Current Score: Noah - 2, Broken Sigma Flashes - 0

Well, today I got my third Sigma "EF 500 DG Super" flash, and the second one I picked up for a song. I bought the first one a few years a go to go with my D-Reb.

Number 2 and 3 both came in needing a little love.

I bought Number 2 from a guy who had broken off part of the plastic hot-shoe mount, and wondered why it wasn't working with his Digital Rebel anymore. There is a switch on the D-Reb's hot-shoe that senses if a flash is attached, and the part of the flash's mount that broke off happened to be the same piece that triggered the switch. $15 for a new hot-shoe mount from Sigma, and it works like new.

Number 3 came in the mail today. The guy I bought it from said it just suddenly stopped working, and had no physical damage. As soon as it arrived, I noticed 2 things - there was some corrosion on some of the battery contacts, and the pop-out wide angle diffuser had one of the tabs broken so it slid all the way out.

I didn't know if the flash was done for, but I've had pretty good luck with using basic logic and very little electrical knowledge to repair stuff, (or at least figure out the obvious stuff). I spent a few hours of "quality time" with my favorite screwdriver, (and a roll of Scotch tape to keep the screws and parts together), and pretty much dissected the whole thing. Nothing seemed out of place, so I went ahead and put it all back together.

A word of caution if you plan on trying this at home - wait a long time after you've taken the batteries out (days / weeks?) so the capacitor can discharge. There is a lot of power in the sucker, and the last thing you want to do is have it charge fully, and they empty itself out into your neural pathways. Luckily, this thing has been dead for quite a while, so I was pretty safe.

I got it back together, and worked a bit more on the battery contacts. I scratched them up a bit more, and used a WD-40 "pen" I keep in my bag for work, (you never know when you're going to need WD-40!). I also had to work on some of the corrosion down at the bottom of the battery holder, but after cleaning it out a bit it turned right on and popped without a problem.

A little WD-40 and some steel wool (or a sharp tool to scratch) can go a long way when you find leaking batteries in your gadgets.

I like the Sigma flashes. They seem to be at the right "bang-for-the-buck" point that I go for in my gear. Since I'm not Pro, I don't have the money to drop for the Canon stuff, but the Sigma's still have a guide number of 50M @ 105mm, and have most of the bells and whistles (like E-TTL wireless control) that the big boys do.

I was looking for a nice Nikon SB-24/25/26/28, but with the popularity of the Strobist "less-is-more" movement, those are getting harder to come by, so I keep an eye out for a nice Sigma that needs a little TLC.

Life, the Universe, and Flash Exposure Compensation

I was dinking around on the DPReview.com forums, and I found a great page on getting the most of your on-camera flash, and how to use things like Exposure Compensation and Flash Exposure Compensation to get the best mix of natural light and on-camera flash.

PlanetNeil photography - techniques for better flash photography

He has some great info on how important it is to use your camera in Manual Mode, but allow the Flash to work in TTL (i-TTL,eTTL, eTTL II, etc). This will allow you greater control over how much natural light you meter for, and by adjusting the Flash Exposure Compensation, you can control how much flash power augments the natural light.

The big thing I got out of the page was how to adjust Flash Exposure Comp based on the tonal quality of the scene:

• When using Ambient light, start with the Flash Exp Comp at -1 to -3
• When using the flash as the main light source, start with Flash Exp Comp at +0.6
• If shooting a mainly bright scene, raise Flash Exp Comp to make sure that the camera doesn't think there is enough light because of a highly reflective object (such as a white dress) and underexposes the face, eyes, etc
• If shooting a mainly dark scene, lower the Flash Exp Comp to make sure the camera doesn't think it needs to drain the flash because of a light-sucking object, (such as a black suit, or a dark backdrop) and overexposes the face, eyes, etc

I think I need to take some of my 5-in-1 reflectors, one with the Black side out, and one with the White side out, and play with how to set my Flash Exp Comp when shooting one white/one black, two whites, two blacks, etc, and come up w/ a "cheat sheet" for how to figure out the Flash Exp Comp for a given scene.

Give it a read. If you own a camera and a flash unit, you own it to yourself to check it out; there is a lot of good info there.

Kunal, Glenda, and Kaden

One of my friends from work asked me to take pictures of his family and his 9-week-old son, (OK, really I kept hounding them until they gave in...)

For a 9-week-old, Kaden was super alert. We was wide awake, and interacted very well with both Mom & Dad. He did have a bit of a gastrointestinal issue that left a few spots on the backdrop, (and Momma's jeans...), but that's just part of being a munchkin.

Kunal, Glenda, Kaden - 4/14/2007

The last time I shot an infant I also used the white backdrop, (sheet of Muslin from Joann's Fabrics), but it wasn't as bright as I would have liked. I found that Paul C Buff, (makers of my AlienBees strobes) had started a Forum w/ some tips and tricks. I found a post on how to setup an AlienBees 3-Light High Key Portrait Setup and thought I'd give it a try, (since I only have 3 lights...).

Basically, I used two of my Bees w/ umbrellas to blast the backdrop (+2 stops over what I metered the subject for), my third light on a Large Softbox (32"x40") for key, and a reflector for fill.

The reflector was just resting on a small stand I had, so it was constantly being knocked over. I think next time I get a little cash, I'm going to pick up a reflector stand so it will stay where I want it to go.

I still think I need to add some more warmth to my camera settings. Even white balanced the colors just don't seem to "Pop". Someone I bought some gear on eBay from suggested getting some "warming gels" and put them inside the softbox to warm up the skin tones.

Everyone that they show the pictures to seems to really like them. Kunal today told me that a bunch of his wife's friends asked about getting their family pictures done, but didn't know if I wanted to be "bothered" with them asking me to take pics for them. It's a hobby, and I'm practicing, so said they could call me if they wanted to.

It's all fun and games, until someone wants to pay me, and then it just feels like work... :(

Yes, I admit it, I own a Lightsphere ... <shame>

I know the guy at Strobist would just hang his head in shame at me, but I decided to try the old Lightsphere II "Cloud". I just saw too many "Pros" walking around with them doing outdoor work. I thought I might has well try it out...


I've been using a Stofen OmniBounce for indoor stuff of the family, and it does pretty well for bouncing, but I wanted something a little more softer for the everyday stuff, and to add a little more light when I do shoot outside.

It really helps to soften things quite a bit. My Sigma 500 "Super" flash sometimes blows out the picture even with it on, but I think that has to do with my Digital Rebel only having one metering mode, so even on Auto I have to fiddle w/ exposure.

They also have an "AmberDome" to add a little more warmth + balance out the color, and a "Chromedome" that helps toss more light forward for when you don't have a lot of walls/ceilings to bounce off.

I'm not sure why, but the Chromedome seems to be as expensive as the Lightsphere itself. I'm thinking of trying my luck at buying another $10 "InternalDome" like the one that came with the Lightsphere, cutting a hole in the middle, dousing the whole thing w/ silver paint, and adding a little "kicker" to bounce some light back. We'll have see how inventive (read "cheap") I get...

Aaron, Hannah, and Pauli pics

I was lucky enoughh to have my Mother, and two of my siblings visit from the West Coast. We had a blast showing them the South, and before they left I had a chance to throw the backdrop and softboxes up and get a pic or two of them.

I think I need to add a yellow/orange/warming gel to the boxes, because the pics look a little cold, but I'd say they turned out pretty good for a hobbyist...

Aaron, Hannah, and Pauli Portraits

First Newborn shoot

A lady came down to adopt a newborn baby girl, and visited our Church while she was here. The wife and sister-in-law gushed about my past pictures, and she invited me to take pictures of the two of them.

The baby was very young, in fact I think she was only 3 weeks only when I took these pics. This was the first time I took pictures of someone with dark skin, let alone someone less than a month old.

Luckily, she had an idea of what she wanted, and brought some white towels and some other props, and I used a sheet of white muslin I hadn't died yet. It wasn't exactly as brilliant as a painted white backdrop, but it got the job done.

We took a few pics of the baby by herself, but I really wanted to get some good pictures showing the interaction of Mother and Child. I think we got some pretty good shots for what I had to work with.

I used two softboxes and a gold reflector. I put one SB to the left of the camera, and the reflector to the right. The other SB I put behind them on the right pointed to the backdrop to light it up. I probably should have put my hairlight on a boom to the right of them, but I didn't have that much time, and I knew shooting babies you have precious time before they lose it and hit "Tilt".

The lady e-mailed them to her Husband and other two boys, who were several states away, as well as several adoption forums. She said she got such a positive response to the pics that she had several people ask if I was available to fly out to take pictures of their children, (it was exaggerated, but it was still quite a compliment).

Anywho, take a gander...

Got the lens!

So, I decided to do a little Craigslist "snooping" to the other regions on the East Coast, looking to see if anyone had anything interesting to sell.

Lo and behold, I looked at the Washington DC site for the word "Tamron", and you'd never believe what some guy was listing!

Yep, it was my future lens! The 17-50mm f2.8, and he wanted about $125 less than retail.

My wife has a friend who lives up in that area, and she agreed to be a go-between for us. She met with the guy, bought the lens off him, and shipped it to me. Now, that is a real friend.

I hadn't saved up enough cash to buy it right out, but the wife said she would float me part of the cost of the lens, bucause she knew how much I'd been looking for something to replace the kit lens.

I've really been enjoying the lens, and have been loving the f2.8. It's a little soft that wide open, but soft at 2.8 is better than soft at 3.5 or 4.

I've never tasted Canon's "L" glass, and I probably won't for a while, but I feel better equipted to get creative with DOF and low light situations.

Most of the pics from this point on will probably be with this lens.

Hey Brother, could you spare a Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 for Canon?

So I think I've finally decided what to replace the kit lens on my Canon.

I've picked up a few lenses here and there, (Canon 50 1.8 II, Sigma 28-80/70-300 kit), and they're pretty good for the price I paid for them. But, I mainly shoot with the stupid 18-55 kit lens, and I really need something in a comparable range that doesn't suck.

I think I've decided to hunt/search/obsess over the Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 . I've read some pretty good reviews on it over at DPReview.com, and say it's actually a pretty good competitor to what Canon has in the 17-50 or 17-85 range. Given it's from a third-party, and it's no "L" glass, but distortion / CA / MTF stats look pretty good, (and spanks the crappy kit lens all up and down the charts).

Looks like it goes $430 - $450 new from B&H / Beach / Amazon, but that's almost as much as I spent on a boat-load of lighting stuff, (and that's with my wife going 50/50 from our Household budget). EBay looks like it can go down as much as $370 - $450, and most of those are new.

Any how, anyone know where I can get a good deal on this piece of glass? Anyone "bored" with their copy and want to pass it on to a poor soul? (I guy can hope, can't he?)

And until I can afford it, I guess it's back to the old plastic kit lens. . .

Provo was good to me

So there I was, minding my own business, when this Pawn Shop in Provo, UT came and threw this Manfrotto tripod at me.

I was so taken by surprise that I almost threw back a string of superlatives. I quickly realized that it was actually a pretty nice tripod, so instead I took pity on them and gave them $50 cash to ease the rough time they must be going through.

Upon closer inspection, it turns out it's an old 3001 tripod with a 3030 head. eBay looks like I got a pretty good deal, although nothing too special.

It's a good thing to, because the day before I had dropped my $13 Target special tripod. I was adjusting my camera bad, and it slipped out from under my arm and cracked the plastic head right off.

I've been looking for a decent tripod for a while, and it's one of those "right-Pawn-Shop-at-the-right-time" things. (I love those!)

I also picked up a copy of "The Photographer's Handbook" for $3. I didn't actually have any sort of handbook for photography, so I thought it would give me a good reference to start from, and to review some parts on composition, (which is my weakest part of snapping photos). Turns out it gets 4/5 stars on Amazon, so it should be a good starting point.

All in all, Provo was good to me. Too bad I'm back in South Carolina where I haven't seen much from the Pawn Shops around here. I guess I just have to keep looking and wait for that poor soul who's down on his luck to dump a nice Canon "L" lens the day before I walk in...

Welcome

Well, I finally did it. I put aside all my paranoia and decided to throw together a blog.

Really, I just needed a place to put my stuff for Photo Friday, and I figured I might as well try the whole "Blogging" thing while I'm at it.

As the title suggests, I'm not a real photographer, I just like to take pictures at family gatherings, parties, birthdays, etc. I'm not really great at it, it just gives me something to do with my hands.

Anywho, I might post stuff here and there, but nothing major.

Enjoy, and let me know if you like anything, or any constructive criticism as I'm working on not looking like a total noob with a trigger-happy shutter button.

- Noah