Blipper In Action

I was messing around today with this shot. There are a few interesting things about it. First, it shows me in my blipping element. This is how my family sees me :). Second, it shows my two favourite pieces of equipment: my Canon EF-S 17-55mm lens and the Canon 580EX II flash gun. A lot of my blips are made using this combo. Third, it is a good example of using flash to good effect.

It's not too obvious that I'm using the flash in this shot. It looks like the light from the front doorway behind me is lighting the scene, but, in fact, I'm firing the flash over my left shoulder. Without firing the flash I would be just a silhouette.

If you have a DSLR I would strongly recommend getting a good flash gun for it. When choosing one, make sure that the flash head can swivel and that the flash can make use of the cameras ETTL metering. Then go to planet neil to see some tutorials about using on camera flash.

To see the difference it can make, checkout this version of yesterdays blip taken without flash. In all cases I am "bouncing" the flash off large surfaces, like a wall or ceiling. Direct flash makes for terrible photos. Of course, there are limitations on what you can do, but I'm always surprised how much it can help.

BTW, the whole reason I spent time messing around with this shot was because I noticed the reflection on the lens. I thought that was sorta cool.