File this post!
One of my projects during the pandemic has been getting my both my studio and my workshop in order. We heat our home with wood and over the winter I needed to sharpen an ax. I realized my file collection was woeful limited and made it a point to pick up new files now and then. When I purchase tools that I'm not going to use immediately I usually leave them in the original packaging until I actually need them. Its just a quirk. Well, I needed a file and while opening the package decided I needed a file photograph in my product portfolio.
I learned a couple important lessons while creating this image, which of course, is part of this project because I used mostly old, broke down gear to create it.
The first lesson? When using old-school power pack style lighting equipment, make sure you have things plugged in and powered correctly. You see, the lighting equipment used today is fairly straightforward. When you want more or less power you simply turn the light up or down to control it.
As you can see, one of these relatively modern monolights has dials and the other up/down arrows. And they plug directly into the AC wall plug.
BUT...it wasn't always that way. It used to be a bit more complicated.
We used to have power pack style lights that would distribute the power between flash heads that weren't themselves independently powered. You didn't just turn them up and down. A pack would produce a certain amount of power and then, that power was distributed evenly or unevenly between the number of heads you had hooked up. If you had one head hooked up it got all the power. If you had multiple lights attached, they would share that amount of power. And, there was a bunch of ways to hook them up as the distribution diagram indicates. Simple enough right?
Oh.. one last thing... the lesson. Not all flash heads were rated the same. Some large heads could handle everything a pack could throw at them. Other, smaller heads could handle limited power so care had to be used as to not overpower them. I knew this but made a mistake. I overpowered a smaller flash head that has now gone to the big darkroom in the sky.
So, lesson one: Be careful when dealing with this old-school lighting gear.
But using this old gear is what this blog is about and its a big part of my fun. If they don't explode of course. Yeah, I said explode. Anyone that has ever dealt with these old packs will tell you they can be a bit, well, ahem, lets just say dangerous. Theres a lot of power being generated in these boxes and its done through large capacitors that become a bit cranky as they age. Its wise to power them up from a distance. But hey... fun. Remember?
So, onto the second lesson. This one wasn't as damaging but it was good to learn. Files are rough. I suppose they need to be if they're to be effective. New files are apparently especially rough. The freshly cut teeth snag every, little bit of anything. I don't know that I was quite prepared for how difficult it was to get, and keep, the teeth of a file relatively lint and debris free. My first test shots quickly revealed what I was dealing with. Unlike most products that I just wipe clean with a microfiber cloth, this presented a bit more of a challenge.
I think I'm grateful I don't photograph files for a living. I'm certain I'm grateful to have the understanding and skill to produce images such as these without the newest, shiniest gear. Like any other trade, the skill lies in the hands of the tradesperson and not in the tools they're using.
For those that might be curious about all the specifics, I attached a Nikon 55mm film camera lens to my beloved broken 7D (plenty of previous posts in this blog explain that ) and lit it with a couple simple, direct lights. 1/160 f32 ISO 500
Simple post processing adjustments only.
Hopefully demonstrating that images like this can be created in-camera with simple, primitive, or even broken equipment will encourage budding photographers to invest in their skill over equipment.
I learned a couple important lessons while creating this image, which of course, is part of this project because I used mostly old, broke down gear to create it.
The first lesson? When using old-school power pack style lighting equipment, make sure you have things plugged in and powered correctly. You see, the lighting equipment used today is fairly straightforward. When you want more or less power you simply turn the light up or down to control it.
As you can see, one of these relatively modern monolights has dials and the other up/down arrows. And they plug directly into the AC wall plug.
BUT...it wasn't always that way. It used to be a bit more complicated.
 |
| I think I need to dust my pack. |
We used to have power pack style lights that would distribute the power between flash heads that weren't themselves independently powered. You didn't just turn them up and down. A pack would produce a certain amount of power and then, that power was distributed evenly or unevenly between the number of heads you had hooked up. If you had one head hooked up it got all the power. If you had multiple lights attached, they would share that amount of power. And, there was a bunch of ways to hook them up as the distribution diagram indicates. Simple enough right?
Oh.. one last thing... the lesson. Not all flash heads were rated the same. Some large heads could handle everything a pack could throw at them. Other, smaller heads could handle limited power so care had to be used as to not overpower them. I knew this but made a mistake. I overpowered a smaller flash head that has now gone to the big darkroom in the sky.
So, lesson one: Be careful when dealing with this old-school lighting gear.
But using this old gear is what this blog is about and its a big part of my fun. If they don't explode of course. Yeah, I said explode. Anyone that has ever dealt with these old packs will tell you they can be a bit, well, ahem, lets just say dangerous. Theres a lot of power being generated in these boxes and its done through large capacitors that become a bit cranky as they age. Its wise to power them up from a distance. But hey... fun. Remember?
So, onto the second lesson. This one wasn't as damaging but it was good to learn. Files are rough. I suppose they need to be if they're to be effective. New files are apparently especially rough. The freshly cut teeth snag every, little bit of anything. I don't know that I was quite prepared for how difficult it was to get, and keep, the teeth of a file relatively lint and debris free. My first test shots quickly revealed what I was dealing with. Unlike most products that I just wipe clean with a microfiber cloth, this presented a bit more of a challenge.
I think I'm grateful I don't photograph files for a living. I'm certain I'm grateful to have the understanding and skill to produce images such as these without the newest, shiniest gear. Like any other trade, the skill lies in the hands of the tradesperson and not in the tools they're using.
For those that might be curious about all the specifics, I attached a Nikon 55mm film camera lens to my beloved broken 7D (plenty of previous posts in this blog explain that ) and lit it with a couple simple, direct lights. 1/160 f32 ISO 500
Simple post processing adjustments only.
Hopefully demonstrating that images like this can be created in-camera with simple, primitive, or even broken equipment will encourage budding photographers to invest in their skill over equipment.
As someone that sells equipment and educates, I watch too many beginners fall into the equipment trap. They see an image that looks great and because it was shot by an experienced, talented photographer using good gear they believe their images will look that good if they buy the same gear.
Beware of that trap!
I've gotta go. I've got some filing to do.
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