DIYPhotography.net

I guess that by now everybody is familiar with the film can bare-bulb flash trick. If not, head over to photojojo and see hoe easily you can make one from an old film container.

I guess the Lomo Colorsplash is a little less known. If you've never heard of this one, head over to the Lomography realm and have a look.

deth2all from DIYP Instractables group came up with an ingenious way to combine the two. By using the famous Lee filters (They will ship them free to your door), deth2all was able to add the color transformation "feature" to the bare bulb film container flash. See the full tutorial here.

There are two nice things with this trick: The first is that you are not limited to the handful of colors the original Lomo had built in. The other niceness (can I say that ????) is that you do not need to buy a Colorsplash Lomo (though I highly recommend getting any Lomo you can put your hands on), you can use this on top of your DSLR.

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Long while ago I published the Create Your Own Bokeh article which was one of the most fun articles this site has seen. I then followed up with some of the uses of this technique and DIYP Flickr pool had a fine hour with great and creative images that used this trick.

One of the questions that keeps popping us is "can you give some more details instructions on the process of making this this filter?"

Well, your prayers have been answered. Shannon Beauford created a complete guide on behind the scene of Creating Your Own Bokeh.

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When I first thought of making a photography project where I work, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about it with THE BOSS.

THE BOSS was really enthusiastic about the idea and was the first to get his portrait taken.

So, here is the tale of how I shot my boss and lived to tell the tale.

This is the point where I am gonna stop calling him THE BOSS and tell you that his name is Yossi.

Yossi is a very calm dude person. He is one of those guys that when everybody is running around to meet a deadline, makes sure we are running at the right direction. And calmness is the main feature that we wanted to show in Yossi's portrait.

Another nice thing about Yossi is his car. In a high-tech world where everybody drives nice fancy big Dollar cars, Yossi is true to his love - a bitten up Citroen BX from the early 90's. When once asked him about tithe told me that "Citroen BX is not a car, it is a way of life". So, the car had to go into the shot.

Lastly I wanted to say that Yossi is a great boss, loved by all and is an example of fine, sharp management. Always bringing results, and gives true guidance. (And it has nothing to do with the fact that I asked for a raise last month, or the fact that I know that you are reading this blog). Click to continue ›

After more then two years of running DIYP, I finally feel comfortable to share the fact that I am living a double life. It took me countless rehearsals in front of the mirror to gather the guts to tell. Here goes:

Aside from my real life as a blogger and a photographer, I also have a secret identity as a software developer. Yes, every morning I step into my secret cave, and trade the camera and flash for laptop and network equipment.

Although my family safety demands that I will not disclose my secret identity's workplace, I can hint that I work for the same company that made the cute Little Professor Calculator - that's the guy on the left (Image by draggin). Yes, I work for The Silicon Masters Texas Instruments.

What do I do there? I can not reveal (Actually I can, but then I'll have to kill you). Let's just say that if you are reading this page via a Comcast or other cable service, you're surfing my code.

For the last year and a half, I've been involved in a challenging development project, creating the next generation of TI's Cable Modem. As the project evolved and deadlines started to come closer and closer, work started to take on more and more time from other aspects of my life. One of the major casualties was my passion - Photography.

It was time to ACT! I went into my secret photo cave and planned my revenge. After ruling out Plan A (storm the offices with a flame-thrower), and Plan B (move the studio into my cubicle), I came up with the ultimate plan.

I will combine (or as managers like to say create synergy) between work and photography. This is when I came up with the Shoot the Team Project. Read more.

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Going along with the great show of readers projects, Simon Chung sent me a great idea for a flash diffuser.

Starting with an ordinary food bag, and adding some tinfoil and magic, Simon created an omnibounce. To learn more about the merits of bare bulb diffusers and see a different implementation of this great idea see here.

Have more ideas for wacky things to put on your flash? Hit me in the comments.

More Reader Projects:
- Strap it on Baby
- Thomas Schwenger Complete Two Seconds Lighting Kit
- Christmas Tree Ring Light
- Got a Light?

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Nick Wheeler, one of my all times Flickr favorites, just uploaded a new picture to DIYP pool. (And yes, it is the same Nick who brought you The DIY Strip Light and the Floor Lit Table Top Studio).

The posing on this picture is great, but the first eye catcher of this image is the Dave Hill post processing look it has.

If you don't know Dave Hill, please, sit back and treat yourself to an hour of fine photography. Dave is known for two things: You can not forget his portraits ones you've seen them - the visual impact is very strong. And you can not ignore his unique post processing look, what has become to be known as "The Dave Hill Look".

It looks like the web is all over Dave this month, as both the Stobist mail-tiviewed him and Scott Kelby gave a great tip on how to create a Dave Hill look in Lightroom.

I wanted to play a little and gave the Dave Hill look a try with a technique found in the Strobist threads. Thanks Omar for putting the thread together. (Click any of the images for bigger view)

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This has been a great month for me. Although my dayjob is more demanding then ever, I was happy to discover a heaven of new sites, blogs and articles. All are great and just make me want to share.

This month was also great because a long challenge came to a successful end. Dave Ajax rose to the disposable ring flash challenge and built a Studio Grade Disposable Ring Flash.

And now, on with the links. I'm gonna post ten of then: is this to much? Not enough? Just right? Hit me in the comments for some feedback.

• Back to the Future With Ken Cook
  Range Finder Magazine
  This article by Range Finder Mag has been around for a while. If you did not stumble it until now it is well worth the read. After some short "pessimistic predictions", Photographer Ken Cook dives into seven studio lighting example and diagrams. While each setup is short it gives a nice review of possible studio lighting options.
• How To Create Photoshop Actions
  Epic Edits
  Are you using Photoshop to edit your pictures? Have you heard about the actions buzz but never took the time to check them out? Brian cam up with an entry level actions tutorial. (If you are using Lightroom, you may want to check this manual vs. lightroom vs. Photoshop actions comparison).
• Double-Duty Light
  Strobist
  The Strobist give out some nice tips on posing a flash to do more then you bargained for. Then he calls an assignment out. As usual, Strobist readers rise to the challenge and five top pics are brought up for discussion.
• Nikon D200 GPS
  Epic Blog
  Sometimes I just have to take my hat off for amazing DIY photography projects. This is just one of those times. Rick has posted the complete instruction on making a GPS plug-in to your Nikon 200. The good news - cost is really low. Keep watching the site as Rick is going to bring this solution to perfection.
• Photographers Are Visual Liars
  Photodoto
  John from photodoto stimulates the mind and provokes us photographers. Asking are we all lying?
• Getting those portraits right, once and for all
  Photocritic
  This is a good portrait guide if you are making your first steps in amateur portraiture. Some great do's and don'ts that will definitely improve your snaportraits.
• How to Make a DIY Camera Stand
  Curbly
  Another great photography DIY project. Have you ever needed to make a photograph that is truly parallel to your subject? Have you ever needed to do this with the subject lying down?
• Shoot from the Hip
  Beyond Megapixels
  Lisa from Beyond Megapixels suggests a refreshing way of shooting. Bored from the regular angles on your pictures? Try shooting from the hip.
• Balancing the Sun with flash - Crosslighting
  Make Light Real
  Great ideas setups and diagrams for shooting against the sun. Be prepared to get your heavy gear out.
• Softbox
  Photographically Inclined
  I didn't know how to call this. It is not a softbox. It is not a ringlight and it is not an umbrella. It is a combination of all three.

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Related Links:
- Speed Links for 2-23-2008
- Speed Links for 12-20-2007
- Speed Links for 12-11-2007
- Speed Links for 11-20-2007 Click to continue ›

A snoot is something you use to constrain the light coming from a flash, you can use it to tight a beam of light, or you can use it to flag light so it will not hit your lens and cause flare.

Scott Campbell came up with this 30 seconds, 2 Dollars snoot that will do just that - snoot your flash. In the process he nuked a catch all sack, but hey! It was worth it. (Kill me if I know how I missed it up till now)

Check out some of the older posts of Scott, he is deep into the realm of DIY.

Some More DIY:
- The Cheapest Ring Light Ever
- The Ghetto Studio
- Painting With Light
- The Best 6 Ways To Create Your Own Bokeh Click to continue ›

First, a word of warning: do not try this at home...

So, the word on the street is that the new (or not so new anymore) Nikon D3 is as bullet proof as an M1 Abrams tank. Apparently, this guy from youtube decided to see if the rumors are correct.

This is not a video for the faint of heart. Nor is it a video to watch if you just ate. It might induce involuntary gagging when seeing the abuse this camera takes.

One more thing, do not try this with the little sister - the Nikon D70 - you will have to eat the camera.

After much ado, here is The Video Link.

If that was not enough, watch the Nikon D3 Drop Test. (The video freezes in the middle, but the point is well made).

Any comments about the truthfulness of those flicks will be greatly appreciated. (No, I did not get a huge lump of cash, and No, I am not buying one of those anytime soon)

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Other More Constructive Articles:
- Homemade Gridspot
- Just Fab's Turkey Pan Beauty Dish
- DIY Wax-Fen Flash Diffuser - Yet Another Bouncy Thingy
- Getting Fired by My Daughter
- The Party Bouncer is Back in Business (Card)
- The Ghetto Studio Click to continue ›

The following article is a guest post by Dwight Duckstein.

I purchased a used Nikkor 70-200mm, 2.8f lens – the old style that didn’t have a tripod ring. Not wanting to spend even more money on an aftermarket ring that would interfere with the A ring, I decided to make my own. Granted, the materials cost me some change, but it is designed the way I want it, and it works. Your dimensions may vary, depending on which lens and which camera you mount it to, so I am not providing much dimension detail here.

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