Simple "every-day-emergency" location lighting

When you're running up & down the steps of a drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, you don't want to carry a lot of baggage! So I always had two Vivitar 283s with me for "all-around every-day emergency" use. There were (actually "are", you can still get them & I still use mine) amazingly versatile units. Accessories include filters for WA & telephoto coverage, a remote cord for moving the sensors off the flash, and a VariPower sensor that can seamlessly dial down the power 5X. I love them!

This office was typically small with typically crappy green fluorescent lighting. I used flash on-cam set at the “right” exposure and 1 high to the right as a hot, accent light.
The pic below is a dupe of a cull slide, one where the lighting wasn’t just right, but the only one I could find in my files. Still, it illustrates the point that you don’t have to go elaborate lengths to improve the situation by a few hundred per-cent.

EDIT: There's a lot more added to this thread, so be sure to read the whole thing!

20mm f/3.5 Nikkor & 2 Vivitar 283s.

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Looking at it, I may have had it on the cam & bounced it straight up. There's no way that it would cover the 20mm angle of view.
It's not a scan. My scans always came out crappy, which is why I made my trusty 300D slide duplicator.
Do you Cobble? (Slide duplicator)

More on accessories: Post #10 - Location brackets.

I'm including a shot of the Varipower replacement for the sensor which allows minute adjustments to the output & also reduces the recycling time.

These units also have a cord which allows you to place the on flash optical sensor anywhere you want it! It's a great option.

"Black wrap", which is a black foil, takes the place of barn doors, flags, & other light modifiers.

Also, in this thread I put some info that will help you figure light fall-off in your head + many more links:
Fill light at sunset
.

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such a rad shot

Here are a few more examples.

Strobist - "Less Gear • More Brain • Better Light":

with pics & examples:
http://strobist.blogsp​ot.com …/welcome-to-strobist.html

i am so confused!
thoes pics look like they were taken in the 1960's!? even 70's
so old n retro looking! AHAHAHA very funky!

See post #2 again.

Some other threads in no particular order:

trentchau's one light shots: "Last night I held a lecture showing people how you can do photography with a $50 strobe and some cheap modifiers."

Vivitar 283 & 285HV

Favorite non-Canon flash units

Suggestions for a decent budget flash for 300d...

Vivitar 283; History & comments

A Day in the Life of the Vivitar 283

A review and appreciation of a great design

High speed freeze

Will Crockett DVD - digital ON CAMERA FLASH

Lighting 101: Cross Lighting

Lighting 101: Hard Light

Low cost off camera flash tutorial for beginners

Joel Grimes on Lightweight strobe solutions

1 light = 10 different looks.pdf

PhotosGuy wrote in post #483920
When you're running up & down the steps of a drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, you don't want to carry a lot of baggage! So I always had two Vivitar 283s with me for "all-around every-day emergency" use. There were (actually "are", you can still get them & I still use mine) amazingly versatile units. Accessories include filters for WA & telephoto coverage, a remote cord for moving the sensors off the flash, and a VariPower sensor that can seamlessly dial down the power 5X. I love them!

This office was typically small with typically crappy green fluorescent lighting. I used flash on-cam set at the “right” exposure and 1 high to the right as a hot, accent light.
The pic below is a dupe of a cull slide, one where the lighting wasn’t just right, but the only one I could find in my files. Still, it illustrates the point that you don’t have to go elaborate to improve the situation by a few hundred per-cent.

20mm f/3.5 Nikkor & 2 Vivitar 283s.

Hey is that the" Bat Phone" LOL.

Some things to think about for inspiration: My Lighting Tools At Work video.

These are some of the brackets I used to position the strobes. Most of the time I used a Vivitar SL-2 optical slave. They're so reliable that I'm still using the ones I bought over 30 years ago.

Attachment #1

1 & 2/ http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …Remote_Flash_Tr​igger.html These optical slaves are no longer available, but might be found on eBay.
Here's a page from B&H: http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …aves/ci/1736/N/​4289244511
These ball heads have a standard 1/4"-20 hole in the bottom which is the same size as a tripod mount.
The Vivitar slave also has a 1/4"-20 hole in the bottom, which makes them very versatile.

3/ This small attachment fits on a light stand & has a 1/4"-20 thread. I wish I'd bought a dozen of them.

4/ This is a workaround for when you lose #3. It's just a piece of a 1/4"-20 rod with a nut to keep it from falling down into the light stand.

Attachment #2

5/ A bracket designed to hold a arm for a flag or hairlight. I've epoxied a flat head 1/4"-20 bolt to it & added a wing nut to keep the strobe tight.

6/ This hardware clamp has quick adjustable 0-" jaws & I've drilled it for a 1/4"-20 bolt.

7/ Not something I carried around much, but this microphone base is easy to adjust any way you like & makes a good low strobe support, especially for a back or background light.

8/ Same as #5.
.

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Well I'm not sure about the flashes but the gamma ray looks dirty and the induction curve looks wet.....lol

verty wrote in post #2126243
i am so confused!
thoes pics look like they were taken in the 1960's!? even 70's
so old n retro looking! AHAHAHA very funky!

Yep,,,possibly the 70s or 80s.. Shot on film using Nikon/ Nikkor 20mm F3.5 which at one stage was one of my fave lenses..

They were taken about 1974-6, & the 20mm is still my favorite full frame lens along with the 105, 2.5. I even use it on my Canon sometimes.
'66 Ford Shelby GT-350 clone

You need to work within their limitations (less power & slower recycling time), but small, inexpensive strobes work fairly well for portrait, too.

Simple 2 Light Portrait Set-up

Old fill light trick when bouncing off the ceiling just isn't good enough:

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