So, it turns out that there are some great DIY going on and that people will stop at nothing to get their perfect shot. Be it making a kid laugh or getting the perfect light for your street shot, you guys show me again and again that there is nothing that beats some good ‘ol imagination and handymanism (handy-man-ism).
The following two project diverse in almost everything – amount of technical knowledge, attitude and purpose. They are both the same in the sense that nothing is impossible when you want to get something the right way and willing/wanting to think out of the box.
The first story (see the picture at the top of the article) is about getting the right face from a kid when coming to shoot. Photographer Federico Sartorio, uses a hacked version of PEZ dispensers in an unusual way. He trims the “legs” of the dispenser so they fit inside a hot shoe mount of the camera. Kids just love this stuff. Now, if you were a kid wouldn’t you give a big heartily laugh when you saw that? Why am I telling you this? Because it involves three of my favorite things:
1. PEZ candy – I remember when I was young and PEZ dispensers were a rare and hard to win treat. I only got those on special occasions from my grandfather.
2. This is just the spirit of DIYPhotography.net , take something that is utterly “not photography” and make it “hard core photography”. Use things in a way they were not supposed to be used in. Think “Hmmmm what can I do with this thingy that will improve my shots?”
3. (and last) This is a real bonus if you are shooting kids – my favorite subject in the world.
The second story involves a different kind of ingenuity. It is about the search for the perfect outdoor light weight light. Not only does Juergen Specht uses her flash away from the camera, she also uses an umbrella to diffuse the light. Now isn’t that cool! And again the curious looks and the hype created by this contraption makes it easier to break the ice with the kids / adults around you. who wouldn’t want to have their picture taken with the super-cool-umbrella-flash-helmet?
The repeating theme from the PEZ flash story, is converging (I like big words – convergence is very big in high-tech right now…). take something not photography (construction helmet) and make it into something photography. Now this is DIY!
Here are some related posts:
FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!