After completing the last article I started to wonder what stuff could I take with me during summer or short vacation periods without having to carry too much stuff around and also because airline companies are not too much photographer's friendly.
I decided it was time to gather a setup that all of you could already have and with just a couple of simple items you can get those great summer photos improved and with great of camera lighting.
First goes the setup shot of all the gear.
Since all of this shots were made with my small Canon Powershot G6 the settings were ISO 100, Tv 160 and Av 8.0. For light I used the Canon 220Ex and the stand was the Quick Lok microphone stand. Used the flash against a white wall of one of my rooms to create a BIG diffuse light like a huge softbox.
I assembled a good traveling kit and I think this would be my next week's kit to Croatia.
I usually travel a lot of my Manfrotto's tripod and sometimes the monopod so that's why they both are showed on the kit, you choose what you have.
Westcott (2001) 43" Collapsible White Satin umbrella, the ultra light Manfrotto 190XPROB tripod (details here) or the Manfrotto 681B monopod, Manfrotto 486RC2 compact ball head, Manfrotto superclamp (035), Manfrotto umbrella stand adapter w/hot-shoe mount (026), Manfrotto Adapter (015) 1/4 TO 3/8, Manfrotto Adapter Spigot (119) 1/4 & 3/8. Universal short 16 mm spigot with double female thread 1/4” and 3/8, 2 Manfrotto Adapters Spigot (013) Universal 16 mm spigot with double male thread 1/4” and 3/8”, a Climbers hook (I think this is the name for it), I got mine at a Chinese store very cheap since it's aluminum stuff not for climbing and not very strong and... don't forget your Camera, Lenses, Pocket Wizards or Gadget Infinity Triggers and Velcro adjustable ties (not in the picture).
Take a closer look at the adapter parts:
Manfrotto Adapter (015) 1/4 TO 3/8, Manfrotto Adapter Spigot (119) 1/4 & 3/8. Universal short 16 mm spigot with double female thread 1/4” and 3/8, 2 Manfrotto Adapters Spigot (013) Universal 16 mm spigot with double male thread 1/4” and 3/8” and a Climbers hook.
We will take a look at this later on in detail.
This is the Manfrotto 486RC2 compact ball head with camera adapter, the usual :)
This is were the camera adapter fits in.
And the Manfrotto 486RC2 compact ball head attaches to the Manfrotto 190XPROB tripod or the Manfrotto 681B monopod like this.
Let's begin like if you do not have, yet, the ball head. Just grab the Manfrotto Adapter (015) 1/4 TO 3/8 and screw it it to the Tripod or Monopod (My monopod has also a 3/8 spigot so it won't need this adapter, check yours first before you buy this).
Now you can attach your Hot Shoe adapter to it so you can use your Pocket Wizards ;)
Or you can attach your Gadget Infinity triggers.
This is what it will look like, on the tripod and monopod, after mounting the flash onto the Gadget Infinities.
Here are the same pictures but now on full size so you can get an idea of what they will look like.
If you are using the Pocket Wizards here are the mounts of them using the Velcro adjustable ties.
Do you remember that I mentioned them earlier but did not show any pictures? - So that's what they will be handy for.
Mounted on the tripod with detail and a full version. The tripod is not full extended so it could be more visible the setup but it will get a good height.
Notice that on the full sized I attached the ball head to the tripod and the flash to the camera adapter.
On this next 2 photos you can see why and where I use the Manfrotto Adapter Spigot (013) Universal 16 mm spigot with double male thread 1/4” and 3/8” this piece will be the support for holding the Hot Shoe or Gadget Infinity.
Here you can see what I mean the adapter will go inside the hole in the Manfrotto superclamp (035). This way you can use it with your flash.
Take a look at this baby... you can use it for macro shots of plants, objects, girls or to get that special light you cannot hold while taking the shot or when you do not have your personal assistant to do it for you (your wife, do not tell her that!!).
I included this on this kit not as something you must really have but it's kind of a good tip for the monopod when you need to carry it around too much and you do not have hands for it.
You attach this to the monopod bracelet and now you can use this to attach it to the backpack, to your waist belt well I think you know what I mean... it's a hands free tip.
Now lets see the last item so you can use the umbrella if you need it for that cool portrait of the cook chef or the cleaning maid that wants to be photographed.
Here it is assembled to the tripod. I used the ball head so it could get a little higher.
And here is the final look of it.
With this small kit you can travel light and can make your assignments look much more enjoyable than that on camera thing you are usually used to make.
Normally I would take my tripod or monopod, umbrella Manfrotto superclamp (035) and Manfrotto umbrella stand adapter w/hot-shoe mount (026) on the bilge luggage but the rest comes with me without any problem. I.E. Camera, Lens, Filters, Cleaning cloth and small accessories.
I also carry one Orange CTO and one Green filter to put on my flash since they have the Velcro on them and they are so portable but you can always carry the all pack of Lee filters with the adapter that could also fit into your bag without taking too much space and some more small stuff (see the picture above).
Hope this article could help you through summer since it's getting hotter and hotter each day and carrying a lot of gear would make your back and your head hurt.
Drink a lot of water and get those great pictures coming.
Start small, think BIG
Do It Yourself (DIY), How To... and a lot of Photography tips.
By Rui M. Leal
Showing posts with label Gadget Infinity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gadget Infinity. Show all posts
My Gear - What you wanted to know but were afraid to ask (Part 2)
As the title shows this will be a very informative article with a lot of photos on how... and what is that for...
Many of you will know this back and forward and maybe with your eyes shut but others don't so this article is for you.
We all looked at great photographers and wondered "how the hell did this guys do that?" or "what kind of technique he used?" without getting any answers for those questions, except in some cases, and having this in mind I decided to pull out the cape and make this picture tutorial for the gear I use, some examples (based on links to Strobist) on what you can accomplish with that setup or gear and also some DIY tips on some of the items.
First of all you need is a camera, a lens and, or, maybe a flash depending on what you are going to photograph or if you have a camera with all of this built in that will also do.
Starting out by mention the basic and first thing that, almost all of us photographers do when we get our flashes, that's putting some Velcro on the tip of it so you can attach some gobos or some filters.
Take a look at Lighting 101: Cereal Box Snoots and GoBo's and Lighting 101: Using Gels to Correct Light for more detail information concerning this issues.
Here is a photo of My 580Ex with Velcro taped all around so I can put a gobo in it either up, down, left or right. Do put the Velcro to near the head's end if you want to use a StoFen. You can see it in the picture the space between the Velcro and the end of the flash head.
On this two pictures you can see the small gel filter with the Velcro tape each one represents one side so they can glue to each other.
Now in a detail view of what I meant.
An here is how you can use them (Green and Orange CTO) it on your flash head.
And this is my latest DIY project that have replaced the other method. You can build one yourself follow the link to DIY: Lee Filters Flash Adapter and you can make one yourself.
This one is very useful since you can carry all the Lee filters color gels with you and do not need to worry about getting them with Velcro.
And while we are in the Filter section here goes another free tip for you.
The Lee filters come with a plastic thing to hold them together and if you break it you no longer can hold all of those tiny pieces of sheets together so...
After you cut it and remove it from the hole they will fall apart... no, no, no.
What I want you to do is to grab two ear plug boxes (I normally use these for my concert photography) .
And remove the iron thing that comes with it. I think you can also find this kind of stuff sold by meter on some hardware stores, this stuff is used on bathroom Basin or in the kitchen Sink and it normally holds between the Taps and the hole. You'll see it when you get there... don't tell your wife I told you to steel one from there ;)
Here is a detail of the two binding together.
After binding you just pass them through the hole.
And that's it. You can now close it. Let's see how it works in the filed...
Let's think that you will need a blue filter from the middle of the pack. You just have to choose it and then slide the opening to it and as you can see in the above picture open it where you need it. Cool yeah?
Well let's move on...
For people using the Pocket Wizard system a lot of question have been raised for the hot shoe connections between them and the strobes. Here is a photo of the hot shoe (with cable) system I use from Kaiser, on the photo you can see the top and back part.
I've chosen this system since it's not all metallic (so it won't fry you strobe) and because it has a PC sync cable so I can use with my 580Ex that does not have this connection... if you are lucky enough to have the 580ExII then maybe you won't need one with the cord.
They are not difficult to find just Google around for them.
Before I find them I had one made, for my 580EX, from Michael Bass (This guy is very good in transformations and new ideas to your gear so at least take a look at the stuff he as maybe there is something you could need) but they turn out to be very expensive with postage to Europe. Above is the photo of the custom made.
A little more about hot shoes. Why do you need them and what are they for.
Hot Shoe: The hot shoe is an accessory shoe built into the top of most professional cameras incorporating electrical contacts which allow you to usually add flash guns designed by the camera manufacturer.
Now that you know what they are let's see some illustrations on how to use them.
Here you have the hot shoe attached to the flash and the plugged in to the Pocket Wizard so you can trigger the 580Ex wireless.
More on this at Lighting 101: PC Cords and Pocket Wizards.
I also have these small stand from Hama (very cheap and very handy) you can attach the Hot Shoe to the flash and then used it on the tripod, simply screw them to the tripod and voila you got yourself a small portable stand for your flash to be triggered wireless from anywhere.
Make your Westcott umbrella stiff with my DIY: Westcott Umbrella Reinforcement.
Moving on to another subject that's also very interesting is the stands.
DIY tip
to make your stands moreas portable, just drill one hole on each of the sides of the Manfrotto tripod (like showed on the pictures above).
Then grab that hold strap from a pouch or travel bag you don't use any more.
Just put it through the holes.
Look how portable it has become... now you can put it around your neck like Robin Wood :)
This is another great piece of gear... small, light, portable and very useful.
This is one example on what you can use it in. These are great since they are very inexpensive and small and you can find them almost in any hardware store and with different colors.
Here is the setup shot to the main image. Light coming from 280Ex pointed at white wall on the right to produce soft reflective light, ISO 100, Tv 125 and Av 8.0.
Remember I told you about the Velcro adjustable ties (Part 1) well here they are. I've just joined two together so you can see the effect and how long they can be.
Above are some examples on what you can use them for. If you lucky enough to get your hands on Ball Bungees take a look at Lighting 101 - Ball Bungees.
You can tie your umbrella to the Robin Wood's stick (Manfrotto stand) and carry it along without any effort.
Manfrotto Super Clamps (035) and Manfrotto Adapter Spigot (013) Universal 16 mm spigot with double male thread 1/4” and 3/8”. You cannot leave home without one and next you will see why...
When you put the Manfrotto Adapter Spigot (013) Universal 16 mm spigot with double male thread 1/4” and 3/8” on the Manfrotto Super Clamps (035) you now be able to attach a Hot Shoe adapter to connect your Pocket Wizards or your Gadget Infinity.
This is what it looks like with the Gadget Infinity attached.
You can attach it to Vertical or Horizontal objects. Here, on the example, it's on a movable chair.
But you can use it on a door handle or on the door side. Imagine how cool this can be since you can attach it to almost anything in anyplace where you can not fit a stand on.
Here is the setup shot for the door pictures.
You can get more on this at Lighting 101 - Super Clamps.
And last but not least,
The Manfrotto umbrella stand adapter w/hot-shoe mount (026) and Manfrotto Adapter Spigot (013) Universal 16 mm spigot with double male thread 1/4” and 3/8”.
This is the way to put it on the Manfrotto stand.
The umbrella goes on this hole. Notice that I'm pointing out to a mark I made on the adapter , this is because one side of the adpater makes the umbrella off center with the flash. Take a careful look when you assemble yours to know what is the correct side.
A closer look after mounting the umbrella.
Here is the assembly with Gadget Infinty on top of the Manfrotto umbrella adapter.
This is what it should look like after opening the umbrella and ready to shoot.
More of this umbrella adapter at Lighting 101: Umbrella Adapters.
You can use it also with the Manfrotto super clamp and I'll show you how.
Here is all the stuff you need:
Manfrotto Adapter (015) 1/4” To 3/8”, Manfrotto Adapter Spigot (013) Universal 16 mm spigot with double male thread 1/4” and 3/8”, Manfrotto Adapter Spigot (119) 1/4” & 3/8” Universal short 16 mm spigot with double female thread 1/4” and 3/8”, Manfrotto superclamp (035), and Manfrotto umbrella stand adapter w/hot-shoe mount (026).
Screw the Manfrotto Adapter (015) 1/4 To 3/8 with Manfrotto Adapter Spigot (119) 1/4 & 3/8 Universal short 16 mm spigot with double female thread 1/4” and 3/8.
Insert it on the Manfrotto superclamp (035).
Insert the Manfrotto Adapter Spigot (013) Universal 16 mm spigot with double male thread 1/4” and 3/8” into the Manfrotto umbrella stand adapter w/hot-shoe mount (026).
Now mount them together like in the above shot.
Here it is completely assembled and transformers alike ;)
Now you just need to put you Gadget Infinity or Pocket Wizard there and you're ready to rock!!
Finally here are some photos of what you can do with this Transformer. It's kind of BIG but, as you can see, with the umbrella put on you will have a lot of flexibility.
As odd as it seem all of the photos were taken with the below gear.
Canon Powershot G6, Pack of 8 AA batteries, Gadget Infinity Transmitter and Receiver, Canon flash 220EX with no manual control and Quick Lok microphone stand.
As you can see you can get photos with the gear you already have. You simply need to put your head to work.
Hope you enjoy this My Gear 2 part tutorials and stay tuned for more good stuff.
Rui
My Gear - What's in the Bags? (Part 1)
Many of you will know this back and forward and maybe with your eyes shut but others don't so this article is for you.
We all looked at great photographers and wondered "how the hell did this guys do that?" or "what kind of technique he used?" without getting any answers for those questions, except in some cases, and having this in mind I decided to pull out the cape and make this picture tutorial for the gear I use, some examples (based on links to Strobist) on what you can accomplish with that setup or gear and also some DIY tips on some of the items.
First of all you need is a camera, a lens and, or, maybe a flash depending on what you are going to photograph or if you have a camera with all of this built in that will also do.
Starting out by mention the basic and first thing that, almost all of us photographers do when we get our flashes, that's putting some Velcro on the tip of it so you can attach some gobos or some filters.
Take a look at Lighting 101: Cereal Box Snoots and GoBo's and Lighting 101: Using Gels to Correct Light for more detail information concerning this issues.
Here is a photo of My 580Ex with Velcro taped all around so I can put a gobo in it either up, down, left or right. Do put the Velcro to near the head's end if you want to use a StoFen. You can see it in the picture the space between the Velcro and the end of the flash head.
On this two pictures you can see the small gel filter with the Velcro tape each one represents one side so they can glue to each other.
Now in a detail view of what I meant.
An here is how you can use them (Green and Orange CTO) it on your flash head.
And this is my latest DIY project that have replaced the other method. You can build one yourself follow the link to DIY: Lee Filters Flash Adapter and you can make one yourself.
This one is very useful since you can carry all the Lee filters color gels with you and do not need to worry about getting them with Velcro.
And while we are in the Filter section here goes another free tip for you.
The Lee filters come with a plastic thing to hold them together and if you break it you no longer can hold all of those tiny pieces of sheets together so...
After you cut it and remove it from the hole they will fall apart... no, no, no.
What I want you to do is to grab two ear plug boxes (I normally use these for my concert photography) .
And remove the iron thing that comes with it. I think you can also find this kind of stuff sold by meter on some hardware stores, this stuff is used on bathroom Basin or in the kitchen Sink and it normally holds between the Taps and the hole. You'll see it when you get there... don't tell your wife I told you to steel one from there ;)
Here is a detail of the two binding together.
After binding you just pass them through the hole.
And that's it. You can now close it. Let's see how it works in the filed...
Let's think that you will need a blue filter from the middle of the pack. You just have to choose it and then slide the opening to it and as you can see in the above picture open it where you need it. Cool yeah?
Well let's move on...
For people using the Pocket Wizard system a lot of question have been raised for the hot shoe connections between them and the strobes. Here is a photo of the hot shoe (with cable) system I use from Kaiser, on the photo you can see the top and back part.
I've chosen this system since it's not all metallic (so it won't fry you strobe) and because it has a PC sync cable so I can use with my 580Ex that does not have this connection... if you are lucky enough to have the 580ExII then maybe you won't need one with the cord.
They are not difficult to find just Google around for them.
Before I find them I had one made, for my 580EX, from Michael Bass (This guy is very good in transformations and new ideas to your gear so at least take a look at the stuff he as maybe there is something you could need) but they turn out to be very expensive with postage to Europe. Above is the photo of the custom made.
A little more about hot shoes. Why do you need them and what are they for.
Hot Shoe: The hot shoe is an accessory shoe built into the top of most professional cameras incorporating electrical contacts which allow you to usually add flash guns designed by the camera manufacturer.
Now that you know what they are let's see some illustrations on how to use them.
Here you have the hot shoe attached to the flash and the plugged in to the Pocket Wizard so you can trigger the 580Ex wireless.
More on this at Lighting 101: PC Cords and Pocket Wizards.
I also have these small stand from Hama (very cheap and very handy) you can attach the Hot Shoe to the flash and then used it on the tripod, simply screw them to the tripod and voila you got yourself a small portable stand for your flash to be triggered wireless from anywhere.
Make your Westcott umbrella stiff with my DIY: Westcott Umbrella Reinforcement.
Moving on to another subject that's also very interesting is the stands.
DIY tip
to make your stands moreas portable, just drill one hole on each of the sides of the Manfrotto tripod (like showed on the pictures above).
Then grab that hold strap from a pouch or travel bag you don't use any more.
Just put it through the holes.
Look how portable it has become... now you can put it around your neck like Robin Wood :)
This is another great piece of gear... small, light, portable and very useful.
This is one example on what you can use it in. These are great since they are very inexpensive and small and you can find them almost in any hardware store and with different colors.
Here is the setup shot to the main image. Light coming from 280Ex pointed at white wall on the right to produce soft reflective light, ISO 100, Tv 125 and Av 8.0.
Remember I told you about the Velcro adjustable ties (Part 1) well here they are. I've just joined two together so you can see the effect and how long they can be.
Above are some examples on what you can use them for. If you lucky enough to get your hands on Ball Bungees take a look at Lighting 101 - Ball Bungees.
You can tie your umbrella to the Robin Wood's stick (Manfrotto stand) and carry it along without any effort.
Manfrotto Super Clamps (035) and Manfrotto Adapter Spigot (013) Universal 16 mm spigot with double male thread 1/4” and 3/8”. You cannot leave home without one and next you will see why...
When you put the Manfrotto Adapter Spigot (013) Universal 16 mm spigot with double male thread 1/4” and 3/8” on the Manfrotto Super Clamps (035) you now be able to attach a Hot Shoe adapter to connect your Pocket Wizards or your Gadget Infinity.
This is what it looks like with the Gadget Infinity attached.
You can attach it to Vertical or Horizontal objects. Here, on the example, it's on a movable chair.
But you can use it on a door handle or on the door side. Imagine how cool this can be since you can attach it to almost anything in anyplace where you can not fit a stand on.
Here is the setup shot for the door pictures.
You can get more on this at Lighting 101 - Super Clamps.
And last but not least,
The Manfrotto umbrella stand adapter w/hot-shoe mount (026) and Manfrotto Adapter Spigot (013) Universal 16 mm spigot with double male thread 1/4” and 3/8”.
This is the way to put it on the Manfrotto stand.
The umbrella goes on this hole. Notice that I'm pointing out to a mark I made on the adapter , this is because one side of the adpater makes the umbrella off center with the flash. Take a careful look when you assemble yours to know what is the correct side.
A closer look after mounting the umbrella.
Here is the assembly with Gadget Infinty on top of the Manfrotto umbrella adapter.
This is what it should look like after opening the umbrella and ready to shoot.
More of this umbrella adapter at Lighting 101: Umbrella Adapters.
You can use it also with the Manfrotto super clamp and I'll show you how.
Here is all the stuff you need:
Manfrotto Adapter (015) 1/4” To 3/8”, Manfrotto Adapter Spigot (013) Universal 16 mm spigot with double male thread 1/4” and 3/8”, Manfrotto Adapter Spigot (119) 1/4” & 3/8” Universal short 16 mm spigot with double female thread 1/4” and 3/8”, Manfrotto superclamp (035), and Manfrotto umbrella stand adapter w/hot-shoe mount (026).
Screw the Manfrotto Adapter (015) 1/4 To 3/8 with Manfrotto Adapter Spigot (119) 1/4 & 3/8 Universal short 16 mm spigot with double female thread 1/4” and 3/8.
Insert it on the Manfrotto superclamp (035).
Insert the Manfrotto Adapter Spigot (013) Universal 16 mm spigot with double male thread 1/4” and 3/8” into the Manfrotto umbrella stand adapter w/hot-shoe mount (026).
Now mount them together like in the above shot.
Here it is completely assembled and transformers alike ;)
Now you just need to put you Gadget Infinity or Pocket Wizard there and you're ready to rock!!
Finally here are some photos of what you can do with this Transformer. It's kind of BIG but, as you can see, with the umbrella put on you will have a lot of flexibility.
As odd as it seem all of the photos were taken with the below gear.
Canon Powershot G6, Pack of 8 AA batteries, Gadget Infinity Transmitter and Receiver, Canon flash 220EX with no manual control and Quick Lok microphone stand.
As you can see you can get photos with the gear you already have. You simply need to put your head to work.
Hope you enjoy this My Gear 2 part tutorials and stay tuned for more good stuff.
Rui
My Gear - What's in the Bags? (Part 1)
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