Pixel Darkroom Photography

A couple of days ago I started using strobes again. I was so tired of using them for some reason. I’m easing back into it. This one is shot with a couple of speedlites one on camera pointed backwards to trigger the other one (handheld) by my voice controlled remote light stand wife.

I believe I still remember my own tricycle. It was a front wheel drive (sic!) it had an iron front wheel. At some point the wheel started to wobble and I kinda lost traction with it. I realized also that you couldn’t break well with a tricycle and thus should stay away from steep hills or valleys. I remember a story from my father’s own childhood, the way he told it to us. Someone dared him to go down a steep hill. He asked, “who? ME!?” [doesn't dare go down?] So he went. He can’t remember who got to the bottom first, the tricycle or him. I guess it was a first lesson in modesty and pride.

Shot on manual mode with an old Canon Rebel and a cheap stock lens.

My daughter is having so much fun with this little big truck. She keeps pushing it uphill, get in and then “weeeee” back downhill. At the beginning I was a bit afraid she might get hurt, but it turns out that even though she can’t steer or brake, she handles it pretty well. I realize I enjoy photographing kids more and more. Here’s Day 259.

This is Ela’s dog. I don’t know his name. He got left behind somehow and I ended up taking his portrait. The image reminds me of our trip to Boise on Day 35. Sorry about the watermarks, I tried to make them more subtle but with some images it’s just too obvious. Thanks for stopping by. God bless you.

Lighting info: 580 EX II CL with coroplast snoot/grid, zoomed to 105mm via Pocket Wizard. Shot at f8 1/200.

A while ago we went to see a Mark Thompson Show. He is a ventriloquist and he had a little guy Kirby on stage and a bird named Crackers. They put on a fun show for kids and my son loved it. This is Crackers scaring the life out of me.

Strobist info: 580 EX II CL as rim and 580 EX into white satin 43′ umbrella CR, both via PW.

Strobist info: 580 EX CL via pw and available floor lamp in the distance (in frame). Tweaks in Lr.

The Jenga Tower.

Strobist info: 580 EX II x3 via Pocket Wizards. 1/32 power CL and CR with red gels and blue gels, and the top one (slightly CL with green gel at 1/128 with coroplast snoot and zoomed to 50mm or so, for less power.) Setup shot here.

Time.

Strobist info: 2×580 EX II via infra red trigger in two groups (A+B). One 580 EX II with 3 gels (2 blue gels on one half and one red gel on the other half) and the other 580 EX II bare. Stuck the pages together with magnets and covered the cover with a black foam. I left the setup shot in full color here so you can see that I didn’t tweak anything in Ps. Small dust spots removed in Lr. Shot with +2 diopter filter over a 50 mm prime. In case you didn’t know what this is, it’s a book. A “Tell the Time with Thomas” book by Christopher Awdry.

Strobist info: 580 EX II CL zoomed 50mm at 1/128 via ST-E2.

Everybody’s taking daily pictures – each with their own equipment. Today was the first snow around here. I went outside tonight to shoot some snow. I thought I had a shot but when I walked in the door, my daughter called me (she is talking more and more!) to take some pictures. I thought she wanted me to take a picture of her but she had her camera in hand and she actually wanted to take a picture of me. I think her’s turned out great. She was using the LCD on the back to delete some where I didn’t turn out so well. She likes them straight out of the camera.

Strobist info: Av mode, 580 EX II ETTL bounced into the front door triggered with ST-E2. Small tweaks in Lr. The setup shot only shows you the front door with the 580 bouncing in it – nothing fancy.

Today I am ready to unveil one of my long term projects. I’ve been working on this classic for some time and now it’s finally finished. The last two things I had mounted were the driver’s door handle and the hood ornament. I had to take the door apart but it was well worth the effort. I took it to a friend’s garage where we could set up a little car show lighting and shot a few frames. I would like to point out that this classic is in top condition and drives excellent. The engine runs smoothly and this is one of the most comfortable rides.

I said I would like to point that out but as much as I wish I could, I unfortunately cannot, because this is not a full size 1953 Chevrolet Bel Air. Even thought I had fun trying to make it look like a real size car in a car show exhibit I cannot even fit a pancake inside this car and the trunk doesn’t even open. It is quite beautiful though. I’ve always loved the “old America” and these kinds of classics remind me of a time I wished I had been around.

Strobist info: light painting technique with a 6 (or 9?) LED flashlight and two 580 EX II on IR slave standby. 15″ exposure at f22. The 580′s are there to blink their magic IR light on the tail lights and create a bit of break lights sparks in the back. Setup shot here – notice the small flashlight, my Canon remote and the two 580s at the back of the car.

Something went wrong today. I stopped by the Low Elevation Greenbelt Overpass (known in the area as L.E.G.O.) and this special team was there. Some rescue went on, there was a helicopter and some other type of experimental aircraft, an Octan bottle and a bunch of people trying to keep everything under control. We were advised to keep distance and clear the area quickly. I only had time to grab my telephoto lens and shoot this image. Obviously there was some kind of accident or something went wrong. One can never be too careful around these things.

Strobist info: 580 EX II CL 1/64 24mm, 580 EX II CR 1/64 14mm triggered via pw. Both laid flat on the tabl… highway. Shot at 1/60 f7.1. Setup shot… Aerial view here.

Today I’m visiting my home town. I had the chance to take this shot at a friend’s house. This chair was made by his uncle when he was a little kid, only a few years old. He has just turned thirty.
Shhh, shhh, it’s a surprise and he doesn’t know yet. That’s why this post is going live only after his surprise birthday party tonight. I love this picture. I love being here.

Strobist info: one 580 EX II CR snooted at 1/8, hand held by a VAL (voice activated light stand) triggered via pocket wizards.

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I had the chance to photograph some toy trains over the summer. I finally went over the whole set and picked a few favourites. Poul and Ulla Pendersen have been building this world for the past 7-8 years. It’s amazing how many little things he and his wife created. He builds the tracks and the sets while his wife paints everything. If you see some little guy anywhere, she painted it. There are thousands and thousands of little people. It’s a whole world. They say it’s 2000 sq ft just for the trains. I was like a little kid looking all over the place not even knowing what to photograph. Amazing. What a joy to see this world. If you find yourself there, plan for a few good hours of just watching these toys. Talk to Poul, he’s an amazing guy.

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