This comic was originally posted in 2017.

Thoughts from 5/8/2020: Hey, it's my mom's birthday! Happy birthday, mom. Thanks for not throwing me into the sun.

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IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Cúram Software announced today the successful implementation of a number of software solutions for WorkCoverSA to support their business. WorkCover selected IBM Global Business Services to implement the Cúram for Workers' Compensation Solution, a comprehensive and proven claims management solution that manages and automates the complete claim lifecycle from injury to outcome, as part of a comprehensive modernisation of their IT systems.

IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced the successful implementation of a first of its kind smart grid data management platform, designed and built with Ausgrid to give the utility more data from part of its electricity distribution grid.

IBM (NYSE: IBM) and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today announced that more than 2.6 million households across Australia submitting Census forms via the web-based eCensus solution. This represents a significant jump from the 2006 Census, when 778,000 (9.1 per cent) of Australian households completed their forms online.

IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced the Australian results of the 2012 Smarter Consumer Study – the largest study of its kind – which looks at the purchasing trends, habits and expectations of more than 28,000 consumers globally, including more than 1800 from Australia. Over the last three years, the study has tracked the annual evolution of the ‘empowered consumer’.

IBM Australia (NYSE: IBM) and The Sauce, today published the first Australian BPO Report 2012 (ABPO Report), which investigates the current state of business process outsourcing in Australia and points to future trends. Global expansion is seen to be the key driver and benefit of outsourcing decisions amongst 71 percent of organisations surveyed. The report also showed significant anticipated growth in business process outsourcing activity among large organisations with between 1,000 to 5,000 employees (this constituted one-third of all respondents). This group of Australian organisations is expecting an increase of 20 percent over the next two years.

A new IBM (NYSE: IBM) study of more than 1,700 Chief Executive Officers from 64 countries and 18 industries worldwide reveals that CEOs are changing the nature of work by adding a powerful dose of openness, transparency and employee empowerment to the command-and-control ethos that has characterised the modern corporation for more than a century.

An IBM (NYSE: IBM) study of 26,000 consumers from 14 countries -- including almost 2,000 Australians.-- found that over 60% of Australian consumers identify themselves as “apathetic” in their choice of primary retailer – almost double those who see themselves as advocates of a particular retailer. As such Australian retailers have a significant opportunity to capture shopper loyalty, but they need to capitalise on existing investments in multi-channel and accelerate customer engagement across all channels, including mobile devices and social media platforms in order to win in this globally competitive sector.

The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS) has implemented an advanced passenger analysis solution with IBM to improve border security.

Hope Kahn is a Maryland-based journalist who is doing all of the sorts of things I was doing at her age: honing her writing and reporting skills, putting out a student newspaper, and always scrambling to find a good local story.

But that's where the similarities stop. Over the last couple of years she's been punching way above her weight class, having been published in national outlets such as Ms. and The New York Times. Suffice to say those are not exactly things I had accomplished before graduating high school.

More important, she writes about subjects that are touchstones for her generation. Her work with #SinceParkland is a great example of someone from Generation Lockdown working to effect change for her peers.

Recently we did some head shots. The idea was to help her with visually branding herself as the serious, thoughtful journalist she is fast becoming. The setup we used was classic Lighting 101 head-shot-in-a-corner fare, with an L102 and L103 twist. Read more »

White marble, dark chocolate, one light source. Problem?

Not at all. Because pretty much everything you can actually see across the top of that box is not really the "correct" tonality of the chocolate. It's all specular highlights.

Controlling the density of specular highlights is what compresses the subject's wide tonal range and unifies everything into one smooth exposure.
__________Read more »

You do something long enough, you'll eventually learn the little things you can do to help interesting stuff happen. One thing I have learned is this phrase:

"I'm a photographer. What can I do to help you?"

Just something as simple as that opens up all kinds of doors and possibilities. This week, it's how I ended up shooting Mexican sodas on a table-top studio in my basement.
Read more »

Today in Lighting Cookbook, using Google Maps as an entré to meet new subjects, and improvising with a skeleton pack of lighting equipment. Read more »

UPDATE: Both workshops filled very quickly. I only do these about once a year; apologies for the imbalance. I have set up a system so people who are potentially interested in future small-class lighting workshops can receive advance notice. More info here.

__________
I'll be teaching two, full-day lighting workshops in the suburban Baltimore/DC area on December 6 and 7.

They are two separate one-day events. These are small-group workshops, with a maximum class size of 12 people each day. These are shooting workshops, and you'll be behind (and/or in front of!) a camera for most of the day.

Assuming you arrive at this class with a basic understanding of f/stops and shutter speeds, you will leave with a strong foundation in the fundamentals of off-camera lighting. You will be comfortable using single and multiple lights both alone and/or balanced with a mix of ambient lighting.

All lighting gear will be provided. We will also provide lunch.

You will need to bring a camera that is adjustable in manual mode and has a hot shoe connection for a flash, a lens that covers normal and/or portrait range, one or two fully charged batteries and an empty storage card. Maybe a notebook and pen if you like.

That's it. Just show up ready to learn and to have fun. Leave the rest to me.


Details

Dates:
December 6 and 7, 2019

Time:
9:30am - 5:30pm

Price:
$259

Location:
Sandy Spring Friends Lyceum
17715 Meeting House Road
Sandy Spring, MD 20860


Note; These are the only small-class lighting workshops I'll be teaching in the US this year. In the past, these have tended to fill very quickly. So if this is something you'd like to do, I'd suggest signing up sooner rather than later.


Sign-Up Links

Friday, December 6 [FRIDAY'S CLASS HAS BEEN FILLED]

Saturday, December 7 [SATURDAY'S CLASS HAS BEEN FILLED]

COVID-19 Update:

Things are kinda crazy right now. And as a result we have temporarily suspended our workshop program until it is safe to resume them. But we'll be back! And if you think you night want to join us, make sure to add your name to the list below.

Thanks,
David

I very much enjoy teaching small-class lighting workshops. But because of time constraints they only happen about once or twice a year.

When workshops do open up, they fill very quickly — often before many people even know they were available. So I have decided to create an interest list to help make notification of an upcoming workshop a much fairer process.


About the Classes

Strobist^® Lighting Workshops are held as both single- an multi-day events. They have small class sizes and feature lots of time behind the camera. In the longstanding tradition of Strobist.com, our goal is to deliver as much value and knowledge as possible while keeping the costs economically accessible.

We work in an environment of rotating small teams, with lots of one-to-one instruction. We have fun, and I can guarantee you'll have a solid understanding of lighting principles before you leave. Or I won't let you leave.



Single day workshops are usually held near my home base in the Baltimore/Washington area, but are occasionally held elsewhere. That is why I am also collecting geo-information, so I can notify people if a one-day workshop would be occurring near their home.

Extended lighting workshops (usually 2-3 days in length) are generally held in an area that is both economically accessible, and very much worth the trip. Because if you are going to travel for something like this, why not go to a cool destination?

The goal for multi-day workshops is a fast-paced/fun/firehose weekend, in a fantastic setting, while working to keep everything to a manageable cost.


Might Be Interested? Let Me Know.

The interest sign-up list approach has proved to be both fair and efficient for our X-Peditions trips. So I am going to use that approach for single- and multi-day small-class lighting workshops as well.

Here's how it works.

1. If you think you even might be interested in a single- or multi-day lighting workshop, please submit your name and email below. This confers no obligation on you whatsoever.

2. I will only use your email for the purpose of giving you advance notice for small-class lighting workshops. I do not sell, rent or otherwise share your email. Because I hate companies who do that.

3. When I have an upcoming workshop, you'll get an email notice well before it is publicly announced. In fact, because of this interest list, future lighting workshops likely won't be publicly announced at all.

4. Make sure to include your city/state/country. If I suddenly find I have 30 people from Pitchfork, Nebraska who are interested, it may well make sense to reach out to those people and work out a nearby location.

That's it!

Thanks,
David

Photos by Sara Lando and David Hobby except where noted.

Just as most of us are either right- or left-handed, it is said that we all have a dominant side of our brain as well. Left-brained people are supposed to be more analytical and methodical, whereas right-brained people are more artistic and creative.

For most photographers, one of these two areas is probably a relative strength; the other a weakness. But ideally, you need the whole package. Which is something we were exploring earlier this month in Porto, Portugal. Read more »

Watching the movie Joker, I felt repeatedly that I was watching a film that Greg Heisler could have lit. The use of color was unique, sophisticated and fearless — almost a character unto itself.

In this outstanding 15-minute short produced by Vanity Fair, Joker cinematographer Lawrence Sher dissects his own use of light and color in the movie. Read more »

To learn to create evocative light with flash, it helps to better understand how we experience the continuous light we see every day.

To do that, you'll need to wean yourself from auto white balance, and even to abandon familiar waypoints like your daylight WB preset. Because our goal is to learn to exist in a more fluid way along the Kelvin scale. Read more »

The LumoPro LP180 is no more.

You could make a strong case that the LP180 was the best manual hot shoe flash ever produced — and maybe that ever will be produced. It was a beast of a flash, with a fluid user interface and features designed specifically for off-camera lighting photographers. Now, it's the last of a bygone era.

Why did it have to die? What made it so good? And what will replace it as the flash of choice for discerning-but-frugal off-camera shooters?

Read more »

NOTE: This post has been updated to reflect that X-Peditions' 2020 season has filled.

X-Peditions is a collaborative project between Strobist.com and Washington DC-based Focus on the Story. You can learn more about our program in general, and/or get early notification for next year's program, at X-Peditions.com.

How best to put this?

The Godox TT600 is, objectively, a screaming bargain. It is a full-sized manual-only speedlight with power comparable to OEM speedlights that cost over eight(!) times as much.

It features a reliable, built-in transceiver, a suite of different remote triggers and is part of a ridiculously comprehensive lineup of lighting gear.

I honestly don't know how they can possibly sell them for under $70 and still make a profit. Read more »

Hey, there's a pandemic. Have you heard?

Looks like we might be spending a lot of time in the house with our immediate family these days. Maybe that family includes kids. And maybe they are starting to go a little stir crazy.

Keep reading for some ideas for any lighting photographer who might be looking to make the best of some unscheduled family time.Read more »

There's something about shooting medium format — especially in black and white. The look is unmistakeable: creamy highlights supported by lush, detailed shadows.

So it's perfectly understandable why many photographers shell out big bucks for pricey medium format gear. In fact, it's possible that some of you are at this very moment casually thinking about how cool it would be to shoot with a MF camera system.

And why not? I mean, don't you deserve it?

But a lot of the tonal qualities we often associate with medium format can be acheived on the cheap if you light your photos from the bottom end first.

Take the photo above, which was shot with a small-chip Fuji, a kit zoom and a pair of small, $25 soft boxes.
Read more »

Sydney, Australia – 29 May 2014: The IBM (NYSE: IBM) 'Heart of the City' installation at this year's Vivid Sydney is using data analytics to map and visualise the real-time movement of festival attendees with WiFi devices walking around the 40-plus installations along the Vivid Light Walk precinct.

IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced Melbourne start-up Localz as the winner of IBM SmartCamp Australia 2015, a global competition that brings together entrepreneurs, investors and experienced mentors. Localz provides software that connects the digital and physical worlds for enterprise, using the latest micro-location technology to enhance customer’s in-store experience, improve asset and inventory tracking and provide frictionless mobile payments, at scale. One of the key differentiators of the solution is that it works across different technologies (iBeacons, Bluetoth Low Energy, GPS or even QR Codes).

INPEX selects IBM to manage operation critical apps in Australia

IBM, (NYSE: IBM) today announced the findings of its 2016 Global Customer Experience Index (CEI) Study, which showed that Australia is above the global average when it comes to providing a good shopping experience for consumers, with a CEI rating of 43 percent compared with 40 percent globally. The results provided a snapshot of the Australian retail sector, revealing that some businesses are still struggling to provide a seamless cross-channel experience, personalisation and convenience for customers.

IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced the appointment of David La Rose as Managing Director of IBM Australia and New Zealand (A/NZ). He replaces Kerry Purcell, who will return to a senior leadership role in IBM Japan.

IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced the appointment of Professor Iven Mareels as Lab Director of IBM Research-Australia.

IBM Appoints Katrina Troughton as Managing Director of IBM Australia and New Zealand

Woodside Energy and IBM will work together to re-imagine the way work is done using next-generation technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing to help Woodside realise its vision of an “intelligent plant”.

2019.9.12うす塁斗明日は THE CIRCUS新宿文化センタープレビュー公演てやつまぁ初日で続きをみる

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2019.9.14うす塁斗オナカスイタ昨日は新宿文化センターでプレビュー公演でしたありがとうございました！始まったねcircusカーテンコールでスタンディングオベーションも頂くことができて感謝です。そして富山公演から！まず地方をまわってからの東京、大和頑張ります。まだネタバレになるから言えませんがあれをやったりこれもやったりラストが、、、、とか色々とお楽しみに、、目を凝らして観てね 気づくことや気づかないこと気づいて欲しいことや気づいてもらえることアクションもダンスも汗かくほどやってます。それは毎回ですが。あと憶測とか目で見たものが全てじゃないからねdopeなものほどカッコいいとか玄人好みのものとか牛すじ煮込みのカレーとキュウリとか大根のぬか漬けカレーの方が見栄えとか魅力あるように見える事も多いかもしれないけど、ぬか漬けだって手間暇がかなりかかる大変な事だよね、牛すじ煮込みのカレーは圧力鍋使って30分以内にできてる事もあるしね、美味しくて好きだけどぬか漬け永遠に食えるけど一般的に腹筋バ続きをみる

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2019.9.15うす塁斗どうも富山公演終えたんだよ！今日もいい公演でした(^ ^)楽しいいい雰囲気の会場でしたそう富山！めっちゃ癒される街並みとか水美味いしなんかいいし綺麗だしそうそうたぶんまた来たいランキングトップ3には入った！(^^)北海道民としてはなんか街のとかの感じが少し似てて親近感とともにだいぶ好き(^^)そうそう急いでパッキングしたキャリーケースを開けて気づいた事があった稽古着のリハ着のパンツがない！！！事がわかった！でも、大丈夫！ハーフパンツがある！それでの続きをみる

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どうも声のブログで失礼します今日は愛知県刈谷公演でしたザサーカスファイナル刈谷公演でした帰ってきました楽しかったですありがとうございましたちょっとだけご飯食べて寝ると思います異常音 weblog で失礼しましたえっとね 何回何かあったかなそんな今はベッドの上です ベッドの上ですあとはめちゃめちゃ暑かったですねこっちもめちゃめちゃ暑いです愛知県 気温もお続きをみる

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2019.9.17うす塁斗大阪やで CIRCUS今回は地方があっという間ですね大阪公演も楽しみだ！森ノ宮ピロティホール劇場近くあ大阪城ホールだ観たことないな立ったことないなあと大阪城続きをみる

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2019.9.18塁斗うす今日もいい公演でした大阪おおきに名古屋から大阪にきたよって使いたかった写真です続きをみる

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2019.9.19うすどうもはいるいてぃですルイティーなのかなるいティなのかなどっちでも、いいけどcircus大阪公演終えておうちただいまおおきに洗濯して寝るぞこれは富山からのバス移動での色々休憩とか続きをみる

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2019.9.21うす塁斗そうだよ東京公演 CIRCUS初日だったよありがとうありがとライッセップスThank you今日も汗がすごかったよおしゃれだねなんかお腹いっぱい食べたいけど、、なん続きをみる

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2019.9.22よく見ればわかるものはわかるでもその場でおきてること続きをみる

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9.24今日もありがとうございまし続きをみる

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2019.9.26うするいと今日もcircusありがとうござい続きをみる

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2019.10.3うす塁斗circusありがとうございま続きをみる

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どうもアリゾナジュニアヘビー級俳優100人に一人の逸材青柳塁斗ですこんばんは夜ですねもう時間もないのでサクッとしゃべりますはいとこの子の通り THE CIRCUS FINAL 無事終わりましたありがとうございましたと言うブログは書きましたが一応こちらの声のブログでお伝えいたします皆様ありがとうございました応援ありがとうございましたご来場ありがとうございましたお花見たくさんありがとうございました全て読ませて頂きました全て見させていただきましたプレゼントどうもありがとうございましたありがとうございましたありがとうございましたメッセージありがとうございました色々ありがとうございましたていう感じです夜でしたのでもう皆さん出てください金曜日なんですね続きをみる

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2019.10.9青柳にとっては結構おおきな出来事ドラえもんが金曜日の夜から土曜日の夕方になった。時代の流れオープンニングもまた変わってた、なんかまぁそうか、とりあえず何事も新続きをみる

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2019.10.11お気をつけくださいね。備えあれば憂いなしスーパーもコンビニも品薄状態だね、、少し乗り遅れた、やっちまったなでも大丈夫ですコンプあるしこれのドリンクタイプもまだあるからオナカスイタ状態になっても完全食続きをみる

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2019.11.16うすぶろぐ久々塁斗こんなにブログあいてたとは、、息してるから(^^)どうもるいとですやっほぉ〜KGYGハンサムの話ここに書いてなかったんだな皆さんご存知だと続きをみる

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2019.11.29うすまた少しお久しぶりです塁斗ですイザショー呼んで頂いたからストラボのおかわりで、みてね松島庄汰と、水田航生と、楽しかったから(о´∀`о)handsomeの話はちょっとしたよ今日はいい続きをみる

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2019.12.15うす塁斗この感じクリスマス年末年越しでたよ師走だよあっという間にきたよ毎年くるよそうだよこの時期にブログだよ毎年毎年はえーよだいぶ寒くなってきたでもダウンを着るタイミング相変わらずわからんまだまだ、薄着なんだよな青柳は、、服がわからんのよなだからTシャツに厚手のもの羽織るとかまぁ、楽なんだよな脱げるしなセットアップ着たいのにこの時期のインナーが、厚手に、なると大変なんだよなどうも。もっぱら続きをみる

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2019.12.16うす！！塁斗師走と、塁斗毎日あっという間らーめんが、食べたいんだこういうがっつりのやつ食べてーなぁーも続きをみる

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