DIYPhotography.net

The following guest post about the best invention since the invention of the power cord (and saving space while traveling) is made by Simon Williams of Simon James Williams Photography.

You’ve been looking for something that will change your photography forever, something you’ve never quite been able to put your finger on, the “Zen” some people say that you have been looking for.

You have the best camera that your wife (or husband) will allow – in fact you’ve got more mega-pixels at your disposal that the Hubble space telescope. You are in more debt than the Lehman Brothers website designer because of it. Click to continue ›

Today @AM time I discussed a light tent made from virtually nothing but coroplast and binders. (Not the previous supermarket-box-light-tent took more products to make).

Then I saw a variation on that theme by Nathan Moroney that used nothing but paper binders to create a very similar light same tent.

Now, if you think that coroplast tent was frugal, this one is on the fringe of being made from pure nothing. (Link and musing after the jump).

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A while back we had an amazing post about building a DIY camera car rig to take incredible images of cars. This is a common method for car photographers to get in camera smoothness.

Not a long while ago BMW created a series of promotional short films called "The hire" it's all about Clive Owen driving some fancy cars in impossible situations with impossible passengers. A real treat if you like this kind of movies.

Now the cool thing is that BMW has a BTS film where you can understand some of the howthehelldidtheyshootthis scenes and sequences. Movie, pointers and some DIY after the jump.

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The following idea kinda reminds me of what do you get when you cross kinda jokes. You know, like: What do you get if you cross an octopus with a cow? An animal that can milk itself. Or what do you get if you cross a sheep with a kangaroo? A woolly jumper.

Ok, so what do you get when you cross a GPS flash mount with a Mount it anywhere camera tripod? (Answer after the jump). Click to continue ›

Photographer Reuben Krabbe, whom you may remember from the landscape bicycle portraits hack, had his flash pull an untethered bungee jump during a session in the mountains. So Reuben came up with a great idea to balance a lightstand on uneven terrains. That figures with all those mountain bicycle trips.

Being the nice chap that he is, Reuben put a video together to explain how it works. Video and some thoughts after the jump.

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Chase Jarvis is a photographer I really love following. Heck, if he ever counted his mentions on this blog, he'd probably call the stalking police.

Chase's latest installment is a cool video about his latest joy trip assignment to New Zealand where he shot a campaign for Sandisk.

A small treasure of goodies came out from that ride (check here for videos, BTSs, Gear talk and more), but in this post, I'd like to focus on the last video. The one where Chase shoots a rapid-hell-fire-8-FPS-strobed-ski sequences.

Ok, I'm gonna take my chances and try not to sound like a third grade
teacher when I'll say - This video is not about gear, it's not about
technique it's about homework. More after the jump

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The following post is a guest post from James Evins- an automotive photographer from Houston. 

Hi! My name is James Evins, and I am going to talk to you guys (and girls) about a nifty way to build your own automotive rig! Who doesn't love rig shots? The sense of motion achieved and the interesting angles that would be nearly impossible in a car to car or panning shot make automotive rigs an invaluable tool to automotive photographers. Click to continue ›

Ever had your light stand taken down along with your precious 5000$ Profoto? Not a fun experience.

Next runner up on the not-so-fun light stands falls is a knocked-down speedlite. While the cost of speedlites is considerably less than the cost of a Profoto, if this is all you have it can still be pretty annoying. Especially if you're on the beach where it's sandy. 

Keep reading for a cheap and ingenious solution. 

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If you've read the small backdrops post on Studio @ home, you know I am now on some R&R with wify. Of course I am packed for the ride with my photography gear. Aside from a camera I wanted to share how I pack my flash things. I got this tip from a long while ago at Strobist and here is my adaptation: The Portable Flash Pack.

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When I was a young manager, I went to my boss once, and bitched about a resource cut down and the fact the marketing was imposing a hell of a schedule on us poor R&D guys.

I really liked his response and even though it did not get me more resources it gave me good directions on how to make a plan. He looked straight into my eyes, patted me on the shoulder and fiercely said "Any manager can do more work with more resources; only good managers can do more with less". Okay, strike the shoulder and fierce thing, this is just my father complex kicking in.

However, the same idea also applies to photography, and especially starting photographers where big dollars equipment is rare.

In the story below Martin Kimeldorf (Flickr) shares a lesson on making more with less. Actually, Martin managed to double the amount of light sources he has with just a bit of imagination. Click to continue ›