I don’t know about you , but for me softboxes are just too expensive. I enjoy doing portraiture and the like part time, but paying more then 100 even 200$ dollars for a softbox -probably not made here anyway- is not my idea of wise spending. So in my search if an alternative and not looking to cut corners I looked to eBay. I realize many cut corners on eBay to find cheap alternatives, but when I search I look for the most qualified items to stand up to the wear and tear. I came across a softbox sold by the user “PhotoLoving 2008.” I bought my unit several months ago, but a very similar product seems to be offered here from the same seller. I wanted to share a bunch of photos and a sort of review of their product if you are in the market for something similar. I had always wanted a nice softbox for my SB-800, but I never could afford it.

You’d be suprised what you can do with n speedlight off camera. There is quite a lot of power. So much so it works in this 60cm x 60cm (24″ x 24″) more then well. When looking for a softbox it also had to be easy to use. I had read about a collapsible version via an umbrella mechanism which sounded closer to what I wanted, but it still wasn’t enough. I wanted something ultra compact and could go eaisly anywhere and the only difficulty would be dealing with the stand.

This is as small as a package that it gets. Can you believe that? I was surprised myself. I used a NikonD70 for some scale to show you truly how small it is. I mean it’s smaller then many collapsible reflectors (in width)! I will demonstrate piece by piece as I build it into its full setup to show you how it works; with a little description along the way.

This is where we start. All the basic items that come in a kit. Lets break them down and their uses:

• Collapsible Softbox – This is the main piece. It folds together easily like this and then you twist it like a regular reflector to collapse it down to a very small size. Have I stressed how smalled it gets yet?
• Carrying case – It’s a lightweight nylon carrying case with a zipper running half way around its circumference. Every piece you see in the picture above fits inside of it.
• The adapter – This is the magical piece that comes included and allows you to attach your speedlight and point it into the softbox itself. There are two versions. One that is now currently sold and the other that I requested from the last of the batch. Both versions work, but to be honest I prefer the older model. Some will differ in their opinion. More later on the comparison.
• Ring adapter – (Sorry to use adapter twice, I just realized it.) The ring you see is the piece that will attach to the softbox. The rear of the sofbox has protrusions as the structure curves to form the structure. They are slid over the ring itself and holds it firmly in place.
• Inner baffle – This is a great idea in the softbox. The inner baffle is attached inside about 1/4 of the way in from the front. It adds an extra layer of diffusion for the light before it hits your subject. I am not sure if most come with it, but to my knowledge they don’t. A very nice attention to detail.
• Outer diffusion screen – The outer screen material is of high quality. I find no issues with color contrast and the velcro lining for attachment is of high quality. I haven’t found any issues so far and it fits onto the softbox perfectly.

These are the two adapter models. The one on the left is very similar to the style offered (left) and the one that was one of the last at the warehouse (right.) Their customer service was spot on and something I value in a company.

I prefered this setup for one reason. I don’t trust small ball heads. Does the small ballhead work?  Sure does. And there is a great advantage; you don’t need anything else other then a light stand. However I own an umbrella bracket and I prefer using that as an adjustment.

The newer ball head may be better and probably is then the one I recieved. It works and for that I can’t complain. Usually due to the weight of the softbox it only stops tilting at the tightest position. Also on the newest it appears to have gotten rid of the plastic baseplate on top.

The back of the box.

The inner setup sequence.

Here’s the back view and setup once you have your speedlight installed. I pushed the highlights to show you some more detail in the shadows. I only have one flash and the pop-up doesn’t cut it All the more reason to take that speedlight and use it off camera.

All wrapped up in a neat little package. (any simpsons fans out there?)

This softbox comes with everything you need and is of  high quality. I have used this on shoots and it has performed flawlessly. Whether it was formal portraits at a sweet sixteen or just shooting solo it has performed flawlessly. I can highly recommend you get one of your own and start improving your photography. It’s a great light modifier and controls light in a much more controlled fashion then an umbrella. Both forms of light moifiers are important, but when you need to control light and prevent scatter this is your go to product.

Dina was a good sport and allowed me to photograph her using the new softbox. Worked just as I wanted with no issues. In the first photograph of her I added a high wattage incandecent bulb to provide some color and separation from the back. It was great too as I don’t normally like using incandecents, but our basement is so damn cold it worked as a local heat source. The softbox was simply setup 45 degrees from the subject and above the eye line close to the subject. Nothing left to it. One great thing to add about the sale of the sofbox is that the seller actually adds a great visual manual so you know exactly what you are getting. No guessing and completely upfront. I think its a steal for ~60$

Tags: 24x24, 60x60, affordable softbox, off camera flash, photoloving2008, softbox, softbox ebay, speedlight, speedlite
Posted in Gear, Reviews | No Comments »

Looking at locations for a future shoot I decided to take some scouting images. I’d say they were a little more focused and carefully done then scouting images though.  When we finally settled down on a location that really spoke to us we went to town photographing it. The light was just perfect.; mostly cloudy with hints of sun coming through. I set my white balance to cloudy and just cranked away.

This abandoned van had been here for quite some time. I actually tweet’ed with an image of it from my phone while I was birding one day. When I saw it then I immediately knew I would have to come back and set some time aside to photograph it. When we got there it was colder then I had anticipated. Being closer to the shore the winds had picked up naturally and were constantly reminding us with frigged gusts. Despite or numbing fingers we stuck it out and had fun taking photos thinking of concepts for the possible model session. When  approaching the scene I immediately knew I wanted to throw these images into Color eFex Pro. Especially with the tonal contrast filter in mind. There were so many details around and I knew Color eFex Pro would bring it out. I have been reading the beginning of my friend Josh Bradley’s book and it helped me think in exactly that fashion. Not to slobber post processing over all your images, but to think when you see a scene and even before you make that click what you will want to do in post production. I’ve only cracked the front portion of the book and I am already enjoying the style. Makes you think, doesn’t just spoon feed you so that you come out with nothing creative.

I painted in the tonal contrast filter for this one. Can you guess where?… I purposely painted it only on the graffiti. I didn’t want to do it to the surrounding area detracting the viewers eye.

I started far out first with my approach. normally when it comes to wildlife I do a similar technique. Just like photographing wildlife you take a few photos before you make your next steps. Too often when I first started I would try patiently getting closer and closer until I was finally ready to shoot…and swoosh the bird takes off. So I tend to start taking photos off the bat working the best that I can and slowly moving closer and closer as I scope out the details; which this van sure had a ton of.

Pro contrast was the filter of choice here. It all has to do with that sky.

The sky was just fantastic. At first it was a bit heavy on the clouds, but if you pointed your lens in the right direction and used a polarizer you were golden. I exposed for the highlights as the finer details of what was inside was of little importance to this photograph.

Here I used the pro contrast filter instead of tonal contrast. I felt it did a much better job with the sky and it didn’t over saturate the color of the van while making the contours extras crisp.

As I moved closer I really had so slowdown and make sure I was looking at every detail. Particularly the light. If we don’t use the light properly then what would are photographs be am I right? The task of watching the light and how it interacted with our subject was made a bit more difficult due to the changing light. Clouds would roll past the sun causing the image you saw a second ago gone the next. So while you want to take your time at first and get a feel for it don’t hesitate on taking a shot. It’s better to have taken it and not like it then to have not taken it and regret it later.

Angle was important here. As you can see the windows are filled with these fantastic phragmites  and another dormant plant with a perfect complimenting red. I wanted to shoot tall enough so that was all you see. If you look back an image or two you will notice there were other dormant trees. if I shot low enough I would have got them in there ruining the photograph. As for my approach when it comes to the position of my film plane to the subject I tend to want to be on an angle. It makes the 3D subject appear more life-like in your final 2D print. When going on an angle though keep in mind your depth of field. You wouldn’t want some parts in focus while the rest of it not.

A regular pass of the tonal contrast filter was used here. The one thing I wish I removed? (we all miss something now and then) I wish I removed the shattered mirror glass at windshield area.

So this is where I ended up. more often then not when I look back at the images I shot or the day or for a particular session I like them more and more toward the end. I find that as you get out there you are a bit rusty (especially if you don’t have the luxury of shooting every day) and you begin to fall into your groove as you try different things. This applies across all fields for me. Regardless if I am photographing an animal, a person, a sweet sixteen, a waterfall, or a landscape. So next time you are out there start large and work your way in. You never know what you may just come up with.

I used a lighter version of tonal contrast by pulling down back the sliders. Although the tonal contrast looked really cool at its normal setting I felt it was over done and unrealistic.

Tags: color efex pro, nik, pro contrast, tonal contrast
Posted in Photography | 2 Comments »

Common birds seem to be a theme in the past few days I have been out. This healthy male mute swan was standing near his almost fully grown young with his partner. As I walked toward the waters edge I came a bit close passing him by and he eyeballed us the whole way. His breast was a tad hot in the highlights, but not blown by histogram standards. He was a perfect specimen and I couldn’t refuse taking his portrait.

Mostly mallards were at Wolfe’s Pond, but there was some fantastic behavior to be witnessed. It may still be winter, but this male already is looking to pass on his genetics with this female.

This shot tells more a story then it being great all by itself. I was waiting for one of these geese to fly. The pond near Mount Loreto had thawed a bit and there were finally some birds taking advantage. As I approached one of the flock flew right over my head. I thought this would be a great opportunity so I waited to see if they would follow suit.

Unfortunately there was a lot going on in the background and a few dead trees within the pond got in the way as I panned. A big thing that I still practice is controlling yourself and keeping cool as the moment springs into action. If you are waiting on a subject to take flight more often then not things are tense. You may look/feel calm, but as soon as they burst for the sky you are either punching that shutter or panning before it fully takes off. Impulse control is a great thing to have and it will help vastly with situations like these. The more you practice the better you will become.

Tags: mount loreto, mount loreto unique area
Posted in Photography, Staten Island NY | 2 Comments »

Before we got the oddly warm weather in the northeast I went looking for some subjects that would be forced closer due to ice. The waterfowl that come during the winter become nicely concentrated as the lakes and ponds freeze over.  The best result is the ice can force them closer to the edge where you will be waiting for them with your camera.

I was glad the weather had cleared and some great sunshine was making its way through to light up this American coot. Watching for the right light is really important. When I aimed my camera to the right I would get this great blue water, but when I aimed it left the water became a nasty green. It’s important to know how a scene can change with just an angle adjustment.

Mallards are typical in most of America, but it’s hard to pass up a great image no matter how common the bird can be.

Female mallards were not off limits either. Everything was going for this image. The color, the reflection, the composition with the waves. It just had to be taken. Don’t over look the bird that is always close or always easy to photograph. More often then not the common have some pretty awful photos of them due to lack of any care or effort.

The Canada geese became awfully active out of the blue while we were there. You need to be ready for anything. Keeping that trigger finger ready to pull the camera up to your eye and snap that shot. Also if you are stopping down from switching to a wide angle from before and remounted your telephoto keep that in mind. It would be pretty awful to find a fantastic moment to capture and your stuck at f/22 and by the time you readjust the scene is over.

I’ve always wanted to get an image with those red berries and a bird perched. I’ve seen some great ones and this is a step in the right direction to getting one of my own.

Tags: silver lake park, silverlake park
Posted in Photography, Staten Island NY | No Comments »

I put together the last of the videos I am going to post directly on the blog as I want to jump back into the usual routine of digital still photography. Now without further adieu:

Wolves are notoriously very far away when in the wild. They were hunted to extinction for 70years and only recently introduced in the mid-nineties. When you visit enough times you get lucky, but this time no such luck. This was taken with a 2x tele-converter on a 12x optical zoom camcorder. The wolf is toward the center of the frame if that helps

A moose in front of the Teton range, a large bull resting, and another cow on the side of the road.

This last video is of pronghorn that were wandering the lower Grand Teton Area throughout our trip. We were very fortunate to find them as they normally aren’t there in winter. Due to the very low snowfall in Jackson Hole, WY they haven’t been pushed to migrate north.

Posted in Montana, North-Western Wyoming, Northern Portion of Yellowstone, Video [Wildlife] | 4 Comments »