice for a few hours of shooting, although for a full day of walking/shooting, they can seem pretty heavy. All the weight is on just one shoulder at a time.<br>

If you're looking for just a messenger bag then Courrier ware has some very durable ones that you can even customize if you send in fabric. http://www.courierbags.com. They have some foam inserts available for support and padding (or depending on the bag you can make your own if you sacrifice a few external pockets) and its well disguised as a camera bag. The bags are made out of some really tough nylon and last forever. I've had mine for over 10 years and besides a camera bag it has also served as book-bag and a diaper bag ;)<br>

It seems that one constant among long-time photographers is the accumulation of a variety of bags that they have tried and now never use or use under specific conditions. Bring your gear with you when you're trying out bags and don't rush yourself. As others have said, it doesn't help you too much if your bag doesn't look like a camera bag since inevitably your camera will come out of it. I would focus on something comfortable to carry that accommodates how you use your gear.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Here is a site on the background holder. I've heard of some people spray painting them matte black just to appear more professional.<br>

http://www.diyphotography.net/homestudio/blz/home-made-cheap-diy-backdrop-stand</p>

<p>Alien bees are not available in stores. Mail-order only but I highly reccomend them. Calumet genesis is a reasonable starter outfit as well. </p>

<p>It sort of depends on what kind of portrait you're trying to accomplish. most photographers will have both and use the right tool for the job. Softboxes can produce the softest/closest light most easily. Then its shoot-thru umbrellas and after that reflected umbrellas (most directional/strong) A good softbox is quite a jump-up in price compared to an umbrella. <br>

The combination, shoot thru/reflective kind are the best value IMHO.</p>

<p>http://www.calumetphoto.com/item/AU3045/</p>

<p>However, You'll like want both at some point down the line..</p>

<p>If I recall.. You take a reading as you do now. Then hit the AVE button then push and hold-down the button to take a measurement. Fire the second strobe for which you want a difference. While you keep the measurement button held-down you should see the difference value.</p>

<p>You can get a large (9') roll of light/middle gray seemless background paper at a good photo store for around $40-50. The gray is most versatile because you can light it to look like black, white or any shade of gray in between. Also with color gels applied to your background lightin you can vary the colors.<br>

http://www.calumetphoto.com/item/CS2723/<br>

I recently picked up a seemless canvas drop cloth at an Ace Harware store for about $20. For now I'm just using it as is.. but there are multiple threads sites that go over dyeing , or even tie-dyeing them as muslin backgrounds.<br>

http://www.diyphotography.net/homestudio/chaep-diy-muslin-photography-background</p>

<p>You can find a "rod" pretty inexpensively in an hardware store (plumbing section) as well as some A clamps. </p>

<p>looks better than another DIY ring flash I've seen recently. The catchlight however reveals that the light is not evenly distributed around the ring. Besides the uneveness, it makes for a distracting catchlight.</p>

<p>yeah this is a great lens.. My first choice for portrait on a DSLR</p>

Thanks.. that's exactly what I'm trying to find tools for Output Sharpening. I think I'm pretty happy with Aperture's Raw Fine

Tuning for Capture Sharpening and I can use Aperture's Edge Sharpening for Creative Sharpening. However, the Output

Sharpening controls are lacking -- there is a sharpening slider available in the print menu (but not the export presets)..

although it seems pretty crude -- it doesn't take into account what you are printing to and anyway I sent my files out for

printing (Costco/Ofoto etc..). I'm trying to find a tool that can handle this part better -- but all of the popular tools appear to

be photoshop plugins. Isn't there a way to do this either as an automator task or maybe some stand alone application with

a batch processing mode? I'm looking for something that will take into account the size, the printing method etc.. this looks

like a major gap in Aperture's offering.

Yep thanks.. from what I understand.. its still better to resize first and then sharpen after that. In any event I tend to be

generating prints.. and would need to apply sharpening accordingly.

Hi,

 

I've been using Apple Aperture 2 for a while now. Overall I'm very happy with the workflow and how it organizes my images. However,

since I always shoot RAW with no in camera sharpening I find that I need some sharpening when preparing the final print. From what I

understand.. its always best to postpone your sharpening until your file is in final output size.

 

I'd like to figure out a way to take some selected images (an album or project etc..) save it for a particular printer and with an appropriate

amount of sharpening (ideally based on the image) in an automated flow. I can manager the other parts of this problem just fine.. sizing,

ICC profile, etc.. just fine with the export presets and automator. My main issue right now is reasonable print size specific batch

sharpening.

 

Does anybody know of an automator task or export plugin that can do this? I understand that Adobe Photoshop CS3 has an automator

task for sharpening but was not looking to buy Photoshop just for that. Also I would be thrilled to find some good context sensitive

sharpening like what you can get from Focal Blade, Nik Sharpening etc.. Any recommendations?

 

Thanks,

 

Adrian

I think its easier to learn with 1 light and a couple of reflectors and then adding lights one by one as you learn the ins outs of what you

have. I think that's also similar to the general philosophy of the strobist.

Its well worth the $20 -- I use mine all the time. The omni bounce it setup to bounce most of the light against the ceiling but some goes

directly to the subject so it does provide an even light. Its similar to using a bounce card on your flash but I find it quicker and easier to

use. I also like it to attenuate the flash when out doors --- as fill.. but I suppose you could also make the flash power adjustement.