OK. I know that I usually take outdoor nature photos but sometimes I like to play with some creative indoor photography techniques. Recently Enlight Photo sent me a couple products to try out. I had a photo exhibit to prepare for and
classes to teach so I didn’t have a spare minute to try them out until the last
few days. What a fun few days I have
had.
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| Frio® attaches flash to tripod |
The first item I used was the frioTM cold shoe. This handy
gadget allows you to attach your flash to any tripod or any stand with a standard
1/4-20 thread. I used it to mount my
flash on my little Joby tripod which I positioned to light the underside of a
glass dish that contained oil and water.
This classic macro technique produces wonderful abstract images. I really loved the ease and simplicity of the frioTM.
It is small and light and allowed me to place my flash exactly where I needed
it for the job.
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| Oil & Water Study |
Enlight Photo’s signature product is the
orbis®, an accessory that turns your detachable SLR
flash into a ring flash. At first glance the orbis®
, seemed a bit bulky compared to the compact macro ring flashes I'm used to but, I soon found that to be a good thing. Its
size allows it to diffuse light beautifully, eliminating ugly, harsh shadows. It
simply fits over your flash gun allowing for TTL operation of your flash.
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| Orbis® set up |
Along with
it, they included the orbis® arm which attaches to the tripod mount on the
bottom of your camera and holds the flash and orbis® in
place around your lens. I found that the arm added unnecessary weight and bulk
to the whole setup. In fact it was
difficult for me to hold the camera up with one hand with the flash, arm and orbis® attached for more than a minute or two at a time. To be fair, I was
starting out with a Canon 5D MKII with a 70-300mm lens attached. Combined they weigh almost 4 pounds and I am
a petite female. Once I removed the arm, the problem was solved and I could
easily hold the unit in my right hand while I adjusted focus and such with my
left. While the orbis® is designed to be used with support for the flash, it held my flash tightly enough so it could
hang down from the bottom when I needed to let go for a moment to make adjustments with my left hand. The arm or hand held support would be
necessary for larger, heavier flash units. The weight was not a problem when I mounted the unit on a tripod.
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| Birds Nest |
For some
time I have been wanting to photograph a bird’s nest I found last winter so I
decided to use it as the subject for my first test of the orbis® I set up my ‘stage’ by placing a black hinged
science board on a black tablecloth. I mounted my camera on my tripod and
linked the flash to the camera with a flash cord. It took me a few tries with various adjustments
to the flash strength to get some great images.
I am very pleased with the soft light produced by the orbis® and
that I was able to achieve the look I wanted by isolating my subject from the
background. At half the price of an electronic ring flash, the orbis® is a
great product and a fantastic money saver. And, while this test was done indoors, I plan to take both the frioTM and the orbis® outdoors next so, stay tuned...
Get 10% off plus free shipping by using the
coupon code: beachftw
For more
information on the Orbis® and other great products from Enlight Photo
visit: http://enlightphotopro.com/
For more
examples of photograph by Barbara Marie Kraus visit: http://BeachCottagePhotography.com/
Images taken using the Orbis® and frioTM
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| Raccoon Skull |
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| Shore bird Skull |
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| Preserved Dragonfly on dried flowers |
Oil & Water Study II
