A good day for a nap

After a day of plant shopping, I felt like curling up for a catnap too!

Nikon D90
Nikkor 18-105mm f3.5-5.6
105mm - ISO 400
1/500s- f/5.6

How much do chew love me?

Sometimes you just have to let me get away with a weird picture.  This rubber crab chew toy has coexisted for approximately 9 years of life with a Labrador or two, which is more than any other toy in our universe.  I can't even fathom how many times it has been squeaked, stepped on, left out in the rain, buried, dug up, thrown, been thrown up on, etc.  It used to be shiny and brightly colored, but the rubber is so ancient now it is hard to believe it all stays together.  I guess maybe that is what happens to us all along the way.  The harsh overhead fluorescent light really shows off all of the pits and surface flaws - which is one reason why I don't recommend it for portrait photography!

Nikon D90
Nikor 18-105mm f3.5-5.6
70mm - ISO 1100
1/125s- f/5.3

Bringing on the rain

Some days, you just let nature do all of the work.  Nothing fancy - I used the no-flash auto setting at a pretty spot with the sunset and rain coming on.  I LOVE having a driver who will park by the side of the road and whisk me away when my shot is complete.  One of a girl's most important photographic accessories is a supportive husband!

Nikon D90
Nikor 150mm f1.8 
18mm - ISO 200
1/200s- f/7.1

May the Fourth Be With You

May the Fourth Be With You!  I found myself without an extra flash tonight, and had to improvise with a flashlight.  I used it directly down onto the Luke Skywalker figure.  It bounced up a bit and cast a bit of a blue light over the mask, but I think it worked out okay.  I used my new grid on the flash to light the mask, but I still don't understand it well enough to explain - so more on that later when I figure it out!

Nikon D90
Nikor 150mm f1.8 
75mm - ISO Lo 1
1/100s- f/8

Nikon SB900
1/32 power @ f8
17mm zoom
Approximately 6" above and pointed down towards the helmet

Softly, my dear, softly.

Part III in my lighting mod series involves my favorite one so far - a 48" reflector/shoot-through panel.  This particular one came with gold, silver and black covers, and a white translucent panel.  It can be used as a reflector, bouncing light back to the subject, a (large) flag, blocking light from a particular area, or a large softbox, when you just use the white panel, as I did here.  It is a beautiful way to cast a soft, diffuse light over the subject.

The photo below shows the exact same subject, camera and flash settings and positions, just without the panel.  Do you see how the harsh shadows just melted away with the use of the panel?

Nikon D90
Nikor 150mm f1.8
50mm - ISO Lo 1
1/160s- f/1.6

Nikon SB900
1/32 power @ f5.6
17mm zoom
Approximately 6" above subject 
And abput 2' to the right
Shot through 48" reflector
Flash triggered with Pocket Wizard

Hot pink & blue

My husband just finished building my new computer, which I am super excited about.  It is in a pink case (!) with lots of blue glowing parts inside.  I wanted to show off both colors, so I took the picture in a dark room on a long shutter speed with a small aperture, and then used a small flashlight to paint some light around the case.  I would have liked the pink to pop out a bit more, but I had to block the beam of the flashlight from hitting the clear plastic (and very reflective) side of the CPU, and didn't get it quite evenly lit.

Cory tells me the machine is very quiet, but with two ear infections, everything is currently very quiet, so I will have to wait and see hear for myself once that clears up.

Nikon D90
Nikor 18-105mm f3.5-5.6
18mm - ISO 200
30s- f/22

Lighted bulb

Part two of my series on my new lighting toys involves a snoot, which is loosely defined as something that narrows your flash beam into one that fits your goal.  In this case, the flash was held directly above the little white lightbulb, and snooted down to about the diameter of the light bulb. 

After I finish the shoots showcasing all of my new toys, I will start combining them together for some more sophisticated lighting scenarios, and start experimenting with other aspects of the flash that I haven't ever spent much time thinking about, such as aperture and zoom settings on the flash itself.  These are some pretty sophisticated devices, and I know I have only scratched the surface of their capabilities.

Nikon D90
Nikor 18-105mm f3.5-5.6
105mm - ISO 200
1/200s- f/5

Nikon SB900
1/32 power @ f4
17mm zoom
Approximately 6" above subject 
Pointed directly down