PUBLIC MARKS with tags photography & diy

utile ;)

How to create a circular electronic flash tube that fits around a camera lens to give shadowless lighting of a subject near the lens, esp. for macrophotography.

This is the area within SportsShooter.com where we stash all the things that don't quite fit the normal 'news story' template. Special picture galleries, movies, and other kinds of bandwith-consuming content that don't fit neatly inside our story templates can be found here.

The LED lights that come built-in to our cell phone cameras are generally useless. But not so the lights built into the cell phone screens themselves. I am pretty much married to my iPhone now. Well, maybe not technically, but we are sleeping together. I am a huge fan of the BBC podcasts: Global News, Business Daily, FOOC, etc., and listen as I fall asleep.

Video Clip: This is video from Robert Hanashiro teaching students how to use remote cameras at Sports Shooter Academy 3, held November 2006 in Southern California. Hanashiro is a staff photographer for USA Today based in Southern California and director of the Sports Shooter Academy. The event, sponsored by Canon USA, Think Tank Photo and Samy's Camera, was a multi-day educational experience with presentations and hands-on shooting experiences.

10 DIY photo lightning hacks: some good howtos to build cheap and efficient lightning solutions.

This is a DIY project I have had in mind for a while now. When I purchased my studio flash heads, they came with a couple of small softboxes. Although I prefer to use translucent umbrellas whenever I can (small, light, easy to transport), there are times when a softbox is a better solution. While I could use the studio head softboxes in some circumstances with my small strobes, there was no way of effectively holding the flash in place without a lot of jerry rigging. To this end, I wanted to design a softbox that would be light, reasonably strong and durable, adaptable (double diffuser, grid attachment, barn doors etc.) at a later date and have a quick and easy way to mount the flash.

I always keep my eye on the strobist flickr pool. It is one of the best places to get your lighting ideas. The other day, I saw a cool Corona shot there made by Nick Wheeler. Nick was so kind to share his lighting technique with DIYP readers. So, the following article is a guest post by Nick Wheeler, If you like this tutorial as much as I did stop by Nick's flickr stream and say "Hi" (You'll also get a nice dose of fine images).

After taking some shots with the Floor Lit Table Top Studio by Nick, It's time to take it up a notch. The previous article showed how to take great liquid product shots, though the set up can work for both liquids and solids. In this part of the tutorial Nick will show a modification of the setup that allows you to add some color effects to the shot. If you like it, stop by Nick's flickr stream and say "Hi". In addition to showing your appreciation, you'll get some great studio images and setup shots. Now for todays exiting twist: By cutting a flap in the back side of the box you can get a whole new dimension to the pictures you can take.

These videos cover portrait photography and studio lighting techniques using simple equipment. You’ll also find an introduction to bird photography and a video on building a pinhole camera.

If you happen to have an old SX-70 camera lying around, you're in luck. SX-70 cameras can take Polaroid 600 film with an easy modification. Folding SX-70 cameras are superior to 600 cameras as they have optional neutral density filters, glass lenses and a starting focal length of 10.4 inches. The modification to use 600 film with SX-70 cameras is not a modification to the camera, but to the film cartridge and is simple to do.

Make your own cheap IKEA softbox (9 1/2" diameter) - set of round white nylon IKEA NÖJE storage baskets (3 for $4.99

Having seen a lot of ring flash pictures popping up all over Flickr just recently, I decided to have a go at making one myself. I had a look through a couple of dozen designs for doing this and they all seemed to have one thing in common, they were all based on a ring. Nothing wrong with that of course, it is a ‘ring’ flash when all said and done, but after thinking about the problem for a while I decided to follow the advice of Huey Lewis, after all, it is ‘hip to be square’.

Home made beauty dish with a stainless steel wok cover. DIY 24x36 softbox Home made round diffuser Extended Canon Off Shoe Cord II Snoot and color filter for Speedlites

Do you know why they call this piece of studio equipment "Beauty Dish"? Because it make people look beautiful. The idea is similar to other diffusion ideas - the more diffusion you put in your light, the softer the image is. This idea is widely deployed in photography studios - the softbox, the beauty dishes and the reflector disc all work on close principles.