PBPhoto

Symmetry, originally uploaded by paggre.

So the interesting thing here about using this hour-glass for the subject of symmetry is that . . .well. . .it is not symmetric. It tilts and moves and so I had to correct that in the Gimp.

The other interesting thing here was my first use of a cookie to add some interest to the background. I found some leaf stencils that I used for camouflaging my rifle. Nice effect I think.

Texture, originally uploaded by paggre.

This was another shot for the photo-a-day challenge at http://photochallenge.org.

I like the dark space here. I tried some that were only the pattern of the basket. I think the negative space adds some interest to the photo. Also tried different amounts of fill light from the right using the autoshade. Varied the distance and found that I liked less fill light. The shadows reveal the texture.

So I used my shoot-thru umbrella with the 285HV. I find that I am using the shoot-thru exclusively since I got it. It is nice to get that added aperture by getting the umbrella in very close. The autoshade is very handy and cheap. So if you need a reflector, don't pay $40 for a "photographic" one. Hit your local Wal-Mart and pick up one for $5. I wish they made a gold autoshade. Has anyone seen one?

Be blessed.

Silhoutte, originally uploaded by paggre.

Wow. I was surprised that this got such a positive reaction on flickr. I have done this type of thing with my son before. Makes a cool portrait.

It really couldn't be easier to do. One light with a foam snoot. I set it on 1/4 power. I set the camera to max. sync. For me that is 1/250s. Apeture set to f5.6. That is always my starting point. I adjust from there.

This is taken in a lit room. But the room is f4 @ 1/25s or so. So I am way above ambient.

So the snooted 285HV is behind the subject slightly side-lit. Then you just turn the subject or move the light until you get the effect you are looking for.

Be blessed.

Electronics, originally uploaded by paggre.

I'm taking part in the 2009 challenge at photochallenge.org. The format is a photo-a-day. That is definitely a challenge. Some days there is just no time.

Anyway this was fun. The subject was electronics. Since I work around electronics I could have used all sorts of bleeding edge ball grid arrays but no. I was borrowing my buddy's MESA guitar amp (thanks Mark and Tommy) for practicing. So I remembered the tubes. Old school. And they really do sound better than any solid-state amp. Sorry guys. That is just a fact. I used to be in the solid-state camp. But have since seen the light.

So I lit this with two bare speed lights. Experimented with color a lot. But found that the sepia treatment gave it a vintage look.

Be blessed.

My Other Hobby, originally uploaded by paggre.

So my other hobby is woodworking. I need to look at this as another thing to photograph more often. So, to that end, here is a miter fixture that I made. I got the plans from Woodsmith Shop on TV. I added a plexiglass guard to it as I do with all fixtures. I have good reason since I got bit by this saw a while back. God saw fit to let me keep my thumb so I took that as a reminder to be more safe.

Two lights here. The usual 285HV into silver umbrella @ 1/4 power for the key light from high camera right. Then the 540EZ bare @ 1/32 power for accent light under the table saw.

James James, originally uploaded by paggre.

Another shoot for my wife's blog. Notice the differences between these James. So my two boys were having a knock-down drag-out fight over these things. I, in my most calm and rational voice, said "Have you lost your minds?!!! These things are exactly the same! Now go have a timeout in separate bedrooms!" So we do not let them come out until they have stopped crying so it sounds quiet and I let them come out. Hez starts out, his eyes red from crying, "No Daddy, that is not Eli's because mine has eyebrows!!!" I picked up the little engines to examine them. "Dog gone if you ain't right!" I said. Amazing how they study these toys and notice all the slight variations. So we considered that blog-worthy and I got to photograph the two engines.

Strobist: 1 285HV into silver umbrella choked up and crumpled a little @ 1/4 power camera right, 1 sunpak 411 @ 1/16 power gelled red for the background. Also had the everpresent FEDEX box for a reflector camera left. I put a piece of plexi over a black table top. Almost a granite thing going on. Using the gimp, I sharpened it a little and with the clone tool got rid of a little bleed through from the umbrella on the background.

Please critique if you have time.

Lantern, originally uploaded by paggre.

Here is a shot of a candle in a lantern. I used the WB trick where you set your camera's WB to tungsten so that any light that is the temperature of daylight gets shifted to a nice blue. So I have a bare strobe on the background that has been shifted. Interesting, I took a lot of shots of this thing. It was for a photo challenge themed light fixtures on http://www.photochallenge.org. I included the entire lantern as you can see on my flickr stream. But I found this to be the most interesting photo.

Weeds, originally uploaded by paggre.

This is a decent photo. Sun was setting and very low in the sky such that it was lighting these small flowers from the right and not contaminating the background.