jam∙at∙registration∙roller

 I got a new stool today.  Really it is just my old chair.  The question now is do I (a) keep the stool, (b) find a new bolt, or (3) charge a new chair to my A-card?

 Mike and Kristin are engaged.  I find it fitting that they first met at my house and then returned 9 months later to view engagement pictures.  We started out at Fossil Creek park, which was photographically speaking mostly a flop.  An alley off of Laurel was a little better, but once again, my favorite pictures were taken in Old Town.  Finding new locations around town sucks…suggestions?  I suppose things will be better in the spring.

 The Alien Bee and its kick ass power pack came along for the ride.  I am loving the fact that I can have more lumens of light than I should ever need at my command approximately every second.  I started to pack up the Bee and stand to walk 100 yards when I realized I could strap the battery pack to my waist and just carry the whole rig down the sidewalk.    Jeff’s photo of my set-up in action below.

 I’m not quite sure why it took me so long to post about this, but I am proud to announce that I am now a published climbing photographer (ignoring the fact that my photo is not of anyone actually climbing, but of Aaron returning to the car after a day at Lincoln Woods in Providence, RI).

 Last spring, I proposed a new series of name reactions that every graduate student should know.  I learned a new one last weekend that I call "The MacBook Dehydration Reaction".  The experimental follows:

  MacBook (2).  To a MacBook running Firefox ChemDraw operating at r.t., add hot water (340 mL, 18.9 mol) in one batch, directly over the keyboard.  Stare with mouth agape until screen goes black, then disconnect AC power and remove battery to afford worthless shiny white paperweight 1.  Drain water and blow compressed air over the keyboard and battery compartment.  Place 1 in a large ziploc bag containing drierite (100 g) and seal.  Allow to dry at r.t. over 60 hours.  Plug in AC power and press power button.  Call Apple Tech Support and follow their directions.  After determining that your battery is dead, a new one will arrive in 24 hours.  Install new battery to afford MacBook 2 as a white solid (2040 g, 100%).  MP: 189-690 *C.

 It is complete.  I’m calling it ‘The Bomb’, because (a) it looks like a bomb and would get a second and third look from airport security, and (b) it is truly ‘da bomb’.  Wow, I just raised some flags at homeland security with that sentence.

  Above is a 12V, 10Ah NiMH rechargeable battery, connected to a 180W pure sine-wave DC/AC power inverter that spits out 120 volts of beautiful, clean, AC power via either a 3-prong receptacle or USB port.  Two inline fuses (20A) offer backup protection for the inverter (even though I think only one is necessary).  Originally, I built the pack with connectors from a local electronics shop, but they didn’t seem very secure and placed exposed wire of opposite polarity in close proximity.  The connectors heated up quickly, as did the wire to the inline fuse.  New Anderson connectors and 12 gauge inline fuses (all rated to 30A) arrived in the mail yesterday.  I swapped out the connectors, fired it up, and started plugging in random appliances after confirming that my Alien Bee would work.

 I’m really stoked about the versatility of the set-up.  If I blow a fuse and don’t have a replacement, I can disconnect the fuses and plug the battery directly to the inverter.  The battery can be disconnected and replaced with a cigarette plug, the battery charger powered by my car battery, and the battery charged on the road.  Should all of my camera batteries die, I could plug the ac adapter for the camera into the inverter and power my camera…very badass electronics, at least in my opinion.  I haven’t weighed it yet, but according to the manufacturer’s specs the whole unit should come in just over 4.5 pounds.  It all squeezes into my hip camera bag…oh yeah, I can walk around the house now with a hot iron.

  I must admit that this idea is not original.  I stole it from Tim Kemple.

 Home Depot had 25 Watt clear vanity bulbs on clearance, so I had to grab one to photograph.  All the wiring was done as before, although this time I have the bulb plugged into a dimmer switch so that I can balance the output of the bulb relative to my flash.  I’m still debating where to go with this idea…maybe the CFL bulb I used before would make more sense with the bamboo?  Anyway, color temperature was an issue with the incandescent bulb.  Notice the ring of light from the flash on the right of the vase is blue-white, whereas the bulb output is much warmer.  Blah.  If only I could have my office hours in a studio…

 I took some engagement photos of Ryan and Heather on Sunday.  I experimented some more with The Robot and think I am finally getting quicker at dialing down the settings that give me the desired lighting effect.  My Alien Bee battery pack will be finished tonight, so I’m sure that I will have to add that to the rig on my next shoot…more on that later this week.  All of the indoor photos are lit exclusively with my new Alien Bee.  I’m pretty happy with the results, but as always, your opinions and suggestions are welcomed.  My favorites below:

 The kitties weren’t too sure about the bright lights…