Nikon has posted sample video excerpts from its upcoming Creative Lighting System DVD, titled “A Hands-on Guide to Creative Lighting”. According to Nikon press release, the DVD will be available starting November 1, 2008, and can be obtained online at the Nikon Mall (www.nikonmall.com) or at authorized Nikon dealers for an estimated selling price of $39.95.
The Tamron AF 17-50mm f/2.8 SP XR Di II LD Aspherical IF lens has received some good reviews (see review by PhotoZone.de) and appear to be a nice low-cost alternative to more expensive offerings from larger camera and lens manufacturers like Canon and Nikon. However there have been quite a few complains (including myself) of the lens overexposing in flash photography, especially in Nikon TTL-BL mode. Here are some threads I found on the Internet. Read More…
What is maximum flash sync speed? What does it really mean? When and why it is important for flash photography? To answer all these questions, let’s start by looking at the basic camera component related to flash photography.
The shutter
Most SLR cameras have a focal plane shutter. It consists of two shutter curtains (typically called 1st/2nd or front/rear curtain). When the shutter release button is pressed, one curtain will travel across the sensor and the second blade follows the first one after a period of time. Depending on the exposure time, there may or may not be a moment when the entire sensor area is fully exposed to the light. At short exposure time, a slit formed by the two shutter curtains will travel across the sensor, exposing the sensor by scanning through it. By reducing the slit width, the shutter can effectively produce a shorter exposure time otherwise impossible due to the limit of the mechanical shutter movement. The image below illustrate the shutter operations at long (top row) and short (bottom row) exposures.
Plastic milk jug for the shell, a piece of packaging material for the reflection liner, some gaffers tape, rubber bands, and some tissue paper - these are all you need to make this DIY diffuser. See more pictures of this setup and a test shot. The result is not bad at all for for this easy do-it-yourself (DIY) portable softbox.
Multi-Flash Fun by Green Destiny
Stroboscope photography refers to the technique of photographing a moving subject with camera’s shutter open to yield multiple stationary exposures of successive movement phases, with pulsed flash illumination or mechanical devices that intermittently allow the light passing into the camera.
Nikon D200/SB800
A good write-up of this technique is by Professor Andrew Davidhazy of Rochester Institute of Technology titled Introduction to Digital Stroboscopic Motion photography. The article also contains a link at bottom that links to a article on film-based stroboscopic photography and details of do-it-yourself stroboscopy using a mechanical stroboscope.
The most challenging part of this technique is to get the exposure right. If each single frame has correct exposure, the overlapping parts of the photo will most likely be overexposed. As shown in the example on the left, the moving finger received much less exposure compared to the stationary hand. Having the subject in a different position for each exposure is the key to avoid this problem.
Another tip is to use a dark background and make sure the pulsed flash contributes the most exposure not ambient light.
Details on how to setup stroboscopic photography using pulsed flash vary depending on the camera and flash makes and models. For users of Nikon SB-800 AF Speedlight, you may find this article useful. Sigma EF-500 DG SUPER is compatible with many cameras and it also offers the multiple pulse flash capability.
Posted in Flash photography on September 23rd, 2007. No Comments.
In macro photography, diffused light is the best quality light you can have to avoid shadows and hot spots. I saw this post at my favorite photography forum. By placing a diffuser made from a plastic milk jug over the lens hood mount, the light from a flash unit can be diffused to produce a desired soft light. Check out the post with photos of the setup and an example photo.
Photos of smokes are intriguing and beautiful. I found this nice short tutorial on Flickr describing how this is done. With some photoshop job, they can be so colorful.
Another good piece on smoke photography can be found here.
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