Ransom J wrote:
hmmm ok I'll play.

Very nice lighting RJ. Might I ask is she oiled up and if so, what solution did you use?

Edit:
I'm noticing the strobe model left is higher (maybe 2 feet) then the one on the right, is this correct?

Craig Thomson wrote:

Very nice lighting RJ. Might I ask is she oiled up and if so, what solution did you use?

Edit:
I'm noticing the strobe model left is higher (maybe 2 feet) then the one on the right, is this correct?

Very observant, it's about 18 inches higher on the left. 

And yes she is oiled up.  It's baby oil gel and then liberal use of a spray bottle filled with warm water.

Legacys 7 wrote:
What are those, White Lighting strobes?

Yup.  The old coffee can tanks.  These things are GREAT.  Rugged, durable, and give a clean, quality light.

Ransom J wrote:

Yup.  The old coffee can tanks.  These things are GREAT.  Rugged, durable, and give a clean, quality light.

that's what I had thought. White Lighting Alien Bees are damn good light and anyone who says that they're not should look at your results.  Look at Chin's image on here. Done with AB.

I have the Calumet Travelites 750 watts per head. I haven't used them yet. Can't wait for this semester to be over, so that I can get a shooting break. I am anxious to put them to use on location. Say? Do you use a portable battery or generator for location?

Legacys 7 wrote:

that's what I had thought. White Lighting Alien Bees are damn good light and anyone who says that they're not should look at your results.  Look at Chin's image on here. Done with AB.

I have the Calumet Travelites 750 watts per head. I haven't used them yet. Can't wait for this semester to be over, so that I can get a shooting break. I am anxious to put them to use on location. Say? Do you use a portable battery or generator for location?

That's the other great thing about these lights.  While everyone else is using 2 thousand dollar power packs on location, I can run these off of a 100 dollar back up computer battery and get enough shots to fill a 2gig card with NO problem.

Ransom J wrote:

That's the other great thing about these lights.  While everyone else is using 2 thousand dollar power packs on location, I can run these off of a 100 dollar back up computer battery and get enough shots to fill a 2gig card with NO problem.

I agree. I need a small generator. I never thought about using a computer battery. It never entered my mind that it will have enough juice.

Legacys 7 wrote:

I agree. I need a small generator. I never thought about using a computer battery. It never entered my mind that it will have enough juice.

Well it works fine with my set up.  Though the WL-5000's are only 500 watts a piece and I've NEVER ran more than three at one time on it, most often only two, but it gets the job done for my location work.

Ransom J wrote:

Well it works fine with my set up.  Though the WL-5000's are only 500 watts a piece and I've NEVER ran more than three at one time on it, most often only two, but it gets the job done for my location work.

send me a link where i can see a computer battery?

Legacys 7 wrote:

send me a link where i can see a computer battery?

You can buy them at Best Buy or COMPUSA or any computer/ electronics store.

Ransom J wrote:



You can buy them at Best Buy or COMPUSA or any computer/ electronics store.

I'll look into this. good looking out.

open aperture wrote:
heres one of mine, probably my favorite lighting plot as of right now. tried to copy a portrait i saw taken by clayton cubitt. pay no attention to the fact that its a picture of my ugly mug and that it looks like i havnt slept in a week.

Aren't your snoots pointing the wrong way? LOL..

Brandon Ching wrote:
I thought those computer UPS things weren't true sine wave and you risk damaging your lights or overloading the inverter since they aren't designed for the huge rush of power the flash capacitors draw while they're recycling?

Hmmm, maybe so but I had my father (master electrician) check out everything before buying it and he said it was a go, but that my limit was two heads on full power or all three on 1/3 power.  Anything more and I'm asking for trouble.

Ransom J wrote:
Hmmm, maybe so but I had my father (master electrician) check out everything before buying it and he said it was a go, but that my limit was two heads on full power or all three on 1/3 power.  Anything more and I'm asking for trouble.

I wouldn't recommend people to use APC UPS unless they pick up the ones that produce True Sine Wave and have a VA rating at least 150% of their max power requirement i.e. if your strobes draw 10 amps at 110V, that's 1100 watts.

1100 x 1.5 = a 1650 VA rating

AlienBees/WhiteLightings draw 8 amps at 120V (per light) or 960 watts x 1.5 = 1440 VA

I'd say you'd have to get their 1500 VA to power 1 light at full power safely. Of course there are larger and more pricier units but at that point, you're better off buying a Vagabond/Tronix, or building your own battery/inverter combo.

Brandon Ching wrote:

I wouldn't recommend people to use APC UPS unless they pick up the ones that produce True Sine Wave and have a VA rating at least 150% of their max power requirement i.e. if your strobes draw 10 amps at 110V, that's 1100 watts.

1100 x 1.5 = a 1650 VA rating

The AlienBees (B400/B800/B1600) draw 8 amps at 120V or 960 watts x 1.5 = 1440 VA

I'd say you'd have to get their 1500 VA to power 1 light at full power safely. Of course there are larger and more pricier units but at that point, you're better off buying a Vagabond/Tronix, or building your own battery/inverter combo.

Again I didn't recommend anything and i just relayed was a master electrician told me i'd be safe operating at.  I trust his judgement (he IS my father) and luckily if something DOES happen he'll rebuild my strobes from the ground up.  FOR FREE! lol.

Brandon Ching wrote:

I wouldn't recommend people to use APC UPS unless they pick up the ones that produce True Sine Wave and have a VA rating at least 150% of their max power requirement i.e. if your strobes draw 10 amps at 110V, that's 1100 watts.

1100 x 1.5 = a 1650 VA rating

AlienBees/WhiteLightings draw 8 amps at 120V (per light) or 960 watts x 1.5 = 1440 VA

I'd say you'd have to get their 1500 VA to power 1 light at full power safely. Of course there are larger and more pricier units but at that point, you're better off buying a Vagabond/Tronix, or building your own battery/inverter combo.

That's a good point. My mind was tired when I replied to the APS unit and didn't think about asking about if these units have true and claen Sine Wave. I have a power inverter that have Sine Wave. Some of the Honda generators have it.

Sean Armenta wrote:
WOW how cool is this little diagramming thing!  sweet!

this:





gets you this:





and if you want to see the video of it, go here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oftbXkMw0NA

hey Sean,
how did you get what looks like a catchlight in the bottom of her eye? is that just bounce from the floor?

open aperture wrote:
heres one of mine, probably my favorite lighting plot as of right now. tried to copy a portrait i saw taken by clayton cubitt. pay no attention to the fact that its a picture of my ugly mug and that it looks like i havnt slept in a week.

Maybe its because I haven't slept in a week.....but I find you incredibly hot.

RBDesign wrote:
I think that this thread is pretty good, given the average MM photo/lighting thread. One thing that I would suggest to make it way more useful to people looking to learn lighting setups is that posters include the distance of lights from subject, distance of subject from background, etc. One of the things that most photographers just starting out with studio lighting really screw up on is placing lights/reflectors/etc way too far away from subjects and subjects way too close to backgrounds.

Just my $.02

RB

That's what the grid is for! 1 square = 1 foot

...but yes, it would be helpful if people would actually position things to scale.

Legacys 7 wrote:

I'll look into this. good looking out.

When you are at the store ask where the UPS (Uninteruptible Power Supplies) are located.  If you ask for computer battery they will point you to little circular things that look like oversized watch batteries.  These UPS devices come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and weights. It is a terrific idea for portable power.

SculptedLife wrote:

When you are at the store ask where the UPS (Uninteruptible Power Supplies) are located.  If you ask for computer battery they will point you to little circular things that look like oversized watch batteries.  These UPS devices come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and weights. It is a terrific idea for portable power.

That's what Ransum J pointed out. But I'm also glad that Brian addressed the Sine Wave issue. My mind was brunt out lastnight (school) when Ihad replied to this topc. Are you using UPS for your lights?

919 wrote:

Maybe its because I haven't slept in a week.....but I find you incredibly hot.

you should really get some rest ; )

open aperture wrote:

you should really get some rest ; )

Meh.  I find its easier when I don't sleep.