Photo by Kazze

Seize the moment of excited curiosity on any subject to solve your doubts; for if you let it pass, the desire may never return, and you may remain in ignorance.
-William Wirt

Ever since I first ran across this jewel of advice, I have always made an effort to apply it to my life. Whenever my interest in a certain subject flares, I make a point to explore it before my focus has a chance to shift elsewhere.

As of late, my excitement and curiosity have revolved around photography. I bought a Nikon D40 in June and have since only put it to good use on occasion. Since I purchased it, I’ve had a nagging sense that my photos weren’t turning out as interesting or “professional looking” as those taken by my friends who are amateur photographers. Part of this has to do with the fact that I’m not always as creative as I’d like. I also knew the source of my displeasure wasn’t the fact that I have an entry-level Nikon, because I’ve been told time and time again that the camera doesn’t matter.

Photo by Will Foster

It wasn’t until recently (while browsing Will Foster’s Flickr gallery) that I realized what my photos were missing: light. In retrospect, it seems so obvious. After all, in it’s simplest form, a photograph is just the capturing of light. All I’ve ever used is my D40’s pop-up flash (which leads to harsh lighting and harsh shadows in photographs). It had never occurred to me that a hot-shoe flash (or an off camera flash) could dramatically improve the quality of my photos.

After doing some research, I went out and bought a Nikon SB-600 Speedlight. The difference in my photos was noticeable right away. Below is a comparison of the D40’s pop-up flash and the SB-600. My roommate, Ryan, was happy to stand in for this experiment. The photo on the left was taken using the built-in pop-up flash on the D40. To the right we have a the remarkable results using the SB-600. The key to the second photo was that I angeled the flash head to bounce off the ceiling and then to Ryan. If you look at the larger version, you can really see the natural shading and definition on his face. An off camera flash (or two) could’ve produced even better results!

The day after I bought the speedlight, Will wrote a retrospective new years blog, in which, he mentioned a site called Strobist. I decided to check out the site, and after an hour or two, I finally came out of my trance of amazement. The site was packed to the brim with useful information for a photographer on a budget. The mantra as Strobist can be found at the top of every page on the site: Less Gear. More Brain. Better Light.

The Strobist community certainly takes these words to heart. They have entire series of courses designed to help you get your an inexpensive, off camera lighting system so you can get creative with your photos. I’m working my way through their Lighting 101 series right now. I ordered an “eBay trigger” so I can start wirelessly triggering my flashes. I’m already started preparing all my friends for the amount of modeling that I’ll be forcing them to partake in once those triggers arrive.

After my interest in photography was reignited, I started pillaging through my dad’s old gear which had been sitting in his closet for an eternity. I ended swiping an SB-15, an umbrella and a stand for the umbrella. I also ordered an extra flash trigger from eBay so I could fire the SB-15 remotely also.

I’m now on my way to doing some cool things with my photography. I plan on reading Strobist and other photography blogs on a regular basis. I also hope to be at the next Portland Strobist Photo Shoot. I’m also looking into building a DIY flash ring.

What have been some turning points in your photographic journey? Or more generally, what have you been excited about recently that you made a point to pursue?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 9th, 2008 at 7:50 pm and is filed under Life, Photography. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.