Flash Central

4 Forgotten Elinchrom Accessories.

noreply@blogger.com (Alex) — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 08:23:00 +0000

With Elinchrom bringing out so many new, great, products it’s easy to forget about some of the ones that have been around for a while. In this post I’ll take a look at four accessories that you might not even have heard of.

FibreLite

When doing macro photography there are many reasons why small light sources are preferable.
Relative to a small subject, even lights we would normally think of as small, and therefore ‘hard’ are huge and become soft lights.
Your speedlight head, suspended 3 inches over a die-cast car, for example, is the equivalent of a 20x40 foot soft box hanging from the roof of a car studio.
Then there’s the physical difficulties of getting normal lights close to the subject. Imagine trying to set up 2 elinchrom heads at 45° only 6 inches away from some jewellery. You could do it, but where are you going to put the camera?
These situations are precisely what the Elinchrom FibreLite was invented for.
The FibreLite consists of a metal snoot-like device which goes on the front of your flash head. The front of this has three holes (with removable shutters) into which fit 2 foot long fibre optic hoses (two are normally supplied.) The free ends of the hoses are held by a set of clamp arms with a weighted base. lenses for focusing the light and a filter cuter are also supplied.
As you can see, the effect is pretty dramatic and very difficult to replicate with other accessories.

Elinchrom Circuit board lit with an Elinchrom FibreLite
on an Elinchrom BXRi 500 head at minimum power.
Shot on a Canon Powershot G9

Setup shot for the image above, lensed heads on both fibres.

Maxispot Reflector.

Need to light something from a distance? Don’t think you have enough power?
Try out a Maxispot. This simple polished reflector gives a very efficient, tight (for a reflector) beam of illumination. The large 40cm front diameter also gives it a softness when used close up, especially if you use a deflector to remove the direct illumination. In fact, it can look very similar to the classic, but sadly discontinued, S35 fresnel spot. Classic Hollywood style black and white beauty lighting anyone?

Glass Dome.

If you've ever used an Elinchrom Scanlite tunsten light you'll know this as the safety glass that covers the bulb. The dome can be easily retro fitted to pretty much any Elinchrom head and many companies working with fragile and expensive items, auction houses for example, choose to fit them to all of their heads as a matter of course.

The pyrex dome comes in three finishes, clear, matt, and a warming yellow version. The one we're interested in is the matt one. It has the great ability to even out the illumination from the front of a light, giving a more perfect bare bulb effect. It can be used inside softboxes, reflectors or just on its own where it does a nice job of removing the super sharp edge shadows caused by illumination straight from the flash tube. Another side effect is that because it covers both the tube and the modelling bulb, the modelling light now exactly matches the flash.
Speaking of modelling light, you can only use the domes with 2pin halogen modelling bulbs, however, an E27 to GX6.35 adapter is available for heads with screw fit bulbs. Although the dome does have ventilation holes, it is still very much an enclosed modifier so you must be mindful of the heat buildup that can cause.

Varistar Umbrella.

This is Elinchrom's version of an umbrella softbox. Essentially a translucent, shoot through, umbrella with a reflecting cloth over the open end to stop light escaping backwards. Now, it might seem expensive for an umbrella but, keep in mind that the back reflector stops a lot of light from escaping, making it very efficient, possibly saving you from needing a more powerful light. Supported on the end of a boom it makes a great top light in room and desk group shots, acting somewhat like a chinese lantern, frequently used in films.
Of course the biggest advantage of the Varistar is the speed of setup, as with any umbrella, it's up in a few seconds.

3 Ways To Try the Latest Gear Before You Buy It

noreply@blogger.com (Alex) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 09:00:00 +0000

None of us like forking out our hard-earned on new gear without being sure it'll do the job. Online reviews are a great help but there are some things you just can't tell without using something yourself.
So, how do you get to try out something, especially when it's only just been released?

Tradeshows
When a product has just been announced, this is probably your only choice. Most companies will show prototypes or Manufacturing Test (MT) samples fairly soon after a product has been press released and certainly before the official shipping date. Sadly, given that supply of many products is poor even after the shipping date, this may be your only choice for some time.
On the cheerier side, photographic trade shows actually seem to be happening more frequently than ever. In the UK there is of course Focus on Imaging (March) which has been running for 25 years, but now there is also The SWPP show (January), Photovision Roadshows (all through the year) , Canon Pro Photo Solutions, Converge (twice a year) and many other smaller, more specific, shows.
It's always worth making sure that the gear you want to see will be at the show, so you don't waste a journey. If the manufacturer concerned won't be there, try contacting a retailer who will be. They may be able to bring something along just for you, especially at the smaller shows.

Shops
Once an item is shipping, your first port of call for seeing it should be your local independent shop. They may have a demo unit, or if you're very nice to them, be willing to open a box to let you have a go. Keep in mind though that whilst demand is high for a hard to get product, no-one want's to de-value something by opening it up only to be told "Oh actually, I can't afford it, but thanks anyway".
And if you do get a good demo, good advice and a good try for yourself, don't beat the salesman down on price too much, and definitely don't ask him to match some box shifting internet retailer. Trust me, he'll appreciate it, and next time you need to have a go before you buy, that relationship will be very useful.

Rental
If you need more than a quick go with your intended purchase, rental is a great way to get to grips with it on your terms. There's nothing quite like trying a camera out on a job, with your lenses, bags, workflow etc.
Some shops will put a new piece of gear into rental only once all of their pre-orders are filled. Other, like us, try to get a unit into rental as soon as possible, in the hope that it encourages more extra sales than the one it costs. This also means that you can often rent long before you can actually buy. Look out for special weekend rates (like our Friday am to Monday am for one day) which can often give you plenty of time to test without costing too much. You might also be able to claim back some of the rental cost if you decide to buy.
It's worth opening a few business accounts with shops if you think you might want to do this, most wont charge you for the privilege but it'll save you having to leave a deposit when you pick up. The account can also save you a lot of hassle if you ever find yourself having to rent something urgently, when something breaks down just before a job, for example.

Hopefully that'll give you some guidance as to how to test out the latest kit. I'm sure it won't be too long before you get to try out some of the methods for yourself, 1DsmkIV, 5DmkIII, they can't to too far away :-)

Oh, I've missed out one important method... Make friends with 'that guy'. You know the one, he seems to have every new gadget before everyone else. Shoot's his holiday snaps on a Leica S2, supported by a Gitzo carbon fibre tripod. Perhaps he's a rich dentist, or a banker (maybe not these days). Either way, his magic power of acquiring the unaquirable before you've even read about it can be very useful. Hey, maybe you'll also get a discount on your next root canal....

AlexR

Flash Head Wish List

noreply@blogger.com (Alex) — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 09:00:00 +0000

First off, this is not an official Elinchrom Future Feature request list.
However, as you may know, we do have a pretty close relationship with the folks at Elinchrom and we'd love to know what you'd like in a flash head, be it studio or location. Maybe there's a feature in another unit that you'd like to see added to the Ranger Quadra, or maybe you've seen a reflector that you think should be available from Elinchrom.

We don't care how weird your request is, like they say, "If you don't ask, you don't get".
Elinchrom's current top of the range model:

And with your helpful input:

Leave your ideas in the comments and we'll do a round up in a later post.

Some of our Favorite Bags

noreply@blogger.com (Alex) — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 09:02:00 +0000

The selection of bags available these days is enormous, if we stocked every range of bags available there would be no room in any of our shops for anything else.
I've noticed, however, that there are a few 'go to' bags that we all recommend pretty frequently.

The California Sunbounce Roller Bag
Need to carry lots of long thin things? Collapsed sunbounces, stands, tripods, that sort of thing? This will likely do what you need and more.
It's longer that your average standbag, which means it'll also take a telescopic background pole. It's also got a large cross section, so you can fill it up with a lot of gear.
Smaller stuff can be stored in the four pockets, they're designed to carry extra sunbounce screens but they're good for all sorts of grip, tape, power cables...
Of course, once it's full, you'll need the help of the wheels (which are aided by a very large skid plate) to move it around.
A great bag for all your not-so-fragile stuff. And not badly priced at £235

Lightware 1015
Speaking of fragile stuff, this bag is where that stuff goes.
We like this bag, and it's smaller sibling, the 910, because they're deep. It's really hard to find a bag that is small, but deep enough to fit longer lenses (and stuff like that) in upright (rather than laying down) which makes much better use of space. We use these for Elinchrom Quadra Kits, Lumedyne kits and Marshall monitor kits (the 910).
Lightware bags consist of a hard tub surrounded by a soft, foamed, outer. The tub in the base is made of a single piece of plastic, rather than 4 separate sheets, so there are no weak points. They’re, much lighter that hard cases and we know many customers for whom the bags have paid for themselves in reduced excess luggage fees.
At £250 the 1015's not cheap, but it'll last you years. We have a saying; "no one owns one lightware bag" because once you've got one, you'll want more!

Latigid LA2
Made under licence in the far east, to a lightware design, this case is a close copy of the Lightware PK1600, However this case is £159 whereas the PK1600 is £345. We love it because it easily carries a three head flash kit, with room left over for accessories. It also does it in style, being very well made and good looking (in our opinion). Unlike most cases supplied with kits, this one really protects your gear, the padding is super thick but firm enough to keep things in place. It comes with 2 upright dividers, splitting the case into three vertical slots, perfect for flash heads, or an Elinchrom Ranger pack and 2 heads. In short, this case makes a perfect upgrade if you'll be traveling with your lighting kit.

Elinchrom 2 Head Soft Bag.
This was a mainstay kit bag alternative for many years. If you were buying a set of classic Elinchrom 500 heads you could have the big grey plastic case, with ample space for a third head, or you could go light weight, with this case.
Nowadays, because Elinchrom supplies it's kits with lightweight fitted cases, there's less call for this bag. However, if you're buying a couple of heads secondhand or are looking for a bag for existing kit you'd do well to consider this one.
The main compartment is split in two by a soft flap divider, each half is perfectly sized to take a flash head with head cover and a 16cm reflector. There's a large pocket on the front that will take the mains cables and another under the lid for small accessories like triggers and sync cords. The lid is secured by two clips at the front and another two at the side. There is a grab handle on the top as well as a shoulder strap.
This bag isn't fancy but at £90 it's very good value, well built and does the job.

Lightware Laptop Messenger Bag
Ok, so this one's a personal favourite. It's not particularly cheap, at £215, but it's not bad when compared to an equivalent Billingham say. The construction of this bag is top notch, using the best materials and with really high quality stitching. Inside is a laptop slip case and a removable camera section, with two removable dividers. The outside has 4 large cargo pockets, each big enough for a lens. With the camera section removed the bag can be used as an overnight bag. If you fancy a change of looks, I've found that the padded camera section fits perfectly inside many larger canvas messenger type bags, converting them into surreptitious camera bags.
As I said, not particularly cheap, but a bag that will suit for many occasions.

Well I hope you liked that roundup of our favourite bags. Please leave a comment telling us what your favourite bag is.

Innovatronix Explorer XT SE Video

noreply@blogger.com (Alex) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 08:46:00 +0000

We've started importing the awesome Explorer. It works great powering D-Lites and BXRi heads on location.
Check out the video for more information.

We have the explorer to rent and buy, why not try one?

Canon's New 100mm Macro, Different From The Old One?

noreply@blogger.com (Alex) — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 09:00:00 +0000

After reading Drew Gardner’s excellent post about this lens, I thought I’d put a few words together on my own experience with it.

The first time I saw this lens was at a canon launch event, they were introducing it with a pile of other products, including the 7D so it kind of got lost in the melee. I had a quick look at it but quite frankly, I couldn't see why I'd want to pay extra for this lens compared to the original.

Many months later we finally got some stock and one went straight into the rental department. The next weekend I decided to try it out, along with a 1DMkiv. Not a normal combination by any means, a macro lens with a ‘sports’ body.

So, it turns out to be a sunny weekend and I wander around the garden taking snaps of flowers, very nice. I end up in the garage doing a bit of sweeping when I uncover a huge spider. Hmmm… It’s very dark in that corner, but what the hey, it’s a 1Dmkiv right, it shoots with no light, right?

Not really wanting to lay on the floor and go face to face with this thing, I stick the camera on live-view, zoom the screen in and hold the camera at arms length. I manually set the closest focus and walk the camera in until the eyes are in focus (you need the eyes in focus to connect emotionally with the subject, ha!) and press the shutter.

So, I’m in the dark, at arms length, about 3 cm from a spider, using live view. Not much chance of a good shot there then. Wrong! Sharp as a tack, blinking miracle.

The image stabilisation on this lens is amazing, no other word for it.

I ended up adding a flash with an Orbis ring flash attachment on it, leaning over the spider for some nice soft light, that also meant I could stop down to f7 or thereabouts for a bit of extra DOF.

Checkout the gallery on Flickr here.

A couple of weeks later I used the same combo whilest shooting some b-roll at a wedding. As a portrait lens this really excels. On the 1Dmkiv its a 130 f/2.8. It has a focus range switch that cuts the AF focus range down, avoiding hunting. You can set 0.3-0.5m, 0.5m-infinity or 0.3m-infinity. The far range is perfect for general shooting and allows this lens to focus really fast, much faster than you expect from a macro. Obviously, the amazing AF on the 1Dmkiv helps out here too. Compared to other 2.8 lenses you might use, the macro comes in really useful for detail shots, rings, cake, flowers etc. The semi abstract detail shots make great album backgrounds and DVD menu/credit backgrounds.

So, after using this lens a couple of times, I'm convinced, this is worth every penny over the old one. If I haven't convinced you, but you're curious, rent it for a weekend, you won't regret it.

AlexR

Which Elinchrom Flash Head?

noreply@blogger.com (Alex) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 13:16:00 +0000

In the last couple of years Elinchrom has completely re-vamped their range of compact flash units (monoblocks). This means that even the low end heads have some pretty advanced features.
So, how do you know which heads are for you? What are you missing out on if you stay low budget?
Here are some simple pointers to help you find the best value and still get the features you need.

Build Quality:The recent update of the D-Lite to the 'it' model really beefed up the build. The handle now not only feels like it wont break when you pick it up, it feels sturdy, as if it would take a few knocks. The casing is now a nice thick plastic and the fan housing doesn't bend anymore. The stand mount is also much stronger than the old one and appears to be the same as the BXRi, ensuring that even with the super light monocoque construction, accessories as large as the 135 octa Rotalux can be used.
The BXRi builds on this quality, with a bigger case, for better cooling, a nice chunky fan housing and a very rigid internal chassis. Even the largest accessories can be used with ease.
Strangely, the odd one out in Elinchrom's line up is the top of the range model. This will be a continuing theme, because the RX range has gone the longest since an update. The RX units have a relatively lightweight casing compared to the rest, however, the chassis is extremely strong and the stand mount is top quality and will stand a good deal of abuse and over tightening.

Punishability:So, how hard can you work these units? I've given up counting how often I'm asked how long a flash tube lasts. The answer is of course a vague cloud involving how often you use it, the power put through it and many other things. The rest of the flash head is governed by the same rules, but, there are various features that help it survive the work you put it to.
D-lite it - The first line of D-lites had no fan cooling, a tiny case and a tendency, therefore, to overheat fairly quickly if put to hard use. To be fair, they were only ever meant to be used by amateurs in 'low stress' situations. The latest iteration however has added intelligent fan cooling and more breathing space in the chassis and now they'll do much better under stress. However, we still wouldn't recommend them to anyone making money from their photography. It's pretty embarrassing to have to tell your client they'll have to wait 5 minutes while your lights cool down.
BXRi - Intelligent fan cooling and a nice big case mean these units are well suited to studio work.
RX - Constant fan cooling might be loud but it does it's job and these units will work hard all day. We know customers with RX units that have fired over 1 million shots with only a replacement flash tube.
At this point, it's worth pointing out that no monoblock can match a pack and head for durability. There's still a big advantage to be gained by separating the source of heat (modelling bulb and flash tube) from the electronics. Any hard working studio or rental house would do well to consider packs and heads as their workhorse units.

Skyport, triggering and control:Elinchrom's Skyport system adds many convenient triggering and power control features. Each product, however, incorporates different features and it's important to know the differences between them.
D-Lite it - The update to D-Lite added built in Skyport receivers, however, these are only for triggering, there's no power control to be had here. When bought as a kit (as most of them will be) they come with the Skyport ECO Transmitter. This has no power control or group feature, even though the D-Lite it supports groups. Both the D-Lite it and the ECO transmitter do sport the new 'Speed' mod allowing for faster sync speeds, this works by shortening the encryption so the side effect is reduced range. If used with the ERS remote software and USB transceiver, D-Lites can be triggered. The ECO transmitter also supports 4 of the 8 Skyport frequencies.
BXRi - These units also have built in Skyport (they were the first in the range to have this). They also have the Speed feature, can be remotely power controlled, but, don't work at all with ERS and the USB transceiver. Kits come with the Speed transmitter, which unlike the ECO, does have power control and group features.
RX - Although they lack built in Skyport, when allied with the Skyport RX Transceiver these are the most fully featured in the range. The transceiver is a small, light, unit that plugs into the head's remote socket. It is powered by the head and therefore needs no battery. It has all the features available, including power control, groups and fully featured ERS USB control. This gives full remote control with a copy of the head's readout on your computer screen. You can also access information such as the shot count and the number of power cycles. Less well known are the timelapse, mulitflash and simulated rear curtain sync effects.

Flash Duration:When shooting with flash, the duration of that flash is an important consideration. In low ambient light, the burst of flash effectively becomes your shutter. Just like the actual shutter, the faster it is, the better you'll capture action. You also need to consider your camera's sync speed. There's no point having a camera that can sync at 1/1600s when your flash is 1/100s long.
The table below gives Elinchrom's published figures, they are measured at full power using the t0.5 standard (more on that later).

Model	Power	Flash Duration
D-Lite it	200	1/1200
	400	1/800
BXRi	250	1/2762
	500	1/1558
RX	300	1/2880
	600	1/2050
	1200	1/1450

Within a range, you'll see that lower max power means faster flash duration. However, as you go up the ranges, you'll get more power and get faster durations. For example, the RX 1200 has a faster duration than the D-Lite 200, despite putting out 6 times as much power.

As you can see, you get what you pay for on this one.

Recycle time:How fast your flash recycles between shots can be a huge factor on how you use them. Granted, if you shoot still life, it's probably not high up in your wants list, however, if you shoot fashion, or kids, it can be very important. You don't want to be left hanging just when that perfect facial expression happens.
The figures below compare the recycle times, to full power of Elinchrom's current range. Remember though that these figures show how fast you can shoot, not how fast you should shoot. To use an analogy, if your car revs to 8000rpm, it doesn't mean you should drive around at 8000rpm, your engine won't last long, and neither will your flash if you keep firing it continuously at it's fastest rate.

Model	Power	Recycle time
D-Lite it	200	0.6
	400	1.2
BXRi	250	0.73
	500	1.13
RX	300	0.6
	600	1
	1200	1.8

Again, just like flash duration, you get what you pay for.

As a side note, picking up the point on punishability of packs compared to compact units. The Elinchrom Digital RX1200 recycles to full power in 1 second, nearly half the time of the RX1200 head. It also has a minimum flash duration of 1/3700s (with 2xA heads). Packs still lead the way when when you need the fastest, hardest working kit.
Well hopefully that's given you a much better idea of the differences between the units in Elinchrom's range.
I'll keep this post up to date as the range changes.
Please feel free to leave a comment below If you feel I've missed anything out.

AlexR

TFC Distributing Zacuto DSLR products

noreply@blogger.com (Alex) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 10:42:00 +0000

We're proud to announce that we are now an official distributor for Zacuto's DSLR camera rails.
Check out some of the kits here.

The range is always expanding so we'd love to get feedback on which Zacuto products you'd like to see.

e-mail us here or leave a comment below...

New Video Gear to Rent

noreply@blogger.com (Alex) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 11:15:00 +0000

We've expanded our rental stock, adding loads of new v-dslr and video products, check out the list here.
If there's something you'd like that isn't on the list, leave a comment below....

New Elinchrom Flash Launches at Focus on Imaging 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Alex) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 10:04:00 +0000

Elinchrom will be launching the new D-Lite it compact flash unit in the UK at Focus on Imaging 2010
A replacement for the current D-Lite range, the new units sport a more solid housing, including stand mount, intelligent slave cell and built in skyport Eco receiver.

The units will be available in three kits:
D-Lite it 2/4 Umbrella Kit
D-Lite it 2 two head softbox kit
D-Lite it 4 two head softbox kit

Check out one of the new D-Lite it kits here

Next Portrait Course

noreply@blogger.com (Chrisb) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 12:46:00 +0000

The next TFC Portrait Course is due to take place on September 27/28th in the beautiful village of Lacock in Wiltshire (the former home of one William Henry Fox Talbot and the birthplace of the Negative/Positive process).

Spaces are currently still available - you can download a booking form and get all the details from theflashcentre.com and tfccourses.com.

Future dates are October 10/11th and November 28/29th

New Videos on the way!

noreply@blogger.com (Chrisb) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:17:00 +0000

Last week saw us again filming another batch of 4 short videos for The Flash Centre's TFCtv page on their website. Plus one crazy very short advert!!!

We decided on the lovely Ramada-Jarvis Newton Park Hotel just outside Burton-on-Trent. The Hotel has lovely outside space and we also used their lovely conservatory as well. It also may have had something to do with the fact that it is 10 mins from the Producers house!

For the two main films we were using the new Elinchrom Ranger Quadra which is a battery powered studio flash system on a "wedding" shoot. Teaching how to mix studio flash with daylight. The sun shone just at the right time, in fact our poor model, Becky got a bit burnt! But we were able to show how to use flash as a fill in the full sun and as a main light with the sun as a fill when in the shade.

All the videos were again written and presented by Chris Burfoot and at the moment being edited. They will be added to the site and YouTube as soon as they are ready. Why not subscribe to The Flash Centre channel on YouTube then you will be notified when they are on line?

Wanted!! Customers to Test Drive Canon 5DMk2's

noreply@blogger.com (DB) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:52:00 +0000

Interested in trying the Canon 5DMk2 & 24-105mm L IS U for a few days?

In conjunction with Canon UK, we are launching a series of test drives, previously called "Puppy Program", where clients are invited to collect a camera and lens, be taken through the technical aspects of it including operation and Canon software and then take it away!

Returning the camera at a later date, there will be an opportunity for Q & A's and image output.

Special deals for TFC customers participating in the event will be available on any subsequent sales.

Dates and pricing tba, but for more details contact Dave or Russ in Leeds and London respectively.

The Flash Centre to support the Richard Jobson Film and Photo School

noreply@blogger.com (DB) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 20:08:00 +0000

Richard Jobson , the award winning film maker and keen photographer is throwing open the doors of his house and grounds for a brand new project which the Flash Centre are proud to be associated with.

The Richard Jobson Film and Photo School, based near Toddington, just five minutes off the M1 Junction 12, will start it's high end and varied training programs from August 2009.

Already confirmed is Adam Duckworth, a highly photojournalist with over twenty years experience who's rapidly gaining a reputation for producing stunning images indoors and out using strobist techniques from the simple off camera strobe to Elinchrom Ranger and Ranger Quadra packs and accessories such as California Sunbounce light modifiers. Adam will be running courses ranging from high fashion to saleable lifestyle images, from BMX photography to Wedding Images with style!

Richard will be holding regular Script writing and character development days plus his highly popular Director's Challenge which he toured with in 2009 with TFC support.

Dave Owen, an accomplished videographer and editor will be working in conjunction with Apple and Canon to run "Final Cut Studio for 5DMk2" This ground breaking 1080p HD slr camera has set the World alight with the video mode and over 80 lenses that can be attached to it. Richard and Dave have already produced several projects together using this camera and are currently at Shepperton filming a documentary called "The Journey" entirely on Canon 5DMk2. This day course is special!!

Equipment at the courses has been provided by The Flash Centre, Lastolite, Apple and Canon UK. More partners are getting involved with this project as the days go on.

More top names to be announced and dates soon to be on the web,For more information currently, contact dave@theflashcentre.co.uk

New Blog on the Block!

noreply@blogger.com (DB) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:44:00 +0000

Long time customer and friend of TFC, Adrian Weinbrecht called me this evening full of himself as his website now has a blog!!

"I've got lots of videos on it mate and it's going to be really special......." Mmmmmm, I've heard that before, but having recently worked on a job with Adrian outside the Royal Albert Hall for the BBC, (I'm sure it'll be on his blog before I reveal it!!), and seeing our mate Dave Owen filming it all I was intrigued......

Check it out. Adrian's presentations are something fresh and it really is like spending time with the man himself. His humour shines though and it's one RSS feed I signed up for immediately.

Please do give it the once over. Please click here! I'm sure you'll be checking back regularly!

The Richard Jobson Film and Photo School

noreply@blogger.com (DB) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 10:35:00 +0000

It's very strange how things turn out in life. In 1979, I was 15 and at one of the first gigs I ever went to, leaping around to a band who's first album, "Scared to Dance" had blown me away. My memories were of the the fantastic guitarist, playing with a sound, even then, that was referred to as "sounding like bagpipes", and the charismatic but slightly frightening front man whose vocals were almost poetic and had a kind of hidden deep meaning. He also danced about the stage a lot lot worse than I did. (Yes really!).

They was brilliant!!

That band were the Skids. The guitarist was the late Stuart Adamson.

Thirty years later, I'm sat with that front man, a wholly different guy to what I expected and discussing photography in Starbucks in The Brunswick.

I'm very excited about our collaboration with the award-winning Film-maker/Director, ex Skid and Armoury Show Lead Singer, Richard Jobson.

I first met Richard around the time of the Canon Eos 5DMk2 Launch and it was very clear to me then that he was so excited about the possibility that this new breed of camera offered the creative film makers and the change it would make to the whole industry.

We've been lucky enough to follow the work he's done so far and we are not the only ones to notice what he is doing. Canon and Apple are keeping a close interest in his projects and in next month's (August), Professional Photographer there is an interview with him about how he has been using the camera for his own projects and some film examples are on their website.

Richard is a keen photographer, a long time Canon owner who has a great eye for a photograph, I guess from his time in film, who is eager to learn more to enhance his photography.

With the help of our good friend, top tutor and award winning photographer Adam Duckworth he has agreed that we are able his house and grounds to run a series of masterclasses for small numbers of delegates who wish to get the very best results, improve their photographic techniques and earn more from taking high end images.

As well as Photographic days, Richard will be running his own courses covering Script Writing, Character development, Directing and other subjects.

With the 5DMk2 changing the face of the photographic industry, video is becoming a much more popular medium available to a lot more people. Handling and editing these files is a wholly different ball game and Richard and his talented editor, Dave Owen, will be running a series of day courses entitled "Final Cut for 5DMk2" Three of my colleagues have been on a taster course last month. It isn't to be missed.

Currently in the final stages, we will soon have a selection of dates and facilities to book any of the courses on The Flash Centre website. We'll announce them very shortly on the blog too.

Please email me dave@theflashcentre.co.uk for more info in the meanwhile.

Quite Possibly The Best Two Days of Photography and Learning Ever

noreply@blogger.com (Alex) — Tue, 12 May 2009 17:55:00 +0000

A two day event featuring Mike Larson, covering all aspects of the business and practice of photographing people for weddings, portraits and editorial.

Split over two days, this workshop includes 4.5 hrs of seminars, 8 or more hours of shooting, a round table discussion, two lunches, dinner, breakfast and accommodation!

Set at the beautiful Studley Castle in Warwickshire, you’ll have the perfect environment to learn and practice new lighting techniques whilst being coached and encouraged by some of the best professional photographers in their fields.

We’ll have:-

Mike Larson - International wedding photographer.

Peter Geller - Winner of the “World Press Photo award” and owner of California Sunbounce.

Chris Burfoot - Host of TFCTV and owner of TFCCourses.com.

Adam Duckworth - 2008 UK Commercial Photographer of the Year.

Bjorn Thomassen - International Fine Art Photographer of the Year.

Also subject to availability:

Drew Gardner - Award winning advertising photographer

Jim Marks - Photographer to the stars.

Richard Jobson - Film Director who uniquely uses still images in his films.

TimeTable:

Day one:

10:00-11:00 Introduction & Inspiration (Develop yourself as a leader)

11:00-12:00 Shoot Right the 1st time - How to get amazing images from your clients (Developing relationships)

12:00-1pm Master your lighting - Reflectors & Flash - (Problem solve every lighting situation to get excellent images)

1:00-2:00pm Lunch

2:00-3:30pm Shooting (group1 Mike Larson, group 2 Chris Burfoot)

3:30-5:00pm Shooting (group1 Chris Burfoot, group 2 Mike Larson)

5:00-7:30pm Break and Dinner

7:30-9:00pm Evening/night shoot with Adam Duckworth (strobist style), CaptureOne with Eric Joakim

9:00pm onwards Bar!

Day two:

10:00-11:30am Business (Create a profitable, cash based business that is successful and fun, we’ll chat about everything from business systems to marketing)

11:30-1:00pm Round table discussion with all photographers, Q&A.

1:00-2:00pm Lunch

2:00-close Shooting with Mike Larson, Adam Duckworth, Chris Burfoot and additional invited photographers

If you're interested check out the flyer here or book it here.

Shock Treatment!

noreply@blogger.com (DB) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 12:06:00 +0000

Fancy repairing studio flash for a living? It's a job only for the experienced and certainly not, with the voltages and amperages involved for the faint hearted!

Even our technicians here were disturbed by these words of advice in the service manual of a well known flash manufacturer. We have to tell you its NOT Elinchrom!

"After charging main capacitors, touch the bottom connector - If you receive a shock, replace D20 Board 3"

Nice!

Retouch It!!!

noreply@blogger.com (louise) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 08:36:00 +0000

I recently decided it was time to brush up my retouching skills, after receiving a huge post production bill. Looking on Amazon its quite a maze. Lots of books to chose from ....Then I found Gry Garness's Digital Retouching e book.

This is no nonsense, in depth retouching book for fashion, beauty & people. 191 pages !!!!!
Really useful for anyone who works in image creation ,where images are required to be finished to a high standard.
Such a refreshing change. You can see example pages of this at google books HERE
Or go to Gry's website HERE

I will let you know how I get on!!
Lou

TFC Courses Katie Green Becomes new Wonderbra Model!

noreply@blogger.com (Alex) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:07:00 +0000

Wow – exciting news! Our lovely Katie who models for our Art-Nude and Glamour/Figure courses has been snapped up to follow in the footsteps of Eva Herzigova and Sophie Anderton as being the face (?) of Wonderbra!

Many of the delegates have photographed Katie on the courses and it looks like the final time will be on The Art-Nude course on July 12th. Chris Burfoot, who runs the courses said “I don’t think Wonderbra will let Katie continue modelling for us in the future, of course I hope they do, but I’m not sure that we will be able to afford her fees! So now I’m on the look out for a new figure model”

If you know any suitable models – please ask them to contact Chris at chrisburfoot@clara.co.uk To see some great pics of Katie go to www.tfccourses.com and have a look at the Art-Nude and Glamour/Figure pages with videos and slide shows!!

TFC TV Launches

noreply@blogger.com (Alex) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:14:00 +0000

Check out the new video content at TFC TV.

Loads of new content including How to Light a White Background:

Birmingham Macro Day

noreply@blogger.com (humannorobot) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:00:00 +0000

TFC Birmingham ran a macro photography day in our studio last week. A big thanks to all who made it down, and Stuart for providing the (evil) spider and Scorpions.

We now have another animal related workshop in the pipeline with Mark Sisson: A Bird of Prey Day on the 10th of October. Watch the TFC home page for announcements or ring Kev at TFC Birmingham on 0121 327 9220 for more details.

J

Ok, So it was over a month ago!!

noreply@blogger.com (DB) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 13:33:00 +0000

We have been rather busy since then but that's no excuse I guess!

Back in May, forty keen photographers converged on the World Horse Welfare site, Snetterton and took part in an Equestrian Photography day, hosted by TFC, Canon and Real Time Imaging.

The weather stayed fine, two of us got sunburnt, (yes we know we should have worn a hat!), and the group as a whole took over 11GB of images.

The World Horse Welfare site was a fantastic venue and the staff worked very hard during the day to make sure everyone got the images they wanted. Thank you to them and the grooms and also of course all the horses involved!

Congratulations to Steve Hart who won the Canon G9 camera for the best image taken on the day!

Big thanks go out to Steve Dawe of Real Time Imaging for his insight and knowledgeable advice, Steve and John from Canon UK Ltd for the equipment, support and printing and of course, Sav and Brian from TFC for keeping it all held together and on time.

Hopes are that we will host a similar event, or events in 2009. Watch this space!!

Mini review of California Sunbounce on TWiP

noreply@blogger.com (Alex) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:23:00 +0000

This Week in Photography has a short review of calsun.

Makes great reading.

Do you have a Triflecta???? Please Read on.......

noreply@blogger.com (DB) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:27:00 +0000

Having been instrumental in persuading Lastolite to reintroduce the original Triflecta for sale exclusively through TFC stores, we are pleased to say that it has been hugely successful since it came back into circulation.

For those of you who have not seen this wonderful lighting accessory, click here.

Having chatted at length to the Lastolite people we have just received very limited stocks of gold reflective panels for the Triflecta Mk1 and we have had many many requests to get these made. These panels are fabulous with darker skins as the silver ones included as standard are a little harsh.

As there are only a small number from this first production run please email me with your interest and I'll contact you directly so that I can monitor stocks.

We also hope to have, within the next month, the original sets of two diffusion panels for the Triflecta Mk1 which replace the two side panels and again offer a fantastic lighting effect and another use for the Triflecta! Once again, so I can get an idea of the interest in these, please email me and I'll let you know as soon as we receive these.