THE LIGHTSPHERE LIGHTS UP MADISON, WI

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Gary,
 
I got my LightSphere last week and was able to do a good comparison for
you. The past two Sundays I shot simple headshots of group leaders at
church. I used the same Fuji S2 and Nikon SB-80DX in the same
location. On the second day the LightSphere replaced the diffusion dome
provided by Nikon. Both days I had the subjects placed in practically
the same location in front of the fireplace. (I did manual vignetting
on both images)
 
7403 used the Nikon diffusion dome with speedlight set at a 45
degree angle - I can see a shadow behind the subjects and a small,
pointed specular.

 
7648 used the capped LightSphere with the speedlight pointed
up (8-9 ft drop ceiling) – the shadow behind is almost nonexistent
and the specular is slightly larger and more pleasant.

 
I haven’t done much else with it yet, but certainly like what I see
from this first time out. I look forward to using the LightSphere again.
 
Merry Christmas!
 
Norris Carden

www.cardenphotography.com
 
p.s. notice I also used BullZEye2 to make sure the color was right… another valuable tool.

To get your own LightsphereII™ please click here

NEW LOWER PRICES ON PNY COMPACT FLASH CARDS!

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There is only one card on the market that
offers a no-questions asked, lifetime warranty on all cards, as
well as toll-free tech support, and that’s PNY. Most of the other
manufacturers require that you produce the receipt to show proof
of purchase- I like the comfort of knowing that all I have to
do is send the card back, and they’ll replace it, if it’s defective,
and their tech support will assist you in recovering data.







Lexar has a 80x WA technology flash card – but it this technology is
not supported for Fuji or Canon cameras.  I personally only use
the 10x 512mb cards since I shoot in JPG on all my cameras.



To order click here

THE DATE IS SET FOR THE 2005 DIGITAL INTENSIVE VIDEOTAPE WORKSHOP

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Join me on  Jan 24, 25 for a VERY special two day in-studio
workshop.  I will have a video production company document the
event for an upcoming DVD set.  And students at the live workshop
will get the instructional DVD set (of the 16 hours of instruction) for
free when it comes out!  The class will be VERY limited in size
because of the logistics of the taping but I would love to have you
join us!



This year I will have updated
information and in-depth coverage of the following cameras (which I
will bring to the workshops):  NIKON D2H/X, NIKON D70; FUJI S2, S20,
S3; CANON EOS10D/20D/1D MARK II

The DVD set alone will have a MSRP price of $279, but you’ll get it
free – you will also need to sign a release to appear on film – and we
will have a great time in Los Angeles!!

Reserve your spot by CLICKING HERE!

DIGITAL INTENSIVE 2 DAY WORKSHOP ON VIDEO

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Thanks
for your feedback.  It looks like my plan for this year will be to
do a DVD of the Digital Intensive Workshops which will be a complete
two-days worth of program content plus the eight way camera comparison,
settings for each camera plus the class workbook that has the actual
comparison images, etc.  Then, so I can catch the people who have
9-5 jobs, I will come to selected cities for a 6-10pm super intensive
seminar.  I’m going to try to hit cities I haven’t been to before,
like maybe St. Louis MO, Scottsdale AZ, etc. 
The L.A. Digital Intensive will be videotaped, and people who
participate will get a copy of the video set.  Just know that you
will appear on the video, and that we will need your releases to
appear.  It will be late January, and when it goes up I will
announce it on the forums.  Thanks!

WHAT AN AWESOME TESTIMONIAL FROM HAWAII

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Aloha Gary,

I just wanted you to know how cool I think your Light Sphere
is. 
I ordered one for my Nikon SB800 and it arrived a 2:30pm.  I was
to leave for a beach wedding at 3:30 pm.  All the items I have
ever purchased from you have done what you said they would.  I
have total trust in you and you say this thing works great and even
outdoors.  I had just enough time to log on and look at your
tutorial.  I thought that is the least I could do if I was going
to take this with me and use it without even testing it.  I got
from the tutorial to leave the lid on and point the dome forward when
shooting outdoors.The
pictures turned out great.  Soft light as a flash fill at
sunset?  Yep.  It performed just as you said it would. 
I shot 4 day birthday party over Thanksgiving with it.  This
mother of the bride would not take her hat off or tip it back far
enough to let any light in.  She was in full dark shade.  I
could hardly see her eyes in the view finder.  The Light Sphere
filled it all in great and made a very difficult shot look great.Even
at a
Luau in the dark of night it worked great.  The results again
fantastic.  Thanks a million!
 

David Hessemer / http://www.hawaiianimages.biz

DOWNLOAD BULLZEYE2 DEMO FOR FREE! Just in time for the holiday crunch!  click here

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THE 85MM f1.4 LENS DOES ALL THE WORK!

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I
normally get a chance to shoot Jason and Jen Kiefer’s son every once in
a while.  Jason is Pictage’s CEO so we have been through thick and
thin together.  Well it had been so long I haven’t even seen their
newest son Jack.  These kids are a hoot!  So I swung by their
beautiful new house with my Fuji and an 85mm f1.4 lens and just let the
kids go and do their thing.  Actually most of the time I was
getting a tour of the house and the kids would like ham it up for us so
we got some really fun shots.  I really like photographing kids
they are so fun. 

THE IPOD PHOTO IS REALLY HANDY FOR PHOTO STORAGE

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This is why I have found it is useful:

1) Having images stored in folders by
client name, requires that you open each folder in file browser and
search through all of them.  This thumbnail feature allows you to rapidly fly through the images

2) If you use different computers
(like a laptop and a desktop) you can backup straight to the iPod and
use it as a transfer device.  Also, if you travel it’s
great to put the ipod in a different bag (I always separate one set of
images in the check-in bag, and one on the carry on)

3) Image Review – if you are
tired of selecting images sitting at a computer console, grab the ipod,
go to Starbucks and make your selections somewhere else.

The ipod Photo has an option where it can import the full JPGs or just
put it into the iPhoto database.  It’s better to import the full
JPGs in their native state.  Also, while I found that iphoto used
to suck really badly, the newest, latest, free upgrade is much better
and finally usable.

THE AD SHOOT IS IN THE CAN!

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The ad shoot was my best shoot ever.  I was asked by the client
not to publish the images until after the ad publishes in the National
ad campaign in January, at which time I can use them for education
purposes, etc.   They want the images to be fresh when the
publications come out.  I have to say that the whole thing was
unbelievable – Terry did a great job on hair and makeup… Peter M. at
Legends produced a great shoot and the models, Nick and Aneilia were
the best I’ve ever ever seen.  La Venta was an amazing location and we had a beautiful sunset.  Every
once in a while you pop off a shot and you go – wow, THAT was a lucky
shot.  Yesterday I got about 1,000 lucky shots.  All of us
were so exhausted… the people who flew in from New York had a red eye
that night and none of us could hardly even speak at dinner.  Then
the next day I had a long Pictage Board meeting- so I really should go to
Canada to chill… but the Lightsphere orders are still piled up – so I will be
here until we get the shipments rapidly flowing.  If you received
yours lately, I packed your box myself – so without a doubt nothing is
missing inside any of them!!!!

UNOBVIOUS ANSWER TO THE STORAGE QUESTION:

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A few people on the message
boards have said that they think the Lightsphere II would be too big to
store.  Actually, I designed it to be a super handy fit inside
your camera bag… simply put it over any lens in your camera bag, like
this: