flash(ed)

Received my new flash rig in the mail today for the event I am shooting this Saturday. As I could not afford $300 for the true Nikon flashgun, I went with the off-brand, as $99 was a bit more in my budget. The cable and the bracket are solid, the flash, not so much. But it does have a full pivoting, rotating, and extending flash-head. Did about thirty test shots thus far (not seen here) and have already seemed to figure out the optimal direction. But I will just have to treat it a bit gingerly as the plastic construction is not so durable. Someday I will upgrade, if needed, but for this weekend (and any other immediate night shoots), this will certainly do the trick. Also, I like how the flash bracket has a tripod mount and with all this flexibility in the rotation of the head, and the four foot expandable cable, I should be able to get some interesting bounce angles for portraits or night action shots--watch your back Max Ellis.

In other photo news, got my film order back from Fromex. Interesting effects produced with this 1.4 Canon lens on my AE-1: a band of bright(er) light down the center of most of the frames, presumably when the aperture was fully open. I will need to take some notes for the next shots. Also looking to try a whole roll of double exposures.

I'm sitting here agonizing over the last twenty pages of Heart of Darkness (this is my third? read), thinking I should have gone to school for formal photography training. Or cooking. I like that, too. A misfire?

I am looking forward to Leah's triumphant return from hot yoga this evening. I want to try flashing her. And then after that, I want to take some pictures with my new equipment. yukyuk.