Nov

19

Experiments with an old flash

Filed Under Photography | 7 Comments

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Experiments with an old flash (image: 4h1zkar)Recently I had the opportunity to acquire an older Vivatar 283 external / strobe for a good price. This is one of the early model external strobes that had really proved the test of time (years ago I had it’s bigger brother, the 285, and missed the versatility it provided). So when this one became available I grabbed it.

My current interest in can all be blamed on this ‘niche’ blog; Strobist. It’s a great site profiling techniques and setups, and photographers. Inspirational, you might say.

Inspired I was.

So that brings me to this post and my first ‘exercise’. I’d acquired said and tested it to ensure that it wouldn’t fry my Lumix FZ30. It seems that older flashes may have a trigger voltage as high as 300v DC across the contacts…not too healthy for these sensitive modern-day digital cameras. I’m happy to say this baby registered just under 9v. If you’re interested in more about voltage, check out this article and comprehensive listing chart.

Experiments with an old flash (image: 2uic8rm) done, I needed a subject to shoot. Then the wandered by…

Just to get you up to speed, they’re miniature piebald Dachshunds; Heloise and Selena. And yes, they’re black and white.

Next, I needed to set the scene. Since we live in a northern climate that tends to cause water to to a solid, I’m shooting indoors for now. And, the little turkeys need appropriate clothing to venture outside. My wife found a great designer (www dachsundsdressedforshow.com) who was able to get some very nifty looking coats to us in a very short time; winter rolled in early here in . The zebra stripes seem to suit them.

Dress the , set them on a futon with a nice neutral colour, drape a blanket behind for a nice contrast colour, and shoot away!

The shots were pretty at this point; I just wanted to get a feel for the with the camera. I’ve posted five of them to flickr (and to the Strobist flickr group).

I found the illumination a bit harsh without any diffusion, so I grabbed an opaque plastic food container lid and held that in front of the , bouncing light from the walls and roof.

Diffusion systems are in my future. An umbrella/reflector/stands and maybe a nice fill light would also help, but hey, I’m just getting back into this and my wallet needs to build up slowly ;-)
Also, the Vivitar has only one axis of rotation, but once I take it off camera (I have a hot-shoe extension cable arriving shortly) that problem will vanish.

But now I’m thinking, is this thing going to really do what I need with portrait and still life (and macro) work, or am I really going to need to invest in a larger kit?

I guess only time will tell…

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Nov

3

Thoughts: Your Personal Computing Environment will affect your career.

Filed Under Blogging, Social Media | Comments Off


I was an editorial by Scot Petersen in last week’s eWeek (it’s not posted yet, but when it is, it’ll be here) and came across the concept of Personal Environments (PCE).

The article began to discuss consumer ’s impact on information in the workplace as Gen Y ‘digital natives’ expect access to , iPods, YouTube, MySpace..etc, in the workplace. And the consequences if their doesn’t include that kind of access.
This is where I sat up. Thinking back over my four-plus decades on this planet, the last three spent working and living in a digital , I’ve always considered it a natural extension. To me today, instant access to digital is the way things should be, not some super- Star Trek world. Read more