Alex Sokolsky

Zeikos ZE-260F Deluxe DSLR Soft Case Review

2013-05-03T16:48:00.003-07:00

Here is my old video review which I managed to publish on YouTube only recently. In a nutshell this is a great value case offering little to no protection from the elements. I use it to store and transport my video camera and audio recorder with accessories.

Seamless White

2013-05-02T16:12:00.002-07:00

Recently I did my first full length portrait on a seamless white. I like simplicity and uplifting spirit offered by seamless white. I hope it will offer my customers a timeless look which is not likely to go out of fashion anytime soon. It is also simple to implement. I wish I had seamless paper roll. In that case grey would be in option as well. In my case I just used a king-size

Videoshoots for ACM

2013-03-13T00:02:00.001-07:00

I was fortunate enough to shoot San Francisco Bay Area ACM events. Here is just one of them. What worked: Separate audio recorder, specifically Sony PCMM10, does an outstanding job. It offers me a sense of safety - I know I can up the sound in post without adverse consequences. Nikon D600 proved to be a capable video recording tool. Nice skin tones, shallow depth of field even at F10. Good

Event: Hanukkah Celebration

2012-12-16T01:09:00.000-08:00

Hanukkah concert photos are published here. If downloading photos is too much hassle for you - ask around - I passed along a couple of CDs.

Study in Dishes. New Flash Mount.

2012-12-02T20:27:00.001-08:00

A new mount cost me $2.37 in parts from a big box store. All the thumb screws were reused from the original mount. New mount designs allows for shallow and deep insertion of the flash into the dish. Shallow is still deeper than the original mount allowed for. This does not help the quality of the light much though. On the other hand deep insertion position (flash just about 1".5" from the

Study in Dishes

2012-12-01T18:39:00.001-08:00

Nowadays it is all about light control for me. My first modifiers - umbrellas off course - were spilling light all over the place. I still resort to umbrellas for location shoots if the spill does not affect the picture. My current studio favorite though is a cross of umbrella and a softbox. Therefore when I started looking for a beauty dish, a grid was a must-have. After all how else can

Street Photography with Brian Tramontana

2012-11-13T00:06:00.000-08:00

Brian Tramontana and William Henderson of Hold the Eye Images led a street photography workshop which was both challenging and fun. It all started well and went to great. What worked: D600 is easy to handle. Dynamic range is amazing. Which makes it tolerant to my exposure mistakes. 35-70 f2.8 zoom lens is nice. Right focus range for street candids, sharp enough when focus is in the right

Fishtank Ensemble in Sunnyvale

2012-10-31T00:33:00.001-07:00

I ran into this band at de Young in June 2008 and immediately became a fan. This time only core members were present. I was happy to see how little they changed. Fabrice Martinezis is still a tough subject to photograph. I tried hard to capture a single instance of emotion on his face. All to no avail. Djordje on the other hand has enough drive and energy for the entire band. I would love

Scott Kelby's Worldwide Photo Walk in Campbell

2012-10-29T15:19:00.001-07:00

This year I got back to leading a photo walk in Campbell. We got lucky and the date of the photowalk, October 13, fell right on Octoberfest, which is a big deal in our neck of the woods. It was nice to see familiar faces and welcome new ones. While taking pictures of junk cars in the middle of Campbell (I was always wondering how come they are there in the first place!) I was confronted by

Event: Концерт Детского Клуба "Светлячок"

2012-03-14T22:30:00.004-07:00

Праздник 8го Марта детский клуб "Светлячок" отметил концертом. Посмотреть и загрузить фотографии можно здесь. Напомню как загрузить фотографию. Если загружать фотки ломает - обращайтесь в клуб, если повезет вам может достаться DVD со всеми фотографиями.

Eddie Palmieri & Brian Lynch Jazz Quartet

2012-02-27T11:53:00.011-08:00

What a great performance! Eddie Palmieri, Brian Lynch, Boris Kozlov and Dafnis Prieto were a joy to listen and watch. Maestro Palmieri impressed me with his showmanship. He was also a great subject to photograph. Boris Kozlov reminded me of a great musician I listened to more than 20 years ago in a far off country. Could not remember his name though. Afterwards I dug it out - Anatoly

Scott Kelby's Worldwide Photo Walk in San Jose

2011-10-01T21:50:00.000-07:00

I had a great time meeting fellow photographers and taking pictures of strangers. Architectural photography was less should I say engaging? After the walk we landed in Poor House Bistro - I just love the vibe of this place. The food, drinks and Kaye Bohler Band made it an enjoyable evening.

Event: Концерт Клуба Светлячок

2011-05-06T15:58:00.001-07:00

This is a placeholder for the event pictures. When these become available I will create an online gallery for you to enjoy. Please support me by placing this online order: Event Photos on CD/DVD: $10 + $0.81 S&H USPS + 9.5% CA Sales Tax

Flash Into the Sunset

2011-05-01T11:41:00.000-07:00

Bay Area Strobist meetup at Alviso was a ton of fun despite the chilly weather. We were lucky to catch two bikers who agreed to model for us. What worked: Single bare handheld SB800 flash on macho bikers with harsh low sun light. Communication communication communication. Post processing in dramatic fashion with use of gradient filters and heavy vignetting. What I did wrong Did not manage to

DIY: Diffusion Panels

2011-03-24T12:54:00.000-07:00

This was my first DIY project which still exceeds the rest by its versatility and bang for a buck. I currently have two frames of about 4'x7' made of 3/4" schedule 40 PVC pipes and joints. I use these to stretch either diffusion/reflection screens made of white rip-stop nylon or a black canvas screen. As I mentioned before, build process is well documented on the Internet. Here is the

Shoot-through Umbrella vs PBL Photo Studio 40" Reflective Umbrella Softbox

2011-03-18T00:11:00.001-07:00

I was intrigued by PBL Photo Studio 40" Reflective Umbrella Softbox promise: round catch-lights in the model's eyes; tight light control, just like a softbox; about $30 for two! The softbox not only delivers on promise, but also offers: more than adequate fit and finish; extremely fast setup - front diffuser is permanently stitched to the umbrella, so all you need to do to set the softbox is

FlashBus in San Jose

2011-03-17T21:27:00.000-07:00

Flash Bus happened in San Jose and it was amazing! David's methodical approach can teach flashes any poor soul, software engineers included. His and Joe's ability to control AND entertain the crowd will make any politician envious. I was impressed with uniformity of the equipment used by Mr McNally: nothing but c-stands (really heavy I should say) with beams holding Lastolite Skylite diffusers

DIY: PVC Light Stand

2011-02-27T19:43:00.000-08:00

Recently I decided to build few light stands for all these flashes and workshop lights lying around. There are more than few examples of PVC light stands on the Internet. I wanted however for only 3 points to touch the ground (thinking this will be most stable for a given amount of materials used) so decided to go with a C-stand design made of 3/4" schedule 40 PVC pipes and joints. I am

Chinese New Year Parade in the City

2011-02-24T22:15:00.001-08:00

I do not think I cracked this nut. Combination of poor weather, limited access (or rather my lack of mobility - no excuse for that) and poor choice of the lens made this a fiasco. I wanted to try the new 24mm prime so much I used it with too shallow death of focus. By the end D90 had trouble auto focusing in such low light conditions. Hand holding a CLS-driven SB600 worked though as expected.

DIY: Wearable Flash Rig and Diffusion Panels

2011-02-24T14:14:00.000-08:00

I just realized that I never properly documented any of my DIY projects - wearable flash rig, diffusion panel or light stand. Consider this in place of a "proper" documentation. I use a wearable flash rig to take photos in a bright sun and I built it specifically for Burning Man 2010. It proved to be an awesome solution for fill flash in a bright desert sun. Just put your subjects with

Headshots that Really Rule

2011-01-06T15:47:00.000-08:00

The Best Portraits from TIME 2010 feature work of Marco Grob (7), Peter Hapak (2), Nadav Kander(1), Peter Yang (1), Robyn Twomey (1), Platon (1), Jodi Bieber (1), Dan Winters (1), Kate Peters (1). Of these portraits only those by Peter Hapak were shot in high key. What's in: low key use of a relatively wide angle lens "spot" light, on-axis or slightly off, with soft boundaries extra sharp not

Rules of Headshots that Rule

2010-10-05T14:48:00.000-07:00

My son's headshots are perfect. No matter the light, pose, his mood or what he had for lunch. He is two. It's all downhill from here. LightingUse narrow light open loop pattern Most people (all?) benefit from soft light - use sources of large visible size, e.g. diffusion panel. Softbox offers a good control over light spill. Shoot-through umbrella is highly portable and is fast to setup.

Diffusion Panels

2010-09-30T11:27:00.001-07:00

They are awesome! They rule the kingdom of DIY Light Modifiers through their old servant Bang for the Buck. Which still goes strong in my domain. They can soften the sun or bare flash. They can be used as a reflection panel for something like this or just put on the ground for this nice cookie-cutter solution (fast forward to about 50% for behind the scene details). It works so well, after

Burning Man 2010

2010-09-09T00:25:00.002-07:00

Jump right to the photos: Tentura Camp, Reverbia Camp, Center Camp, Playa & Esplanade. It all started with a loss. 20 min before the departure, while messing with my lesser body (Rebel XT) I dropped it on the floor lens down. As a result the Sigma 30mm lens could no longer focus on objects closer than about 100 feet. Bummer! And this was no more than 3 feet over a cork floor! This is my

Burning Man 2010 - Here I Come!

2010-08-27T09:33:00.000-07:00

Work on Tentura camp and vehicle is almost complete! Installation of the support wheels proved to be a tricky craft mastered only in painful iterations. Now we need to disassemble the mutant vehicle and to transport the ATV, platform and the dome to Black Rock City. Will I be really able to sleep next to a working generator and amps/speakers blasting the music all night? Really? Hopefully my