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Hey Dave, when I ordered my ticket my mum paid for it on her paypal so not sure if you got my name down for that saturday. (I was in to much of a rush to buy me ticket I didnt read the text, which sed if your using someone elses pay pal add your name and email to the payment)... sorry for that, what can i say I needed the ticket!!
Her name's rowan watts... She sed that the money left her paypal but that she hasnt recieved any email or confirmation.
Posted 8 months ago.
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State of Parliament, I shot that for the Nationals about two years ago had a great time.
Shorts and curry, now that is a disaster waiting to happen.
Travelling to Parliament in a gold carraige you could say it was a gilt trip...
LOL
Posted 8 months ago.
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Joseph-
I re-sent your confirmation email, so you'll have a copy. You are all set.
Rich-
That's a pretty bad pun!
Posted 8 months ago.
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I'm so looking forward to this...
despite the fact that I will be leaving my house at 4am to do a drive/fly/train/tube to get there!
Try not to start without me ;)
Posted 8 months ago.
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Your a good man Dave,
cya tommorow!
Posted 8 months ago.
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I'll be there on Sunday and can bring an SB-800 no worries. I'll see how I feel about dragging my 055-B stand along on the day... ;)
Posted 8 months ago.
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Is it Saturday yet? *grin*
How do you feel about signing DVD sets, DH? LOL
Posted 8 months ago.
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Sean - forget the camera gear just bring a packet of chocolate kimberley's... lets see the strobist light one of those!
Posted 8 months ago.
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Chocolate Kimberleys?
Posted 8 months ago.
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TO ALL LONDON STROBISTS.
A friend of mine has sadly had to pull out of Saturday's Strobist Meet (Tomorrow) due to personal reasons.
I know its at a late stage, but do you or at least know anyone WHO CAN make it tomorrow.
Very last minute. I have the paypal receipt printed and ready to roll.
Ticket at face value - £125.00
If interested, or you know anyone that is.
Call me on 07948 276 879 ASAP.
Kind Regards,
Matt Kirwan
www.mattkirwan.co.uk/
Posted 8 months ago.
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Shame, I booked myself in at work tomorrow otherwise I would have snapped your arm off for the ticket!
Posted 8 months ago.
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TAKEN. Thanks.
Posted 8 months ago.
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I echo Ben J. Boyle
Chocolate Kimberleys?
Posted 8 months ago.
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Darn it, too late. Grrrr....;)
Posted 8 months ago.
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Nightmare, Cant find any of the info for the day, like location etc... I think I remember reading its at ULU at 9 in a seminar room but other than that I'm defo gunna get lost haha
I found this link on the ULU website, is this the right place?
www.ulu.co.uk/content/index.php?page=13
Which part of that building is the seminar?
Posted 8 months ago.
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Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait
Posted 8 months ago.
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Info is on the Strobist.com blog, link at top of this post.
Yes that is the right place.
Originally posted 8 months ago.
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aperture-priority edited this topic 8 months ago.
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@Ben J. Boyle:
I like the dvd signing idea. I'll bring them with me tomorrow! ;)
Posted 8 months ago.
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I checked the blog but cant find any liks to it, only link i could find took me to the page that says its sold out... oh well now i know i'm heading to the right place I'll just walts around til i see the SB 800 monolith I'm expecting
Posted 8 months ago.
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I'm an idiot, just found it... cheers!
Posted 8 months ago.
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I got on this train in Edinburgh at 3pm, and have just passed York. Broke down 30 minutes out of Edinburgh and didn't move for three hours. At least it has free wifi so I can keep up with Flickr! Every cloud...
Posted 8 months ago.
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LOL... thanks for breaking the darn line Hugh! we've just hit Durham after hitching south on a Virgin train and switching over there!
You in yet?
Posted 8 months ago.
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Ahhh.. on sunday only... 21 strobes and six chocolate kimberleys... unless Sean brings more
Posted 8 months ago.
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I feel a lot better about my complicated travel plans after reading Hugh's story above - snow is melting in Scotland so I should be freezing tomorrow afternoon while shooting football, but on the bright side I'll pay for much of my weekend if the game goes ahead.
Really looking forward to Sunday.
Posted 8 months ago.
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Woo... today is the day of the seminar... only we've not got to London yet and are going 107mph on a train. See you folks tomorrow... I'll be the one with the huge coffee!
Posted 8 months ago.
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Now at Train minus five hours... really should hit the sack ;)
Posted 8 months ago.
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Why? I'm still awake...
I caught a stomach bug on Thursday and spent two days in bed in my hotel room. (Which, BTW, can save you a lot of money in London!)
But now that I am feeling better, I am overslept and wide awake. Oh, well.. Pass the caffeine in morning...
Posted 8 months ago.
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Ouch, Not good David. I'll be pretty tired when I get there.. I suspect I'll be drinking loads of coffee too, even though I'm a tea drinker.
Haven't had as much sleep as I'd like, but still need to pack as I'm staying a few days. (Photoshop for Photographers author Martin Evening kindly offered to put me up!). That means I could well be calling over on Sunday after too!
I'm so looking forward to this weekend!
Posted 8 months ago.
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BTW, the map link is now wrong:
www.ulu.co.uk/content/index.php?page=13
is the correct page..
Posted 8 months ago.
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I hope Sean has better luck getting out of Galway than I did when I was last there - my plane to London was five hours delayed and that airport is only slightly larger than many rural ones in East Africa... Good work on the map.
Posted 8 months ago.
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@ strobist:
I'm sorry to hear about the bug. I got it last year... twice. I didn't eat properly in 3 days. I hope you are all right today!
See you all there, soon
Posted 8 months ago.
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Flying out in four hours - looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow.
(may show up at the pub to night...)
Posted 8 months ago.
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Been up since 6 and thoroughly bored, You want to get somewhere in London in a hurry the tube will let you down. Try and get somewhere slowly and it delivers you to your destination at lightspeed. I have to kill time for an hour and a half. Doh!
PS I could not bring my strobes as they are sat in the studio set up for a job on Monday.
CYA
Posted 8 months ago.
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Shame on you Richard! If I was up at six I'd be out walking looking for pictures, but I have a rotten cold so its not going to happen :)
--
http://paulophotoblog.blogspot.com
Posted 8 months ago.
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The football match I was supposed to be covering today was called off due to a frozen pitch at 11.50 this morning - so I'm back in the house killing time until starting my 476 mile trip to meet up with you tomorrow.
Posted 8 months ago.
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Hello all - long-time lurker here going to the seminar tomorrow, thought I would say hi before meeting up in the morning!
Not much (actually, any) strobist stuff in the photostream; in fact I have been following the blog for a couple of years, and this is my 'kick up the pants' to stop reading and start doing!
I love taking pics with natural light, and hope tomorrow to start with some of this off-camera stuff -- you guys are all very inspiring...
Posted 8 months ago.
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Checks TFL site to find "planned engineering works" on the Metropolitan and Picadilly lines from Uxbridge to Harrow. So there goes the simple idea of drive to Hillingdon and sit on a tube. Guess that South Harrow will be the answer in less than 12 hours.
Guess that the Saturday seminar is still in the post seminar pub stage
Posted 8 months ago.
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I'll be first then, just back from the pub
THANK YOU David for a brilliant day
The biggest lesson for me was "one step at a time"
Brin
Originally posted 8 months ago.
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brinlloyd edited this topic 8 months ago.
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Wow home at last, Piccadilly line was suspended and District line was slowed down both due to signal failure!
What a day! I went to bed at 1.30am yesterday after a very good Korean restaurant in Soho (Gama in Dean st.) and woke up this morning at 7.30... I have very small eyes now, and not just because I'm vietnamese :-P
Thank you David for making your way to London to give us this wonderful seminar. I liked you thru your blog, now I like you even more after meeting you in real life! It was cool to go again thru your flash techniques in audio/video mode this time (no more typo LOL) and see how you deal with issues or hard situations.
Also big thank you to Peter from Sunbounce for the prize I've won: Sunbounce Micro Mini, a great Xmas present before date! I will now have to do some unboxing and test shots! London Strobist members, lets plan a special meeting :-) Thanks David for tossing the coin in my favor hihi :-D
Was also really cool to catchup with long time no see London strobists and meet some new faces. I hope to meet you again at one of our meetings.
Good night!
Posted 8 months ago.
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I have just got home to Gloucestershire, and had to scrape the ice off the car to drive home from the station...
But I had a cracking day. Unfortunate my brain is hurting from information overload, so now I had better put some of the learning into practice.
A huge thanks to David for the day and Rams for supporting him in the admin
Ian
Originally posted 8 months ago.
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Ian York edited this topic 8 months ago.
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one thing I forgot to mention
when I arrived home, she who must be obeyed asked me if I learnt anything
So I told her that according to Mr Hobby it's not size that's is important, but apparent size..
yeah... dream on was her response..
:0
Posted 8 months ago.
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Just got myself back after wandering around London trying to find Kings X (don't ask!) - ended up flagging a taxi down, cost £4.00 but saved a ten minute walk.
Great day, it was good to meet some fellow 'strobists' - all have a good weekend and a safe journey home.
Cheers,
Matt Kirwan
07948 276 879
www.mattkirwan.co.uk/
Posted 8 months ago.
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I am back home after a eventful journey on the tube, line shut, race by taxi to the car park then a drive back home to cambridgeshire to see my folks.
I have had a great time, I hoped to stay longer in the pub with everyone. Apologies if I missed you out by not saying goodbye. I really enjoyed today what with my bad jokes.
I learnt a lot, I am meant to be a pro but realised quickly that you never stop learning.
I hope that the guys on Sunday get as much as what was achieved by everyone today.
Dave the shots on your camera of you talking to students I can claim responsibility. I am now thinking of travelling to Dubai next year.
Once again I am at home with my family, but today I joined the strobist family.
Rich
Originally posted 8 months ago.
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rockhoppermedia edited this topic 8 months ago.
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Ian, after posting I saw your edit...
....so does this mean the closer you get, the bigger it is??
Apparent size and all?
;) - I'm confused?!?
Matt Kirwan
www.mattkirwan.co.uk/
Posted 8 months ago.
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@Matt
Apparantly it starts to fall off the further away you are..
Posted 8 months ago.
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And the closer you get the faster the fall off.
@Strobist, sorry for hitting your feet twice in the pub, a month of hard work and waking up early has made me more clumsier than usual at the end of the day :-P
Posted 8 months ago.
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Congratulations Huy - good to see it go to a good home. I was on baby-sitting duty so had to bail as soon as the first coin toss went "tails". Good to see everyone so enthused today - can't wait to see the "band" photo. Thanks again to Matt Kirwan for scoring my ticket. Good luck in the game tonight Mr. Hobby!
Posted 8 months ago.
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*stumbles in*
Home! Seems to be the day for train related issues today, twenty minute delay at Chippenham due to some drunken f-wit trying to hurl himself through the window of the train, followed by a final leg on a coach driven by a driver who had no idea where to find the station in my home town! LOL
Aside from those minor blips, I had a great day - was good to finally put faces to some names too :)
Originally posted 8 months ago.
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Ben J. Boyle edited this topic 8 months ago.
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Not much sleep for me (again) tonight -- but it was worth it as the Gators beat undefeated #1-ranked Alabama and earn a shot in the BCS Championship game on Jan 8th.
Sweet.
I threw in some pix while I listened on the 'net. Herewith, a rogues gallery from today:
Great to meet you guys today -- and to see friends from last year again. Time to hit the hay and get a little sleep for tomorrow.
Looking like shorts weather again!
Posted 8 months ago.
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Not down here it's not - tis below freezing right now. I too had to de-ice my car for to get home ;)
Posted 8 months ago.
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Not sure I follow your logic...
:)
Posted 8 months ago.
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You'd be surprised how many times I'd heard that.
Oh yeah... GO GATORS!
Posted 8 months ago.
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On my way to the seminar on a cold and frosty morning. Realizing that there just isn't enought caffine in a cup of tea. If this Met line train hurrys up I'll have enough time to pop into the shop for some other bits.
Posted 8 months ago.
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Didn't sleep too well either. Never do when I'm in a strange bed (albeit a very comfortable one!).
Don't I look so sweet ;)
Posted 8 months ago.
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I am now awake, and got my strobes out, cat has long since learnt to hide when hearing the whine of the capacitors, now looking for a victim for some hard edged lighting...
Posted 8 months ago.
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Poor kitteh :(
LOL
Now of course what we want to do is find someone with a US pocket wizard to stand outside the ULU building this afternoon when the strobing starts to confuse the hell out of DH and all present :p
Posted 8 months ago.
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Its ok Ben I have trapped a pigeon in Trafalgar Square and am now training it to hover whilst carrying a strobe and pocket wizard. It will be ready for next year unless my cat who has other ideas gets any where near it.
Posted 8 months ago.
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Hi guys - finally got round to joining the group!
Great to meet everyone yesterday and have to echo previous comments that I learnt soooo much - the teaching was fatastic and also highly entertaining!
Look forward to seeing everyone's pictures.
Andrea
Posted 8 months ago.
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Welcome to the group :)
Posted 8 months ago.
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Hi everyone!
It was great to meet you all up yesterday.
It was really intense but it was fantastic!
I'm glad I put some faces to some names
Rockhoppermedia , I'm glad you made it home safely in spite of the London tubes.
BTW, London pigeons have grown in the middle of contamination, and any kind of foods... they will survive the cockroaches... they are the super-pigeons... he'll serve you well.
Welcome, Andrea! I hope you enjoy this place!
Ben , Did you have your dvd copies signed next to me? I didn't look at your name tag
Posted 8 months ago.
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Could have been me, could have been Ian York - mine was the purple sharpie if that helps ;)
Posted 8 months ago.
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Awesome day. Learned masses. Still buzzing from it. Thank you to David - your enthusiasm is infectious. Thanks also to Peter and Rams for sharing your insights with me in the pub afterwards. Great meeting Ben & Ian from my local patch as well as other like-minded folk from all over. Looking forward to future meets!
Posted 8 months ago.
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I can't be the first one back after todays meet, can I? Probably left everyone else in the pub, which looked like it had the possibility of being very messy.
As I said to Dave (who I met today, hello there!) it was odd spending the day in the dark, learning about the light -- but the teaching was as awesome as I had hoped for.
Now to make this as intuitive as it appeared for Mr Hobby...
Originally posted 7 months ago.
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skinnyjimmy edited this topic 7 months ago.
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During Saturday's seminar we were talking about the Brand of david's rolling case I have totally forgotten the name of it , can anyone remember It please?
Flynlo.
Posted 7 months ago.
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David had two cases that day. One was a hard case (unsure of brand), the other carry-on was the Think Tank "Airport International."
Posted 7 months ago.
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Thats the one, think tank. Cheers......
flynlo
Posted 7 months ago.
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Can anyone help me out? On Saturday someone mentioned a company that supplies white vinyl for the 'floor bit' of a high-key seamless white background. Stupidly, I didn't take down the details....
Posted 7 months ago.
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Pentonville rubber, I will spare the gentlemans blushes who suggested it.
I am buying a sheet for myself. As soon as I can get more details about what I actually need.
Posted 7 months ago.
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Thanks for that! Will look them up. Might take some explaining when the order comes through the post if the company's name is emblazoned on the packaging... (live in a small village where everyone knows each other, including Postman)
Posted 7 months ago.
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Hey all,
I was at the Sunday seminar today, and... well, it wasn't at all what I was expecting and wonder if perhaps I misinterpreted the intentions of the seminar.
Some history: I've been resisting off-camera flash lighting for ages and finally earlier this year I sat down and went through Lighting 101 several times until I got the concept of setting ambient exposure and bringing in the flash exposure well and truly cemented in my head and working in practice. The improvement in the light quality was immediate and staggering and I was very encouraged and excited.
Then I got the DVDs and pretty much devoured them and started putting what I learnt from them into action that very week, using a flash and umbrella and then a couple of months later upgrading to two flashes and making use of them, my umbrella and gels to create a client-desired effect. I pored over the location shoot discs as well, which incidentally I found phenomenally useful once I'd taken in the content of the seminar discs. Observing the principles being implemented and combined in practice is vastly more instructional once you have a basic understanding of them from the seminar.
As such, to my great disappointment, I have to say there was barely anything touched on in the seminar today which I didn't already know. Obviously the content was, as always, extremely accessible and to those who understood very little of the strobist theory without a doubt absolutely essential stuff and highly educational.
However, I thought this was to be aimed a little higher than newcomers (no disrespect meant, I was one just a few short months ago!) and yet it didn't seem to pan out that way. I was expecting a basic run through of the 102 principles in the morning and in the afternoon a heavier emphasis on tying it all together with actual shooting of examples using found objects, combinations of lighting set-ups etc.
Sadly (from my point of view, at least) we were left with just one hour to observe actual shooting and of the two set-ups that fit into that time, the first was a very basic flash/umbrella portrait example, something I had assumed was going to be taken mostly as read that we could achieve. The second set-up started to touch on some new ideas, such as gobo-ing off some light and using the on-axis fill idea, but never really got any deeper than a basic example before time ran out.
Now, I appreciate that for many people there this was all very new and all absolutely essential. Indeed, there were many attendees for whom it was all quite new and exciting and I absolutely do not mean to put those people down. David is absolutely instrumental in changing the entire mindset and I cannot say enough good things about how he breaks it down and makes it totally accessible to anyone that can push buttons on a camera and flash. Even having seen and read it all before several times on the DVD and website, it's still entertaining to hear the stories and feel his enthusiasm, and that was a pleasure.
It's just that I already have a very practical hand-on grasp of the tenets of Lighting 102 and was excited about learning more about integrating them together more convincingly (as I tend to just busk them together while maintaining a bit of patter to make it look like I know exactly what I'm doing) and hoped to observe David do this in practice as opposed to spending the vast majority of the day listening to the principles being re-iterated.
I definitely subscribe to consolidating the ideas regularly so as not to fall into a pattern but rather be inspired to add a new 'trick' to the mix, but by the end of the day felt this was a very expensive form of consolidation. :(
Still, a pleasure to meet Dave in person nonetheless!
EDIT: I should add that one of the things I did find extremely educational during the actual shoots was the interaction Dave has with his subject. Obviously there's a rapport between us and Dave already but still, it's just one of the many reasons I go back and watch the location shoots on the DVDs time and time again. They're absolutely indispensable and I would happily pay the same price for more DVDs of even more location shoots!
Originally posted 7 months ago.
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Owen B. edited this topic 7 months ago.
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Feel kind of bad for being a bit down on it overall so as a peace offering, I was dying to stick my hand up about gels when they were being discussed, so here's my tip: Rosco gels were mentioned often, but I got a couple of extensive gel sample packs from Lee Filters by going to their website and filling in the request form for a sample pack.
A couple of days later I suspected it might not have 'gone through' so I called them up and asked the nice lady that answered the phone if she could send me a 'brochure and sample pack' (the brochure makes it sound like I'm not a cheapo strobist after a freebie, right?) and LO! The following week two seperate packages arrived from Lee... ;)
It's an extensive selection, too!
Posted 7 months ago.
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@ melon499 - that gentleman {ahem} was suggesting the Pentonville Rubber vinyl idea as an all-in-one, re-usable seamless and floor covering. It won't give the same reflective surface as the unidentified material in Zack Arias' tutorial, but it's a fine start and hugely resilient should you have lots of children/stilettos prancing around on it and don't want to replace roll after roll of seamless paper.
I would imagine that a clear perspex covering might help increase the reflection though? Don't know if anyone has any ideas there.
Posted 7 months ago.
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Owen, i read your last post. Did you bring this up with David there and then?
You were offered the chance at the beginning during the icebreaker to put out your weak points did you do so?
In Davids defence, I am a classically trained fine art portrait photographer who has been using flash for many years. I found his approach intuitive and loose from the flash/lightmeter/balancing act/torture that I was taught.
The set ups he done would have taken me thirty minutes to do using the old system. The method taught is definately on turbo.
David has to cope with the lowest common denominator in the audience however his teaching style reaches a broad spectrum.
Id suspect you may get more out of a strobist meet than a seminar, where you can learn of others.
I am disappointed that you may have felt it was a let down in some areas, I hope you mentioned this to David during and after the day.
Prehaps on the next weekend he runs a advanced course. Who knows.
However I feel that David has given enough opportunity for you to see the road map of the day, ie post seminar reports that he has prepared from other venues. Comments on his site, before during and after the day session. In fact in the pub the last thing David asked me before leaving was did you learn anything and do you feel comfortable now. I believe if I said no he would have sat down and gone through it again.
The teacher cannot teach the student, who does not know the value of the lesson.
However thank you for throwing up the gels link. If you have any further questions or want o advance further as a strobist, this flickr site is the photography equivalent of wikipedia. Please ask around.
many regards
Rich
Posted 7 months ago.
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Conor lexan sheet is better than perspex, the stuff is bulletproof, yes really however it is expensive, I am looking around also.
Rich
Posted 7 months ago.
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I was there on Saturday and the same thoughts crossed my mind. It was also quite clear that with a very mixed group and very different levels of experience with off camera lighting, David is doing the right thing.
The sort of topics you describe would be hard to to cover in a single day even with a properly qualified audience.
Chatting to him in the pub, he said that he knows there are still a great many photographers who would jump into the strobist way if only they knew about it, I think he is still keen to keep pushing at the entry level to spread the word even further. He did also admit that he was a little concerned at the consequence of further growth as he already has to deal with a huge amount of traffic (~300 emails a week - or was it per day). So I say keep it up David and lets hope this group stays as helpful and informative as it is right now, we can cope with the higher traffic levels by sharing the burden at all levels of experience.
Things I learned:
Pencils make great stuffing for the ends of Westcott double fold umbrella shafts to stop them collapsing in the swivels. D'oh why didn't I think of that before. So now I have hybrid graphite shafted umbrellas like Davids'.
Shooting nearly every day on assignments for many years is probably the only way to learn how to do this stuff quickly and successfully, and even then you have to push the envelope as much as you can get away with. I have no idea how I can do that myself without turning pro which is a problem because I don't think now is a good time to do that :-(
I really need some pro bodies, glass, and half a dozen PW's. Shame I can justify that without them paying for themselves, see above :-(
Any lighting problem can be solved one step at a time, but it helps a lot if you have enough experience to know which step to try first.
Boring days are bad days, ok I know this but I need to remind myself more often and take more risks photographically until more of it comes naturally.
I need to start using more hard light sources when the opportunity arises, finessed lighting on smaller areas of the subject is much easier and more effective for creating original looks than I had imagined.
David is a really nice guy, I was expecting that anyway but now it is confirmed. Also I was pleased to hear he has an engineering background which gives hope to all of us non-creative types that like to take things apart and fix them and are struggling with making original images.
So thanks David for coming over to the UK and working so hard to pass on some of your enthusiasm in person. I wouldn't have missed it for anything.
Also great to meet everyone else and to put some faces to avatars.
Bill
Originally posted 7 months ago.
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aperture-priority edited this topic 7 months ago.
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Owen-
Thanks very much for you feedback, which can be hard to deliver. That is very valuable to me.
I was a bit frustrated today that the combination of our being a bit behind schedule and the tight room constricted what we were able to do in the shooting portion.
I have something on the way to you which I hope will help to rectify things.
Thanks again,
David
Posted 7 months ago.
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Hi all,
David: I really hope you don't misunderstand my comments as I feel perhaps rockhoppermedia has (more below!). I certainly didn't expect a gesture and am now hoping it's not a boxed live rattlesnake ;)
rockhoppermedia: I think you might have got the wrong end of my wordy stick. I did introduce myself by explaining that I've been making use of everything I've learnt on the DVDs and site to implement 2 flashes, umbrellas and gels into my lighting kit and was looking for more practical examples of how to tie it all together more convincingly where I currently busk the concepts together.
What David spoke about was no less enlightening, entertaining or engaging than it's ever been, but I think I was expecting a different format and assumed level of proficiency based on the planned content. The fault may well lie with me in that respect as perhaps I've got myself to a level beyond which I can only learn by practical experience as opposed to such a seminar. It wasn't that I had not learnt anything for any lack on his part - if anything he's taught me too well via the site and his DVDs!
Originally posted 7 months ago.
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Owen B. edited this topic 7 months ago.
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No harm no foul, I was worried that you may have come away from an amazing experience without something. I really am passionate about my job. This is not a hobby for me and Saturday was a kick up the bum for me and I took away something from the meeting.
I feel it important as a strobist that we support each other, I was concerned that you were not supported. But knowing now that you did take something away from today has cheered me up. I am here to support fellow posters.
Well I think David might be onto a winner if it was a residential weekend. With some fellow strobists helping out with workshops. He really needs an assistant as I know that he is inundated with emails and what not.
Do you think a residential weekend would be a good idea Owen?
Oh if you hear a rattle coming from your parcel I wouldnt open it! LOL
best of regards
Richie
Posted 7 months ago.
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I'm not sure that a residential weekend would be entirely necessary, but I do think that there's definitely an opening now that the Strobist movement has progressed so far for a day that caters extremely specifically to those that most definitely have their head around the basics of at least 2 lights, the concept of practical gelling and creative positioning to shape/gobo light, and then somehow exploring the next level of what can be done with that creatively.
The thing is, thinking about it now, I'm not sure how that could really be planned for. One way would be to basically run a series of location shoots at a venue, demonstrating setups and then exploring how they can go wrong and how they can be rescued. It's always been my experience that necessity is the mother of invention and some of my better shots have been genuine screw-ups that have suddenly intimated a great new 'angle' on the scene. On the other hand, when things just aren't going right, that's when I flounder because I'm not sure what's going wrong.
What I come back to the more I think about this is that I'd be better off going out and creating some shoots in unfamiliar surroundings for myself, (ab)using my connections in tellyland to get notable models for freebie shoots and thereby expanding my portfolio while at the same time expanding my experience. It would certainly save David some time running us through it himself and would mean he could concentrate on spreading the baseline principles, for which there is obviously an exponentially growing hunger amongst photographers old and new!
Posted 7 months ago.
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Back from London (well, about an hour ago). Thanks again David for giving me ideas and blasting me with the "fire hose of knowledge", I just hope I actually retained a bit of it. I managed to snag tomorrow for a day off (today now!)... although I had to work Thanksgiving weekend to do it!
I think tomorrow (after sleeping in of course) its time for a trip to the garage, fire up the electric heater, clear a space against the wall and dig out those umbrellas to see what I can do with ETTL flashes I have and the simple setups I've now seen in person. :)
Jason (the American from Suffolk, but not Virginia)
Posted 7 months ago.
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Drinking coffee and eating breakfast in my hotel room - I've a couple of 8gig memory cards with your name on them London and 6 hours until I need til leave for the airport...
Anyway - loved the sunday workshop and througly enjoyed the social time in the pub afterwards. I probably didn't learn much that I didn't already know - but seeing it done - in real live - by a master is different than reading and doing on your own. I once tried to learn tai'chi from a book...
I got just what I was expecting. I'll write more when I at a real keyboard (I'm writing this on my phone).
Originally posted 7 months ago.
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TC . edited this topic 7 months ago.
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David has talked about the most important bit which is balancing the flash and ambiance. Once you master that you can go for any other techniques will single or multiple lights very easily without the need for advanced tuition.
I started to read the blog 1.5 year ago starting from the first post, reading the one useful for me plenty of times, the seminar's raw content did not bring new stuffs for me, it's more how David put them into practice and what goes between and after.
For those who go to TFC today, enjoy it.
Posted 7 months ago.
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I am scheduled to the minute for the rest of the time I am in London, but wanted to thank everyone who came out this weekend. It was fantastic to get to meet so many new people -- especially at the pub later where I was schooled on proper beer selection.
As for those Chocolate Kimberlies Noel, I had one upon returning to my room and can report that despite all appearances they are absolutely nothing like the Moonpies I grew up on as a kid. Put me in the "acquired taste" camp, but I am pretty sure the kids will demolish them upon my return.
Heading over to TFC in a few mins, so have to pack a sparse light bag and head out. Flying all day tomorrow, but will be back and digging out of accumulated emails/posts/threads/etc. on Weds.
Please throw out any continuing Q's or discussion, as this is the place for all of that stuff from the weekend's session.
Thanks again,
D
Posted 7 months ago.
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Sitting in McDonalds at Victoria Station using free wifi :O) and wanted to thank David and everyone else I met yesterday.
Although I learned one or two things that I'd never thought of - the overriding benefit of going to this seminar for me, as someone who has read the blog and tried out some of the techniques, is that seeing and hearing David in action I realised I do actually know much of this stuff and I know it works - it's given me the confidence to try much more than I've done up to now on real assignments.
Watching him get some superb portraits of a couple of people who didn't really want their picture taken and who admitted to being uncomfortable on the wrong side of a lens was fantastic - while I'd have liked to see more set ups I realised quickly that it's as much about the interaction as it is about the lighting.
The pub afterwards was of as much benefit to me as the actual seminar too - speaking to people from a wide variety of photography backgrounds isn't something that I get the chance to do as regularly as I'd like. In particular speaking to people who earn all of their living from photography and them sharing their experiences with part time shooters like me was invaluable.
And David has some fantastic stories from his time at the Sun.
Thanks
Originally posted 7 months ago.
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dundeeladdie edited this topic 7 months ago.
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Hi again
I mentioned on Sat that the clamp that I bought from Maplin was good value for money; - I forgot to mention that i bought a worklight and stand at Travis (builders merchants) near Hendon RAF museum for £11.50 + VAT, they had a corner of "no reasonable offer refused"; - they did not accept £5.00
Maybe other branches are doing the same, worth a try if you're interested.
Brin
Originally posted 7 months ago.
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brinlloyd edited this topic 7 months ago.
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@conorwithonen - thanks for the tips - I had imagined it to be reflective. Does anyone know what the UK equivalent of 'tile board' is (as used by Z Arias?)
Posted 7 months ago.
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@dundeeladdie: Same here, I was fairly sure I "knew" most of it but it's a case of using it to embed the knowledge and seeing David do it and make it so effortless was something of a revelation.
Posted 7 months ago.
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on the clamp stick a tennis ball between the two handles, this will prevent slippage.
Posted 7 months ago.
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Finally home back in Sunny South Wales ! Still feeling very ill but very happy after such and excellent day yesterday, I hope I didnt give anybody my germs ! Sorry if I have.
Initially I felt the same as Owen after leaving the Seminar, in that I kinda expected us to have seen more lighting setup's by David. However after having a little time to digest the whole event, I think there's so much more to glean from David's seminar other than the technicalities of lighting. More than anything my current feeling is one of inspiration.
It was invaluable to hear first hand the stories from David about how he has overcome ligthing problems during his career and even more important the stories of how to interact with your subjects.
You really are a gifted teacher David, and you have excellent wit and humour, I thourougly enjoyed listening to you it, was a pleasure, I am just annoyed that I was feeling so rotten that I couldn't hang out in the Pub for longer and get an opporutnity to have a good chat.
Maybe next time.
Many Thanks
towards the back on the right David :-)
Posted 7 months ago.
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Regarding the feedback from the seminar, while I have never had the chance to attend one of David's events, I have read the site, and watched the DVDs, so I can certainly understand the issue of beginner vs. site/dvd graduate and David's need to appeal to the least common denominator.
Perhaps with the 2-day seminars you could break it down into:
Day 1 AM : Basics
Day 1 PM : Application of Basics
Day 2 AM : Advanced Concepts
Day 2 PM : Application of Advanced Concepts
This way depending on your experience, you can pick one or the other day, or both. You can't get as many people "assimilated" this way, but it provides something for the returning devotees. =)
If the above is the way they are run already, then ignore me entirely. For some reason I was under the impression that they were 2 independent but identical seminars on the two days.
Regarding the follow-up DVDs, definitely more On-Location examples to add to the library. And DH, if you need any opportunities to shoot swimsuit/glamour just let me know and we'll head down to the Carribbean...
Posted 7 months ago.
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The Norwegian guy is home!
Thanks for a wonderful day. thanks to everyone and especially thanks to Mr. Flash for your teaching and your stories at the pub.
Me too feels like it was a little too beginner-based, but then again I learned a lot and met lots of fellow strobists.
- iRick
Posted 7 months ago.
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Maybe next time it might be good to have two seminars, one the full monty like the seminar just gone, and one without less theory and practical demonstrations of technique, patter and industry tips
--
http://paulophotoblog.blogspot.com
Posted 7 months ago.
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Totally off topic: but I had a couple of hours before my plane left today, so I wandered around a bit. My only goal was to go by Tate Modern, so that kind of dictated my route: Anyway, here's a bit of London as seen through my eyes:
www.flickr.com/photos/tcdk/sets/72157610853859059/
Posted 7 months ago.
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Just wanted to say thanks for a great seminar David. I was there on the Sunday and found your style of presenting very informative and relaxed. The examples you gave were great and really helped to cement the information in my head.
Collecting together a whole group of fellow Strobists in one room is a great testament to the hard work and determination you've shown to passing on your pearls of wisdom.
I really agreed with the continuous thread that there is no 'magic' to lighting and the content and workshop afterwards really highlighted this for me. Keeping it simple and getting it right then slowly adding elements is great advice. Watching you and learning more about the patter between photographer and subject is something that would be very difficult to achieve on the blog IMO.
I really benefited and enjoyed it. Thanks.
Posted 7 months ago.
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David,
Glad you enjoyed the kimberley's.
The first thing that struck me when you started to talk was when you said this is not rocket science. It isn't. You have shown us all that in a very informative and entertaining way.
I had my epiphany when reading your blog last year when you said to think on a flash as a torch. It all fell into place for me then. I have been taking photographs for the last thirty years, on all formats in most conditions - except flash, so I don't consider myself a beginner and I don't think that the seminar was anything but fantastic. I really enjoyed it and i hope to meet you again in the future.
I particularly enjoyed how you overcame the particular problems with the photos you showed us and I certainly got a lot out of it.
There was only one thing I forgot to ask and that was about the Christmas sitting room set up you had on the blog a while ago, but I shall try to work it out for myself
Good luck and Happy Christmas
Posted 7 months ago.
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Good to see you again David, thanks for the demos on Monday at the Brunswick. See you at GPP next year :)
Posted 7 months ago.
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It was a fantastic seminar and it was great meeting David and meeting all the fellow Strobists (you!).
David: How about a practical seminar next year, without any theory content (supporting Paulo s idea from above). That would give us the time to actually translate the theory and our existing experience onto real world problems ?
We could e.g. divide 40 people in say 4 groups, and then each group works on a "problem" and you David consult/judge/comment on these setups.
Posted 7 months ago.
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David, thankyou for your portfolio advice and a good seminar. I'd definitely enjoy an advanced class or conventional workshop if you were to offer one. Of course this would cost more,but it would pay off too.
Posted 7 months ago.
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Thank you David for a fantastic experience.
I was the one with the Sony stuff :)
I did find that I knew most of the facts given during the session however I found the methods of tying everything together in the afternoon was very interesting.
As has been stated above, I do feel that a 2 day thing may be more useful to people that have been following the blog, and have read up and practised a bit. however this is simply improving a good thing, you won't hear any criticisms from me.
One specific thing that I thought could be improved would be a live projector feed of your chimping and/or liveview, then there would be no need to do a review session after each shoot, as it would all happen simultaneously.
Posted 7 months ago.
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In response to thingomy:
Some people out there shoot "tethered" with an Eye-Fi card and a CF-Adapter card. I have no experience with this, but it sounds like a cheap wifi solution and I may give this a go as soon as I can get hold of one of these cards.
In Lightroom you can then define folders as "observable" and whenever JPGs are received from the Eye-Fi card, they are directly shown on the screen. Neat.
However, the card only supports JPGs and therefore you best use RAW+smallJPG. The small JPG versions are quickly transferred via the wireless connection and you keep the RAW for the real thing.
Anyone out there has any experience with this setup ? Maybe forking out into a separate discussion thread ... or better I do a proper search on existing threads.
I would very much support and like this idea to shoot tethered in these workshops. Immediate feedback also for the "audience" :) Let's see what David thinks about this.
All the best,
Markus
Posted 7 months ago.
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