Kevin Whitworth / Jacurutu

The original plans I had for the Strobist Challenge #7 didn't work out as a macro shot. The backup plan to photograph flowers or insects in the garden didn't work out either (too many other things to do, or too much rain), and the deadline's fast approaching.

So, another late night, and playing around with lighting techniques shown in Still Life and Special Effects Photography (by Roger Hicks and Frances Schultz), brings you this photo of a dime. I started with a 10 eurocent piece, but it was too big. I could have changed the extension tubes, but everything was set up nicely, so a smaller subject was much easier! I did want to try with the ha'penny I found down the back of the piano (it's even smaller), but I can't find it at the moment.

I'm not 100% happy with the results, but it was an interesting experiment.

Hmm. Not doing too well on this, and the deadline's drawing near. Unfortunately, the object I was planning on photographing appears too big compared to the background I wanted it set against, so the shot isn't going to work as planned.

Guess I might have to wander round the garden this weekend and try the local wildlife instead.

Meanwhile, don't forget to check the other submissions from fellow Strobists.

Strobist has announced a new lighting "course" - Lighting 102. I say course, but that's not really the right word. It's more of an interactive learning environment. In fact, I'm not even sure that's the best way to describe it, so I'll quote the man himself:

Here's what I hope you will get out of Lighting 102:

• An organic and comprehensive way of understanding and controlling light.


• An enhanced creative process, by comparing your results with those of photographers from all around the world.


• The knowledge that good lighting need not be expensive.

So, it looks like there will be much flashing going on this summer!

There's a new Stobist challenge out, this time on macro photography.

For anyone who doesn't know about Strobist, it's all about getting your flash off the camera to improve how you light photographs. Well, it's about a lot of other things too. In fact the strap-line "Less Gear - More Brain - Better Light" probably sums it up better than I can, but if that doesn't help, then "What is Strobist?" should. There's lots of info in "Lighting 101" and the follow-up, "Lighting Boot Camp". There's also a whole community linked into all this, and actively pushing back the boundaries, in the "Strobist.com" Flickr group.

Which is where the new Strobist challenges come from. These are kind of an unnoffical-but-official (or should that be official-but-unnofficial?) follow up to the bootcamp series. It's something to focus and challenge all those Strobists out there.

Unfortunately, the rules state you must submit a new photograph - so there goes my change to use the Ladybird photos from last month. Still it gives me a chance to try something new instead. I fancy trying to put some of the techniques from the advertising photography workshop I did a little while ago to good use, combined with the stuff I've learnt from Strobist, and see if I can come up with something different (for me at least). I've got a few ideas, but you'll have to wait an see what they are....

So you want to use that old/cheap/whatever* flash you found in your attic/ebay/clearance bin at the local camera shop*? Great, but in these digital days, your camera's flash sync in probably electronic, rather than mechanical. Old mechanical circuits don't really care too much about the flash sync voltage (well, that's not strictly true, as you may end up getting sparking and electrical erosion if it's too high...), but your digital camera probably has lots of low voltage silicon chips in it, and stuffing a couple of hundred volts through it is probably not going to do it any good.

So, how do you know whether your old, dusty flash unit is safe? You could stick your tongue across** it like you used to do to check the voltage on 9v PP3 batteries, and if it kills you, then it's probably going to do the same to your camera. Alternatively, you could dig out a multimeter and test the voltage properly. But if you don't have a multimeter, and don't want to die, then check out the Strobe Trigger Voltage page that Kevin Bjorke has put together.

Unfortunately, it doesn't list my Hanimez TZ1. But it lists the TZ2 at 225 volts. And given the shock I got when messing with the sync lead whilst plugged into the charged TZ1, I'd imagine it's pretty similar.

Suppose I ought to stop plugging it into my Nikon D200*** then...

* Delete as appropriate.

** Don't try this at home. And if you do, don't blame me if it hurts, or you die.

*** And don't try this at home either. You'll void the warranty, possibly break the camera, and that's probably worse than dying.

This is the very first shot in a set done late one night after reading the Strobist Lighting 101 today. It's a set of shots that I've been meaning to do for a while now, but never managed to find the time. I didn't have time today either, but hey, who needs sleep really?

There's a whole series of similar (but different) shots from the rest of the shoot in my Flickr Smoke Set, or in the new Strobist Inspired section of the albums on here.

If you're a fellow Strobist, then check the photo on Flickr for details of the lighting setup.

Sorry, meant to give a plug to strobist.com with the article on product photography. Strobist.com look at how to use standard on-camera flashes instead of more expensive studio gear, and there's lots of info and articles on DIY equipment. The reason for the plug was that the mini studio I built was slightly modified from my original design after reading their DIY $10 Macro Photo Studio article. Instead of keeping it as a solid box, I cut the sides out and covered them with tissue to give me more of a light-tent instead, which improved my original idea no end.