Posts Tagged ‘review’
Early Christmas! I heart Lastolite Ezybox … a review
For months, I’ve been searching for a portable softbox that would work well with my speedlights. I looked at the Creative Light setup. I looked at Lastolite. I looked at crap Ebay stuff. I went back to working with my umbrellas just to make sure that they were truly annoying me. They were. And I kept searching.
After a month of hemming and hawing, I narrowed it down to two systems: Lastolite Ezybox Hotshoe and Creative Light’s system. Both looked really good on paper and both came with good marks from people on the Internet that I follow and trust (David Hobby and Joe McNally). Joe is a fan of the Lastolite equipment. It’s prominent in many of his videos and photographic grip lineups. David recently expo’d the Creative Light stuff on his blog.
The big differentiator between the two is that the Ezybox Hotshoe appears to only have two sizes: a 15″ and a 24″ square box. The Creative Light system is a speedring that has a cold shoe on it and fits any of their strip boxes, softboxes, and other setups. Plus they have a wider range of sizes and shapes. With a speedring, that also meant I could still use the Creative Light softboxes if/when I purchased some Alienbees (or something beefier) just by purchasing the appropriate ring attachment.
Not so much with the Ezybox Hotshoe. It’s designed to work with their specific speedlight speedring (which is made of plastic, by the way).
So what did I end up with? The Lastolite Ezybox Hotshoe. I looked long and hard at the Creative Light system and the most significant down-side was that you just can’t get the speedlight speedring right now. No one has it. Everything appears back ordered with no timeline for getting it back in stock.
It arrived at our doorstep today and when I got home, I immediately tore into the B&H box. Lots of happy little packing pillows cradled my lovely little light modifier of happiness.
For some reason I expected the bag to be smaller and more portable, something I could hook onto my camera bag and just carry everywhere. Not so much. It’s manageable but will be awkward, so I’ll keep it in the photo box and pack it with me when I know I’ll need it. Looking in the bag, I found that I had received not one, but two of the 2414 flash brackets. I don’t know if this is normal or not. If not, merry christmas to me!
The bracket assemblies pretty easily. It’s plastic, but feels solid enough. I had no problem putting an SB-800 on it with a stofen. The SB-900, being larger, was a tighter fit and more awkward to get in place, but I think that will become easier as I get used to working with it.
The softbox itself is a foldable setup. It looks like four Lastolite Tri-grips sewn together. The internal structure seems pretty solid. I’m not sure if it’s metal or steel, but it’s certainly thick. The box is stiff and doesn’t really lay flat by itself when folded up. When it pops open, a quick squeeze of the opposite corners gets it nice and squared up. The inside of the box is layered with a silver lining to help increase the efficiency of the light.
Opened more …
Pop goes the weasel …
The opening in the back side of the softbox is just large enough to accommodate the SB-900 with a bit of maneuvering room to spare.
The diffusion panel is held on by velcro on all four sides. Mine seems just slightly larger than the opening at the front of the softbox, so it’s fairly easy to get on and off.
Next, we attach a flash to the flash bracket. It’s sturdy. I would avoid overtightening the two screws. The one that holds the ring to the shoe needs to be snug but not so much that it starts flexing the bracket. Mine already has a slight indentation on the groove of the ring part where I over tightened. Also, the pin holder where you’d attach the bracket to a light stand is all plastic. I was careful not to overtighten this part for fear of splitting the collar.
The ring doesn’t really attach to the softbox as much as it slips inside the lip of the rear of it. The softbox boning is fairly sturdy back here, but gives you enough slippage to spin the softbox around the circumference of the ring with ease. I could adjust it one handed with no problem.
And here’s a test shot with the softbox in view.
I was working with iTTL CLS while playing with this (which is still a new thing for me being used to working in manual mode with Pocket Wizards). I was finding that I had to push the flash exposure up by 0.7 to 1.0 EV to get something that wasn’t under exposed. I’m not sure if that was just me not yet fully understanding CLS or the conditions under which I was playing.
Here’s a second photo. Softbox to the left and behind the wine bottle with an SB-800 in it. To camera right was a large sheet of floppy paper with an SB-900 bouncing into it to provide a bit of fill from the right. Uber light control. I like it.
Overall, I love this thing. The 15″ softbox was a good investment and a great addition to my lighting gear. I’ll be putting it through further paces to see what problems I might encounter with it.
For those looking to purchase, I just got the basic Lastolite LL LS2438M2 Ezybox M2 Hotshoe (15-Inch x 15-Inch)
Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait
When I first came across this book, I was struck by the intensity of Michael’s work. I paged through it and was awed by image after image (really, I bought the book for the articles, honest). Before I get too deep into the slathering of praise, let me introduce the author.
When I first came across this book, I was struck by the intensity of Michael’s work. I paged through it and was awed by image after image (really, I bought the book for the articles, honest). Before I get too deep into the slathering of praise, let me introduce the author.Michael Grecco is a commercial photographer specializing in editorial and celebrity portraiture. His first introduction to photography came at the age of twelve when he became enthralled at the magic behind “tart smelling liquids” transforming paper into photographs. He soon became the proud owner of his first camera to practice his “art”. Six years later, he entered Boston University and discovered how different the world of editorial photography was compared to his experiences growing up. After graduation, he went to work for the Boston Herald where his photojournalistic experiences blossomed. His artistic roots kept poking at him though. After several years of being on staff at the Herald and several photojournalism awards, he began to realize he needed to get back to what he started with … so he loaded up his truck and moved to Be-ver-ly … Hills that is. Swimmin’ pools, movie stars. Ok, ok. He actually moved to Santa Monica where he began working on his lighting and artistic style, learning from cinematographers the art of giving a scene depth and life. From there, his portraiture began to take shape and evolve into what we now see today. True to the book’s title, Michael has an innate ability to envelope the subject in a dramatic shawl, like a photographic Doctor Frankenstein, bringing the moment to life with a flash of bright, wicked light.
As Michael states, this book is a combination monograph and a course on his lighting and portrait style. While there are some technical bits (it’s definitely not a how-to or step-by-step description), the book leans more towards the philosophy of his style, creating a fair mix of both to give the reader a good understanding of just what he does and why.
The book is broken up into the following sections.
- Introduction
- A short history of his life and how he got to where he is today.
- Cameras
- A discussion of the various camera formats from 35mm to digital and some techniques to use with them such as selective focusing and motion blur.
- Illumination
- Introducing Michael’s 3 laws of light: the color of light, contrast, and softness. He pairs the discussion of light with 20 or so examples including diagrams of the lighting setups in some of his photos.
- The Medium
- A short chapter on the various mediums used for recording photographs.
- Creativity & Conceptualization
- From team collaboration to props and set locations, Michael goes over the various areas that contribute to the development of a dramatic portrait.
- The Connection
- Michael covers a few topics about establishing a connection with your subject.
- Case Studies
- Michael deconstructs some of his more interesting and “famous” photos.
- Glossary
- Griptionary
One of my favorite photos in the book is of Colin Machrie wielding a princess wand and wearing a horrendously cute pink tutu. The thing that catches my eye with each of Michael’s photos is the character of each person, recording in such a way that brings the person alive.
The other photo that slapped me awake is on page 163: State Pen Nude. It’s a woman, nude, reclining in the arms of the gas chamber chair at the New Mexico State Penitentiary. “Sinister.” That’s how Michael describes the photograph as he jumped at the chance to take it, juxtaposing the harsh reality of death with the soft and delicate beauty of life.
I think for most photogs, the chapters on Illumination and the Case Studies will provide the most benefit to understanding his style. I don’t know that you’d be able to duplicate it exactly, but you might get close over time. Ultimately, this is another book that I recommend for every photographer if only because it has many inspirational ideas within it, both technical and artistic. This, combined with the diagrams and the photographic breakdowns, definitely makes the book worth picking up and adding to your library.
The Moment it Clicks
One of my newest favorite photographers is Joe McNally. I was turned onto him while reading several different posts at the Strobist blog. Earlier this year, Joe came out with The Moment It Clicks. The book isn’t really a classic how-to or filled with explicit lighting, composition, or shooting technique. No, the book is filled with what I’ll call McNally-isms, short, pithy stories, each distilled down to one core nugget of information.
One of my newest favorite photographers is 
. The book isn’t really a classic how-to or filled with explicit lighting, composition, or shooting technique. No, the book is filled with what I’ll call McNally-isms, short, pithy stories, each distilled down to one core nugget of information.The book is split four chapters, three short sections on his equipment, and a wrap up with stories from The Bar room.
- Shoot What You Love
- Keep Your eye in the Camera
- The Logic of Light
- There’s Always Something to Bounce Light Off of
- Joe’s Lighting Tips
- Joe’s Camera Bag
- Joe’s Grip and Lighting Gear
- The Barroom: The Bar Is Open
One of the first things that stands out when you flip through this book are the photos. Joe’s experience as a photojournalist and creative bending of light gives each image it’s own unique pop. My favorite, for example, is the photo of Fiona Apple dressed up in full plate armor and standing in a New York Subway train packed with people who seem to be practicing the art of looking without looking. With each photograph, Joe briefly re-tells the story leading up to the photo. I found myself up at 3am the night I received the book because I kept telling myself, “just one more story and then I’ll go to sleep.”
The second thing that pops out at first glance is the small quip that comes with each story, as if he was turning into the Aesop of photographic fables. I can’t say any of them were over the top, but the more you get into the book, the more you start smacking yourself in the head and saying, “Damn! That’s obvious! Why didn’t I think of that?!”
A few favorite quotes from the book:
We bolt and slip her through the turnstiles — sword and all — unnoticed. Subway came right away and I started ripping film like crazy for five stops. On the train, New Yorkers, true to form, avoided eye contact. The Fiona Apple photo, page 40.
There’s nothing as sweet and simple as human interaction. It trumps everything. Dr. Oz, page 36.
Sometimes, when you’ve got a camera in your hands you can convince yourself you’re Spider-man. Cheerleaders, page 60.
Is the only good light available light? Yes. By that, I mean, any &*%%@$ light that’s available. W. Eugene Smith, page 88.
Joe’s Lighting Tips is much shorter than the other chapters and that’s a good thing. Joe describes eleven different things you should probably be paying attention to whenever you’re shooting. Everything from “Always start with one light” to “Remember, as an assignment photographer, that one ‘aw shit’ wipes out three ‘attaboys’.” I can’t say I remember each of these things everytime I shoot, but I go back and refresh my memory every few weeks just to try and make it stick.
I am envious of Joe’s Camera Bag and his grip and lighting gear. Enough said.
Finally, at the end of a tough day when Joe’s done shooting he doesn’t forget that “The Bar is Open.” In the final chapter of the book, Joe cuts loose a bit and talks about some of the experiences he’s had, both good and bad, sad and hilarious. Being a father, the stories he relates about his kids really hit home for me.
Overall, this book is pretty fascinating. I’ve read it four times since I picked it up in February and each time I’m drawn to something different, whether it’s a close look at one of his stunning photos or if it’s a nugget of information that I hadn’t picked up on previously. If you haven’t seen the book, I highly recommend it. Just remember, it’s not a book on techniques. It’s just Joe giving advice that has helped him throughout his career.