When I started working with SB-900’s I was taken by the cool use of the SU-800 Commander and being able to remotely change the power on the units. Way Cool. Being old school, manual was the way of the world before flying radio signals dancing through the air. This little device allows me to be hip with a radio trigger and use speed lights but drive them manually. Set the power and take a reading. What a concept. Working in the studio, I have the luxury of time and the luxury of tweaking. So with this little cord made by Michael Bass Design, I can trigger the four speed lights with one radio.
The really interesting thing is that I can trigger ANY speed light that has a PC sync and that can fit on the FourSquare. How cool is that!. Anything that works physically, has a PC socket and a hot/cold shoe, I can now trigger with a Pocket Wizard Max or any other Pocket Wizard . Rescue those old units and make a great FourSquare unit with a cable and some imagination.
Take the time to check this out. Dave is one of the nicest guys to work with and he really knows his stuff. Check out his “Workshops at the Ranch” articles at www.DaveBlackPhotography.com as they are packed full of information. Look for him at Photokina this year as I was told he will be sharing his thoughts on photography for Nikon. I’m sure they are probably going to have a great deal of new toys to announce as well. Dave has a down to earth style and is a super teacher. If you ever have the chance to attend one of his workshops in person, it is well worth the investment. Tell him I said hi!
I won’t spoil it here in the intro, but what you will see is someone thinking “outside of the box” to make great imagery. I can only image if we had the chance to do this on the north shore of Hawaii. I think this can only be done to this level with Nikon equipment as I don’t believe the other makers have the high speed sync all together worked out without the significant loss of light. I am sure this technique could be done with “studio” strobes but hey … only eight speed lights … it’s amazing. Take a moment and check it out. The optic triggers were powered by RadioPoppers with some fiber optic magic dashed in by MichaelBassDesigns.com. Now on with the show …………
Well lots of folks have been asking … Do I need a new fancy Canon or Nikon flash to work with a FourSquare? No you don’t. What I have pictured here is three old Nikon Flashes that are being “driven” by a PC sync. The unique thing is I had Michael Bass of Michael Bass Design make me a four cord PC that goes into a single mini-phone that plugs into my Pocket Wizards. Any ol’ speedlight that has a PC connection and a hot/cold shoe will work great with/on/in the FourSquare. What better way to make use of stuff in the closet or a cheap purchase on line. You can make the FourSquare “pop” like the big strobes and really improve the look of your images in the studio or on location. Easy and portable, name of the game. One speedlight diffused in a FourSquare can make all the difference to that outdoor portrait.
Thinking outside of the box will make your images better. Off camera, diffused or bounced … the solution is easy. Just experiment. With digital you can shoot until its right, no film to process.
Another question is … “Do I always need to use the diffusion screen?” No. With speedlights, the heads rotate and you can bounce a single or multiple heads into the sides. A beautiful light. You can add diffusion over the head with a Stofen device or even some colored gel to make it a little different. Till next time……
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