On March 6th, 2010, I'll be conducting a lighting workshop at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, OH. This is one of the largest Sports Festivals in the country, it starts March 4th and runs through the 7th. If your in the area, I hope you'll join us!
Old Grids Still Have A Life
Why not use your existing over sized grids or buy some used grids for your Speed lights. I went to Ace Hardware Store and bought a rubber "Reducing Coupling" which fits perfectly over my Nikon SB-800's.
This Reducing Coupling is a 4" to 2" in size, the small end of the coupling fits snugly over the head of my SB-800 Strobe. With the use of a small bungie cord you can easily hold your grid in place. The length of the Reducing Coupling places the grid at such a distance that the projected light has a wonderful quality to it. Better than if you where to just place the grid on the face of the strobe.
You can pick up new grids for around $25 each however most grids are sold in sets of 4. Looking on ebay just now show several sets for sale, my guess is that you could pick up a set for between $50 and $75 bucks.
You get a nice projected looking light when the grid is out in front of the flash lens. This is a great way to put to use some old grids on those heavy studio strobes you use to carry. DT
Survey
I am looking for your input regarding my Small Strobes, Big Results Workshops. You will notice that I have up a Poll or Survey on the right hand banner of my blog.
I would like to know what days of the week would work best for you if you were to attend one of my workshops. The majority of my workshops have been held on Saturdays. If you're a wedding shooter this could be problematic.
Anyway, please let me know your thoughts by filling out the survey. You can mark more that one day. Thanks a bunch. DT
Available Small Strobes, Big Results workshops: Denver Jan 10th, 2009 (2 spaces available), Philly, PA at Eastern State Penitentiary, San Francisco April 13th, Orange County, CA April 16th,
Private Mentoring is Always an Option
There have been several individuals asking about my availability for private mentoring. For those that prefer private one on one instruction rather than a workshop setting, I am available do just that.
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I did just that with Mike Lavoie of Indiana. Mike was interested in attending the Indianapolis Small Strobes, Big Results workshop held several weeks ago. The workshop had sold out before Mike could secure a spot for himself. Mike was very interested in jump starting his lighting education and decided to arrange private instruction while visiting family in Colorado Springs during Thanksgiving. He had a wonderful time and I thought I'd share his comments with you here.
"I had viewed Davids work on line for several months. I was intrigued by the masterful speedlight techniques, blended with ambient light apparent in all his photos. The corporate work he was doing especially caught my eye. With the use of several speedlights, slaves and natural light, David is able to paint images with light in much the same way that the old masters painted on canvas.
I quickly realized that he was light years ahead of me and if I didn't have the intelligence to outright steal his secrets from his photos then I would have to ante up and pay for them. I contacted David and was told that he was holding one of his workshops in Indianapolis but that it was sold out. It worked out that I was spending my Thanksgiving holiday with family in Colorado and it was quickly agreed that I would meet David at his home near Denver for a "one on one" session.
His passion for the project was obvious the moment I arrived and the chemistry between us was immediate and comfortable. It started with the excellent coffee and jetted into high gear in a no non-sense, structured hands on course that has elevated my photographic thinking to the next level. I was able to use all the resources of Davids' studio, both software and hardware equipment. I was taken through several different lighting setups. This was not with the intention of my parroting his setups but rather to open the doors of my own creative vision. I cannot recommend a private session with David highly enough. It is money well spend, an investment in my business that will be returned many times over. Thank you, David!!!"
Mike
Memoirs of a Weekend Photographer
Just a quick note: I was recently interview by Lawrence Atienza, his the brains behind the blog "Memoirs of a Weekend Photographer". My interview will be available just after the New Year on January the 11th.
RangeFinder Radio Interview
I totally forgot about this. In conjunction with the print article that Tammy Cravit wrote about me for the September issue of RangeFinder Magazine, I also provided an additional interview with Scott Sheppard at RangeFinder Radio. If you would like to hear the interview click HERE