Went to the movies yesterday and saw Lakeview Terrace. It was ok. Not great. I'm a Samuel L. fan which is why I went. Thematically, the story (and Samuel L's character) seems somewhat inspired by Denzel W's Training Day. Although Samuel L. is a cop in Lakeview Terrace, that's where the resemblance to Training Day ends in terms of the setting and storyline. Like I said, it was ok. I could easily have waited for this flick to come out on DVD.Anyway, while waiting to see Lakeview Terrace, my date and I popped into Borders Books. (Borders is right next to the theater.) I went straight to the magazine section, picked up a copy of American Photo magazine, plopped myslef in a nice comfy chair under an A/C vent, and began thumbing through the rag.
There were some good articles with great photos. I especially enjoyed one particular essay, "Art, Sex, and Clothes: The Importance of Fashion." There's also a recent photograph by Klinko & Indrani, with some interesting "how they did it" text included, that I thought was pretty cool. It's a post-apocalyptic (looking) fashion image shot out in the desert near Palm Springs.
Then I came to the page with the editor's choices for new gear, gadgets, and gizmos and saw a couple of things I think I might buy.
The first is a gadget: The Ray Flash ringlight adaptor. It's not that I'm just now aware of this product. I've known about it for quite a while and have even held one in my hands. But now I think I need one. Why? Well, on a lot of the shoots I'm on, I'm usually required to shoot candid and action shots--in addition to the glamour pretty girl stuff--and in settings that necessitate either on-camera lighting or having me roll in a few stand-mounted monolights.
Personally, the look of on-camera strobes makes me sick, mostly because of the hard shadows they throw. Yeah, yeah, yeah... I know all the tricks to make an on-camera strobe look better. I still, for the most part, ain't a fan of the look with or without the tricks applied. I also get my stomach twisted when I have to bring in bulky lighting gear, i.e., pulling it away from where I'm shooting the glamour stuff and onto another set or nearby shooting area, only to have to cart it back to the glamour shooting area a short time later. That's right. I'm lazy. So shoot me. This ringlight adaptor seems like a great answer to my, uhh... issues.
Here's what Scott Kelby has to say about this gizmo. I'm thinking I'd still wheel in another light for a backlight and let my on-camera, Ray Flash-modified strobe trigger it optically.
The next product potentially on my shopping list is JTL's Mobilight 301 AC/DC Strobe with Battery. Here's why I might buy it: PRICE!!! For about $300 that's a pretty cool deal. It delivers 120 full-power 300WS pops and it looks fairly light-weight and VERY mobile. That's not a lot of power but then I don't need all that much power most of the time. But here's why I might NOT buy it: I'm reading reviews that say the battery is flaky. Also, I've shot with JTL monolights before and my biggest gripe with them is recycle time. The recycle time on this A/C-D/C unit is 2 to 4 seconds. That doesn't sound like a long time to many people but its a freaking eternity when you're shooting and waiting for a light to recharge.
The nurse at the top is Angie from last week. Ahem... cough, cough... How about them uhh... lips, huh? Next time I'm sick, I'm hoping Angie stops by to nurse me back to health. In fact, sick or not, Angie can nurse me anytime she wants! (Medically speaking, of course.)
6 comments:
hey jimmy!
i just got done shooting the exxxotica expo last week and a couple of the Wire image shooters were using that goofy slip on ring flash attachment-they hated it and were gonna return them the next day to B&H.
and not for nothing - for 3 bills, i'll stick with my AB Ringflash. it's not great, but it works for most things i use it for.
as always - love the blog and thanks for keeping it updated.
cheers!
steve
teamrockstarimages.com
Thanks for the heads-up on the Ray Flash, Steve!
Checked out your site http://teamrockstarimages.com and I love the work! From the photography, to the styling, and, of course, the rockin' models, I'm really digging it! The Audrey Lancaster set kicks ass! I ain't a rockstar, tho I've shot a few of them, but if your team ever needs to draft another player, let me know.
Jimmy, for some weird reason the JTL Mobilights recycle faster off the battery pack than they do the AC outlet. At least the ones we have do. :)
I bought a couple of JTL lights a couple of years ago- they were on sale at a local camera shop that was going out of biz. They were my first lights (cause they were cheap and I wanted to start learning). Within a few months both batteries puked. I posted some messages about this on a few forums to see if anyone else had the problem and I was told by several self-proclaimed photo experts that it was my fault for not charging them properly. I followed the directions exactly what was printed in the owners manual.
oh photographer pls! i would be content to carry your stands or change the oil in your harley. i'll be in LA next month - hit me up at steve@teamrockstarimages.com if you want to grab a beer or coffee.
yay!
steve
Jimmy have you checked the Innovatronix Explorer XT? http://www.innovatronix.com/detailpage.asp?categoryid=42&productid=364&categoryname=Products%20and%20Services
There are tons of reviews of the previous model the consensus is: they friggin love it to power lighting gear in location, the XT is even better.
Although I don't know if it is compatible with your lighting gear.. you can check here: http://www.innovatronix.com/compatib.asp
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