Loading images...
“Daddy has been a Think Tank Photo user since 2007, having gone through numerous bags. Please get him a new modular system as I’ve now taken over his modular system v1. In case you want to know what I can have my daddy carry when he takes me out: Lens Changer 50: 0.5L (1 qt) thermos for my lunch, Whip It Out: 0.5L (1qt) hot water thermos, Lens Drop-in: 8oz Avent bottle (keeps milk warm up to 2 hours), Speed changer: 3 diapers and wet wipes. Lens Changer 15: Avent formula dispenser. They are modular so they also can be hung on my cot for quicker access for Mommy & Daddy!”
—————-
IN A BAG – FREE GIVEAWAY
Right now, you can win a full bag of stuff from my favorite camera bag people, Think Tank Photo. It’s a super free give-away run by Think Tank Photo and their partners. They take one of their bags (on my wish list), the Airport Security V2.0 and fill it full of gear! It’s free to enter so what are you waiting for? Click this LINK to enter.
I know a fair number of so-called photographers that would rather buy more gear than more education. Gear will only help if you know how to use it. Spending money on workshops and books allow you to use your equipment better. At least that’s what I believe and I think it shows in myself as well as others. I’ve seen people with fancy-pants DSLRs and even Leica M8s complaining their photos suck. Maybe their skills suck?
Anyways, on a beautiful Monday morning saw the postal delivery van ring the door bell and behold, my Kevin Kubota Lighting notebook. [Buy here]
As a fan of their Photoshop and Lightroom actions — none of my shots escape my studio without one of them being used, when Kevin pre-announced the Lighting notebook, I know that I’m going to be getting it. And, yeah, I have Kubota Bucks to spend 
Inspired by the likes of Joe McNally, Syl Arena and Louis Pang, I’ve been shooting more and more with multiple speedlights. More inspiration, more guides and more information can’t hurt. You don’t stop learning!. You shouldn’t anyway. Like what a friend of mine likes to say: “You only stop learning when you’re dead!”
Woohoo! My own autographed copy! Had to crop the shot this way because my justin clamp was used to weigh down the cover!
Kevin’s Lighting notebook starts with a lighting basics primer and there’s lots of information there. The book is generally aimed at the intermediate level photographer who kind of knows what do to with a single flash unit and has exposure, aperture, shutter speed and all that down pat. However, I still think that it would be invaluable to beginner photographers who’ve just started out on lighting by buying their first flash unit. I don’t know about you all but my experience seems to show that people starting out photography buy in the following order: DSLR, replace their kit lens with something better, some super telephoto lens, a couple of lenses and then only a flash unit. If you’re at that level where you’ve bought your first flash unit, see my notes below on other books you ALSO SHOULD get with this book.
While it’s titled a Lighting notebook, there is enough gear talk to satisfy the geeks and gear-heads. There’s ample description here but let’s go to the more important and obviously thicker portion. The Lighting notes! Final shots, setup shots, diagrams and straight out of camera shots help illustrate what is going on and how the shot was done. There’s ample cool tricks (leaf-blower, perforated garden hose, etc), techniques and more. The lighting diagrams and tools used is very helpful in helping you recreate the look or lighting. The one thing I find most useful is how Kevin writes in many places that you can use a speedlight in the place of a mono or AC/Battery strobe. For many photographers starting out, they can still try the lighting without owning a bigger strobe. There’s also plenty of examples where simple reflectors are used — who says you always need battery or AC powered strobes!
Seriously, I’m inspired. Inspired by the themes and ideas that are in the book. Not necessary to copy, but to use the light in a different way. Eventually, we all ought to find our own style but if you want to see the light (pun intended), what are you waiting for? This book has to be on your bookshelf. It’ll probably inspire you to shoot with flash in ways you never have thought before. Worse case, it’ll look quite cool on your bookshelf and you can impress your clients!
Here are a couple more photos from the notes pages. If you want more, buy the book yourself. I’m not loaning mine to anyone for now!
Since I purchased it much earlier, I get to enjoy additional free Kubota Lightroom presets and have a wad of Kubota Bucks! Yay!
For the photographers:
The book was taken on my studio editing room floor. I turned off all the lights and used a 50mm lens at f/2.5 hence the shallow depth of field and blurring of the pages. The book is new so it doesn’t lay flat. To light it, I had a single speedlite, a 580EX II (connected to camera via a 30′ ETTL cord) mounted on a Justin clamp which was attached to a Manfrotto magic arm, that in turn was attached to my Manfrotto Air-cushion stand. The Justin clamp held a lastolite 2-stop tri-grip diffuser. My intent was to turn the flash into a big light that hit the white ceiling, wash back down over all my white walls. Overly complicated? Maybe. Why? Because I could and this is a lightning notebook and why not try something a bit crazy. It may work!
Buy this book here and buy this book and this book together!!
More...
Sorry guys for the lack of updates. Life’s been pretty busy for both of us with big, big changes coming online soon.
Just wrapped up a shoot of 10 couples on the much sought after date, ten-ten-ten. I’m also prepping a few photography classes for our Church youth and church Photography club. Trying to get those materials done as well as plan out some workshops and getting some invited speakers is taking quite a bit of time.
Have also been doing a fair amount of product and event coverage lately so time is rather packed.
Stay tuned for our end-of-year PhotoBook sale coming up soon!
Creative Asia Conference 2011 is going to be the biggest Photography Conference in Malaysia till date. It brings together international talent and is going to be a worthwhile investment for many local photographers in Malaysia and the region.
Held in KL means much cheaper accommodation and travel costs for Malaysians especially if you compare to conferences and workshops in the US such as WPPI.
So why, wait? Sign up for the conference or a workshop or two today! We’re signed up!
Full e-TTL II with the freedom to move around. What’s not to like? Works beautifully with long range and high-speed sync. Just wish Canon would buy out or license the technology and put them into their Speedlights. Would pay more for the feature but actually I need a better ST-E2 transmitter. Come on Canon! I plan to acquire another transmitter and a couple (like 3-4) receivers. Photos to come!
Pretty laid-back, tropical feel to this weekend’s wedding. Gotta grab a snack, load up the equipment and head out. Hope the rain eases up a bit. It’s pouring with unabated fury at this moment…
