Q&A: China Answers!

Upon reading the post earlier this week asking for a male-male hot-shoe-to-mini coiled sync cord, reader Shirley Lu, of Guangzhou, China noted in the comments:

If this cable is 10 meters, maybe it will have a delay on signal transfer. And other point is the cost of a 10-meter cable is much higher than a set wireless triggers.

Great question (er, comment), Shirley. I am so glad you posted it. And especially so, considering a quick look at your screen name shows you work at Pixel Enterprises, a Chinese lighting gear manufacturer. (Welcome!) My answers are below.

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Dear China, Please Make This.

Whoops, my bad. Lemme rephrase that:

親愛的中國，請讓這些長長的特殊的同步線之一。這將讓攝影師輕鬆地使用他們與他們的新相機的遙控閃光燈。

Now, here's why:

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London and Baltimore: Going Out With a Bang

The good news: I just landed what will almost certainly turn out to be the coolest gig of my career. It's a dream project, and I could not be happier nor more excited about it.

The bad news: It will be very time-intensive, so it will have an impact on my life going forward. Which my upcoming seminars in London and Baltimore/Washington are probably gonna be my last. If not ever, then certainly for a long time.

So let's sweeten the pot a little bit for the last go-round...

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On Assignment: Saving Florida's Springs

We spend a lot of time on f/stops, shutter speeds, lighting ratios and the like around here. But none of these things — none — matters when compared against another variable: What can you actually accomplish with your photography?

Long-time readers will be familiar with Florida-based nature photographer John Moran from previous article on Strobist. Always an advocate of nature, he has been one of natural Florida's most eloquent voices for conservation. Now he's taking that fight to the next level, aiming his cannons —and his Canons — at one critical target: saving Florida's natural springs.

What a person with a camera, a few lights and a vision (and help from his friends) can accomplish, below.

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Interview with Burn Magazine

Today, burn Magazine published a wide-ranging interview I did with Magnum (and NatGeo) photographer David Alan Harvey.

David has long been one of my photographic idols/compass points. We met in person for the first time in San Miguel D'Allende, Mexico in 2010 and became fast friends. He is my sounding board for anything photo-journalistic or documentary in nature. And I am always happy to discuss the web and vertical ecosystems with him, usually at about 2:00am, and over drinks.

This interview is essentially one of those free-form discussions, transcribed and uncut. It took place on the back stoop of a hotel in Dubai earlier this year. You can read it here.

And if you have any interest at all in documentary photojournalism and on the off-chance have not yet discovered burn, OMG are you in for a treat. Dave's compass point is absolutely pure, which is why that web magazine has quickly become the place to go to learn about documentary photography and documentary photographers. Enjoy.

-30-

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On Assignment: Radiance

"What should I wear?" asked Funlayo Alabi when we were touching base the day before I was to photograph her for the Howard County EDA.

"A white shirt if you have one," I said, wanting to distill the photo and feature her skin given she that she runs a boutique beauty products company.

Twenty years ago I might have said, "anything but white." But the more you work with lighting, the easier it is for you to control not only the contrast range but also the specific tone of a person's skin.

Even darker skin against a white shirt.

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Check Out the RoundFlash Ring Flash Adapter

See this little bag? It's about six inches across, yet it contains a ~17", collapsible ring flash adapter.

Curious? I was too. So I ordered one and had it shipped over from Poland. Full test drive, inside.

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Announcing: All-New Lighting 101

By the time you read this I'll be on vacation with the family. We're taking a road trip north into New England and Canada, where none of us have ever been before. (The above is in Maine, on the way to Prospect Harbor on Saturday night.)

That doesn't mean Strobist is closed. In fact today we're announcing a completely updated Lighting 101, among other things…

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On Assignment: Scout and a Shoot Pt. 2

Okay, so we're back shooting at the MCE after our scout a couple of days ago. The weather is hot, so I am glad I choose speedlights. Much less to lug.

Leading off is entrepreneur Biplab Pal, of Zreyas Technology, whose company facilitates product development and manufacturing for other companies.

Let's walk through this and the other shoots...

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