Spyder Cube

Back sometime ago I did a review of the Spyder Cube Gray Card. As it turns out, I have 5 of these available for sale. Datacolor helped sponsor my workshops in Europe this past summer and these are the only ones remaining.

I'm asking $45.00 a piece for them, which includes shipping in the States. Please let me know if you are interested. DT

Barndoors - A Creative Tool

This past summer, I spent 2 weeks conducting workshops throughout Austria. At one of those workshops, I demonstrated the creative use of a really cool modifier. I carry a set of barndoors in my lighting kit at all times. I use a set of speedlight modifiers produced by Gadget Brando out of Hong Kong. I wrote a post about these modifiers back in 09.

This is a photograph of Wolfgang at one of those workshops. I used a Lumiquest Softbox LPT for the main light and one SB-800 with a set of barndoors for the background. Barndoors allow you to shape the hard light coming from your speedlight to almost any shape within the square to rectangle shape. Barndoors are very flexible in that they allows you to create more interesting backgrounds and also focus your view attention to specific areas of the photograph.

In my lighting kit I usually carry 2 sets of barndoors. Their light weight and take no space in my bag. I'll also use barndoors on lights that are place facing towards my camera position. I can use the adjustable blades of the doors to help prevent flare in my lens. You can see here in the photo below how that might be used.


I have a Small Strobes, Big Results workshop coming up on the 25th of Feb. here in Denver. If your interested in attending, you can learn more about that HERE. The full website for Small Strobes, Big Results is HERE. DT

Gulf Photo Plus 2012

March 5-10th, 2012 in Dubai! The schedule is out and it is going to be a great one! I'm very excited to be teaching once again at Gulf Photo Plus. This will be my 3rd year teaching and I'm looking forward to visiting with friends and teaching a few new courses.

I'll be teaching 2 of my Small Strobe Big Results workshops and two new course. One called "Corporate Photography & How to Build a Successful Business" and the other SSBR "The Next Step"

The instructors this year include David Hobby, Steve Simon, Bobbi Lane, Chris Hurtt, Joe McNally, David Nightingale, Martin Prihoda, Claire Rosen, Zack Arias, David Burnett, Greg Heisler and me.

For a complete run down of the workshops offered this year Click HERE

Preparing For An Up Coming Assignment

I have an interesting assignment coming up which has taken quite a bit of preparation. I'm headed to Ghana to shoot some mining for a long time client of mine. I have photographer throughout South America, Southeast Asia and the United State for more than 13 years for them.

This will be the first time shooting in the country of Ghana, I'm looking forward to the experience. My Visa has been finalized and I've had all my immunizations. Yellow fever shots, Tetanus, Diphtheria, Polio, Meningococcal and I've started my 4 doses for the prevention of Typhoid fever.


I have a large list of photos to take, it will take at least a full week to complete the assignment. I have to pack my gear carefully, I'll need some lighting and a few modifiers, stands and various grip equipment. I'll be traveling with my camera roller (Think Tank International), a personal bag and another roller carrying stands, modifiers and grip gear.

I'll give you the full details on the gear and the trip a bit later. I did a recent shot in the studio and I thought I's share that with you here. Normally, I shoot studio still life using my old studio strobes. The provide a modeling light and it is much easier to see your lighting position at any given time. I wanted a bit of a challenge and decided to use my SB-800's with just LumiQuest modifiers. Here is what I did.


Let me tell you about the photo above. As many of you might remember, my father passed away about 3 years ago. I was left with his childhood stamp collection, stamps from around the world dating back to the 1850's. In going through his collection I found the follow item.

One of the albums was actually my Grandfather's, he was the president of Bolivia 1934-36. The album contained a letter that traveled on the Graf Zeppelin from South America to Los Angeles. I thought it would make for a wonderful photo.

Here is the set-up. I used a total of 3 Speedlights, 2 with LumiQuest Snoots and 1 fitted with the Softbox LTP. The Softbox over the set was used for a fill light and the Snooted Speedlights as the main and detail light. Here's a photo of the set.

You can certainly do a lot with a small amount of lights! By the way, I'll be teaching at Gulf Photo Plus in Dubai again this year. The GPP will be held March 5 - 10, 2012. I'll be teaching (2) SSBR lighting workshops and a new 3 day workshop called Corporate Photography and How to Build a Successful Business. I'd be re-missed if I did not mention that I still have space in my Feb. 25, 2012 SSBR workshop here in Denver. If you would like more information about that workshop you can learn more HERE

Guitars at Long Island Photo Workshops

Back in August of 2011, I was teaching at the Long Island Photo Workshops. This is one of the many photos I took as demonstrations during the week. This was a three light setup with an additional bounce.

Let's take a look at the setup below to see how this shot was created.

As I mentioned, I used a total of 3 Speedlights for this photograph. The main or key was placed on a boom and the modifier is a Lumiquest Softbox LTp. I had my assistant Benny hold a 42" reflector to bounce additional light under the brim of the musicians hat. The other two Speedlights were wrapped with cinefoil or black wrap. The rear light was fitted with a full CTO and directed on the garage door just above the shoulder. This light not only adds some color to the image, but also acts as a separation light. The other Speedlight was directed to the tattoo on the arm.

Here is another photo from that same session.

Two Speedlights used here for this shot. On the left (Key Light) a straight hard light with no gel on the flash. I get a blue cast from this light because my white balance is set to Tungsten or Incandescent. On the right, another Speedlight place on the ground with a double CTO on the flash. A very cool shot with such little gear. Here is the setup shot for you to review.




By the way, if you would like to see a complete list of light gear it use you can see my public wish list at B&H HERE.