DIYPhotography.net

Anybody who's read this blog for a while knows that I am a big fan of Nick Wheeler. Not only he creates great imagery and photographs, but he also shares his setups, and creative process. If you did not visit his stream so far, you are in for a treat.

Last time Nick guest posted on DIYP, he showed how with a little time, two good hands and ingenuity you can create a professional grade softbox. But Nick was not happy and promised to return with a better design. And Nick is the kind of guy that keeps his word. Read on to see how Nick created an even better softbox (who would have thought this is possible) with interchanging lining and a truly genius flash holder.

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At My Home photo contest is starting today. I wanted to take a minute and answer some contest related questions. Just before I do so, I'd like to remind everyone that DIYP and America At Home will give 5 personalized America At Home photo albums to the lucky talented winners. Click to continue ›

Just the other day I blogged about the newly released America At Home photography album, and how I like the concept behind the book, that includes pictures from pros and amateurs alike.

This is why I am really exited to announce the first prize winning DIYP photo contest - At My Home photo contest. Read on for the full contest rules. Click to continue ›

Ok, this is something I have not seen before. With the big war on who has the bigger better accessorizeable speedlite diffuser there has been a ruling paradigm - bounce your flash to get softer results.

This has been the case with Stofen line of products (see the DIY versions: 1, 2) as well as with the Gary Fong diffusers family (DIYed this as well, though results are just OK with the DIY version).

If you are a Strobist fan, you are going to love this. Presslite just came up are about to release a new concept for flash modifications - Vertex.

They do not try to diffuse the flash, nor bounce it from the ceiling. Instead they try to break the flash power into two halves. This is done using two mirrors, each to control half of the flash output.

Now think of the options - you can bounce half of the flash from the ceiling or from the wall while you direct the other half to your subject. You can control the spread of light. And you can direct your flash anywhere you want to. Nice.

I guess that one question that has to be asked is how sturdy is the Vertex. By aiming it towards a press audience I would think that it needs to be strong to take the abuse pros give their speedlites.

Check out the 3D demo - it is hypnotizing.

- Vertex home
- Early orders

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After sharing two posts of the Shooting the Team project, I believe you get the idea: Do an assignment like photograph, using journeyman flash accessories.

By telling the story of how I shot Omer, I'll almost wrap up half of the team.

What I wanted to show in this portrait is Omer's light and fun approach towards life (and work). "Surf's up - Lets jump in" is just what you'll hear him say at the beach or facing a challenging task at work. (Of course it was easier to convey the mood using a beach accessory).

So this is what Omer and I thought of - making a light feeling portrait while showing off Omer's abs.

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What if someone told you the following thing? "Your home, your family are so special, that if you took their photo, I'll put the photo in a fine photography best selling photo album".

This is exactly what happened to tens of thousands of amateur photographers (and about a 100 top class photo journalists) when Rick Smolan decided to take on the (my) America at Home Photo Book Project.

Rick has dome several successful photography projects before (among them the America 24/7 photo album). All had a thing in common - Mix some pros and amateurs, throw in some directions and let the party start.

This is why I was not surprised when Rick decided to make America at Home a community project as well.

So why do I think this book deserves a DIYP post? Mainly because is shows that amateur photographers are good enough to compete with pros. Although the rate of images that entered the book is way higher on the pro side. Quite a few amateurs have made their signature on this book.

The second reason to feature this photo book is the book's subject. OK, how many times each and every one of us was lacking inspiration? With over 250 photos taken at home, this book definitely shows that home can provide ample inspiration. Of course if it is not enough, you can always get some more inspiration here.

To see what I am talking about, jump here and see the actual pages of the book. (Well not the whole book, but enough to get you hungry).

Another bonus to this book are the articles written by Amy Tan, Dominique Browning, Terry Teachout and Matt Groening (Yap, this is the Simpsons dude)

As anything else in the world, you can get America At Home from Amazon, but if you order the book here, you can make a cover with your family in it. (See my family and custom cover in the pic above - trust me, it looks better on the real cover)

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Jake O'Connell has come up with a great Idea to create a Magic Arm. What is a magic arm you ask? (You can have a look at the Bogen Magic Arm or read on). - Yes it is time for another Reader Project.

A magic arm is a photography magical instrument much like a tripod, but with two major differences:

The first difference is that (unlike a tripod) the non camera side of the Magic Arm is equipped with a stud (or a stud socket) which allows you to mount it on virtually anything. (Well the spiderpod also does this, but I wouldn't place my Nikon D2x on a spiderpod).

Alternatively, you can use the magic arm to mount a lighting device like a flash or a flag.

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It has been about 20 days from when I asked DIYP readers to jump in the group pool. Well, you made quite a splash. In less then 20 days the pool has grown to more then 2000 members. Actually we are at an interesting point where the pool is three members short from matching the number of members to the current year. (Making it as the 2008th member on 2008 is known to grant three wishes to the user).

Slowly but surly the pool is becoming a rejuvenating dip. While great DIYP projects are still being submitted to the pool, I see and interesting (and blessed) change where photographers (Pros and amateurs alike) are also submitting great pictures (1,110 and counting). There are still one or two favs here from my contacts, who did not submit their photos to the pool. If anybody knows how to search for favorites within a pool, please ping me at the comments.

More Photodumps:
- Having Fun @ The Pool #1

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In the previous post I demonstrated my lack of patience by constructing a Honl Speed Strap, while waiting for my Amazon Honl speed strap to arrive.

In this post, I'll show the accessories I built, and explain their various effects on a picture taken.

All my DIY accessories have real commercial products made by David Honl. While the lighting result is usually similar, I must say that Honl products look way more professional. (In fact they look professional enough that I bought some of them, even when I knew I can make them myself).

But, just before I go into the details of constructing and demonstrating the different accessories, I would like to highlight some of the comments on the original post, dealing with different materials that can be used to construct a better model of the speed strap. Click to continue ›

In my last post titled Everything You Wanted to Know About Camera Firmware I boldly stated that there is no such thing as camera firmware.

That statement raised quite a few eyebrows asking if indeed there was no such thing as Camera Firmware (as I boldly stated in the first sentence of the post).

After the dust cloud settled, I wasn't sure myself, so I went to my Nikon and turned the menu on. Under the settings menu it definitely said "firmware version" so I wanted to shed a bit more light on the subject of camera firmware. (And send my apologies to the little boy from matrix who boldly stated that there is no spoon). [image by julian-] Click to continue ›