One problem I’ve had with the Strobist stuff over the past few months is getting the mount on my umbrella softboxes to work correctly in the field. Umbrella Softboxes pose a problem because umbrella mount on for light stands doesn’t allow you to point the strobe to the middle of the umbrella, and the opening for the umbrella softboxes is directly in the middle of the umbrella.

I already had one hack for this situation that involves hooking up 2 umbrella mounts together, but I’ve found that this setup cannot support heavier loads and if the wind blows hard, the entire setup will twist apart resulting in disaster. Having recently bought a 60″ Softlighter II, there is no way that the old hack would work on that HUGE and HEAVY 60″ Softlighter.

Above: My original dual umbrella adapter hack

Later, I came across a post by Flickr user Luzer about the hack he came up with to get around the problem. His solution was to purchase a Smith Victor Stand Flash Stand Shoe from B&H photo and it looks like he had to hack that up a little as well.

Above: Luzer’s umbrella softbox hack – See his entire post here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigluzer/500249073/

I went to Home depot to try to duplicate Luzer’s hack because I didn’t feel like ordering the part from B&H, paying shipping, and waiting for 2 weeks. Also, I have 3 light stands and I didn’t want to pay ~$25 + shipping for all 3 stands.

Today I was able to come out of Home Depot with an elegant solution that cost my less than $8.50 including tax (and no shipping) for total for 3 sets of 90 degree adapters.

Above: the finished product – a “supertsai” 90 degree adapter for an Umbrella Bracket

Above: the finished product in use with a Softlighter II

Finished product once again and the materials needed to construct it.

Equipment needed for 1 adapter hack:

1-1/2″ Corner Brace
1/4″ – 20 Wingnut
1/4″ – 20 x 1/2″ Machine screw(I think a 1/4″ long one would have been ideal but I couldn’t find any)
1/4″ Cut Washers (I used 3 because my screws were a bit too long)

I found all of these items in the same aisle at Home Depot. The wingnut, screw, and washers were right next to each other in the screw aisle. The corner brace was almost directly behind the other items next to the door hinges and door bolts.

Everything pretty much screws together pretty easily. You will need either a screwdriver or a penny to use as a tool.

Instructions:

Tools you need:
Phillips and Flat head screwdrivers
A Socket wrench with a 1/4 bit
pliers

The holes are a tight fit so you might want to use some gloves too b/c brute strength might be necessary

1. Remove the hotshoe mount from your umbrella bracket first (it’s the silver thing that attaches to the strobe.
2. Use the machine screw to attach the hotshoe mount to one of the lower holes of the 90 degree corner bracket using your screwdriver or penny (use washers as spacers if the screw is too long). If the fit is too tight, get some pliers and an old sock to hole the hotshoe mount in place while you turn the machine screw.
3. Finally, attach the 90 degree corner brace to the thread coming out of the umbrella bracket where the hotshoe mount used to be using the wingnut you bought.

Viola! you are done.

Some things that I noticed you could do to improve the design after I took the first photo are mounting the hotshoe bracket sideways on the corner bracket so that the ridge of the hotshoe bracket supports some weight. Also, you can mount the umbrella bracket on the lower of the 2 holes on the corner brace. You can also use washers on the wingnut\umbrella mount contact point to distribute the weight a little better.

I also have another mod that allows for 2 strobes to share a single umbrella.

Millions of people around the world are obsessed with photography and capturing the special moments around them no matter when or where. They drag around large, heavy cameras and associated accessories on both trips around the corner and half way around the world. I know these crazed individuals well, I’m one of them!

However, many serious photographers are feeling a little less attached to their bulky, expensive DSLRs with recent improvements in the quality of smartphone cameras on the iPhone and the Android family of devices. Because these devices feature a reasonably high quality camera, smartphones are rapidly replacing the point and shoot digital cameras.

Also, because smartphones are computers that feature great software specifically designed for photographers, editing and sharing photos from your vacation while you are still on your vacation has become easier than ever before. I tell people that having my smartphone is like carrying a camera, Photoshop, and Flickr in my pocket all in one device. Also I don’t have to spend hours after the fact processing photos – I do it while I’m watching TV or waiting on food at a restaurant.

While the picture quality of the iPhone camera isn’t anywhere close to my 21 megapixel Canon 5D mkII, often I can get shots that I would never have gotten before. I can take my smartphone anywhere I go without feeling burdened by 15 pounds of metal strapped to my back and people aren’t as intimidated by a cellphone camera, allowing for more candid street imagery. As a result, I find myself leaving the big camera back in the hotel quite often when convenience trumps image quality and when I don’t feel safe with big expensive camera screaming I’M A TOURIST (someone has tried to mug me before, but that’s a different story altogether).

Speaking of apps and photo communities, my favorite iPhone app of all time is Instagram. The Instagram app includes easy Photoshop-like editing and simple Flickr community style sharing. The filters (quick settings that transform your photos with a single click) that Instagram provides are amazing – it can make any shot you take look like a vintage photo in no time at all. There are about 12 different filters and many of them can mask weaknesses in the phone’s camera – making dark photos brighter, pulling back overexposed photos, and adding contrast to washed out pictures.

Enough talking – I’ll now let you be the judge. The following 12 photos were taken on my recent trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and all were edited using only the Instagram application.

Mexican street toy vendor in front of a cathedral in downtown Puerto Vallarta – Nashville Filter

Palm Tree Silhouette on Puerto Vallarta Beach

The Streets of the tourist section of Puerto, Vallarta – Jalisco

Girl in the rain through a car window – Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Motorcycle in the rain – Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Street vendor squeezing out dough into a deep fryer to make Churros – Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

An intentionally lo-fi Mexican Tequila Tour photo taken in the pouring rain.

#HereIStand – My feet next to the dog paw prints made in Mexican clay Saltillo tiles

Mexican Jaguar art

Mexican Street Food – Elotes Asado. The corn pictured here is the same corn used to make tortillas. Larger and less sweet than the corn we are used to in America.

Mexican Aztec Art

Half Man – Half Fish sculpture at our hotel

So what do you think?

Instagram might not be for everyone – picture quality after filters have been applied can be a bit lacking if you are obsessed with image quality, but there is no denying the appeal of the platform. For casual users who want highly stylized images with minimal effort, Instagram is a slam dunk.

You can’t discount the social features of Instagram either – I’ve met so many cool people through this simple service, and dare I say I like it the most out of any photo sharing service out there, even Flickr. On Instagram, there is a real sense of community – perhaps because all users are part of the iPhone community currently and therefor similar, and also because Instagram, like Twitter, allows the use of hashtags, which make it easy to find people with similar interests or who are in the same geographical area.

So, How do you like Instagram? On what occasions have you ditched your DSLR for a smartphone camera?

If you are already as crazy about Instagram as I am, my username on the service is supertsai

Have you worked on one really long project and followed it through to completion? Was it an endeavor that consumed much of your life, but you knew it would all be worth it in the end?

Well my friends, that’s how I feel right now, as my biggest photo project to date, an entire 128 page book full of photos, has finally hit bookstore shelves everywhere.

The book is called Austin, Texas: A Photographic Portrait. It has 175 of my photos and covers more than 100 attractions around Austin, Texas.

For more information, including tons of photos and a video describing the book, please jump over to my other blog and read the article, Austin, Texas: A Photographic Portrait – Book Now on Sale!

UPDATE 06/10/2011 – I was recently interviewed by Rebecca Otis of The Rebeccamendations blog. Click here to read my interview on her great Austin entertaining and events blog.