Crossing the bridge

Best of Strobist: 2013 Edition

The end of the year is a great time to take a moment to reflect on what you have learned and/or accomplished in the last 365 days. Traditionally on Strobist, we take the last few days to look back, to buy a little family time and plan for the next year's adventure.

2014 holds some big changes for me. And because of the format and project changes coming up, this may well be the very last "Best of" post I'll ever write. So let's get on with it…

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Oldie

Dan Winters: Road to Seeing

I am at a loss for a quick way to describe Dan Winters' just-shipped book, Road to Seeing. That's because it defies nearly any category of photo book I have seen to date.

It's nearly 700 pages long, and is far and away the deepest journey into the photographic process I have ever read. It includes technique, but in the context of the journey covered in this book technique is almost an afterthought. And appropriately so.

Best way I can put it: Road to Seeing is not so much a book as it is a mentorship.

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Finished Sketchbook

The Ink parlour

Under the needle

Without Reservation: A Recommended Gear List

This is something I get asked about a lot, and its inclusion on the site is far overdue. The following is a list of gear in which I have complete confidence, and would recommend wholeheartedly to any photographer.

The Without Reservation list will be kept up to date going forward, so these are all subject to change at some point in the future. But as of now, this is the go-to gear that I rely upon day in and day out.

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Led

A present for a sad friend

and some other doodles

Caravan

Why I Moved Comments to Twitter

The traditional blog commenting format may be convenient, but it is in many ways a broken system.

The last couple of posts have been an experiment of sorts, deigned to help me regain some of my sanity. I have turned off comments and instead created a Twitter hashtag around which to group post-related discussion.

And if the early results are any indication, things are already getting better. Here is why I am not going back.

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the Author at home

I got a grant from the Swedish Authors’ Fund, Thanks!

Daily routine

Peg leg

Sport variations

Inverted Bowling

Compact Cricket

Existentialist Football

Zero G weightlifting

Checkout

Do it yourself saga

Fuji Follow-Up

It's been two years since I fell down the Fuji rabbit hole. It's been a wonderful (and public) experience, and I probably get asked more questions about Fuji than anything else.

So today we're taking a small side trip from lighting and heading into mirrorless. Apologies to the uninterested. I'l be back soon. But for those considering a foray into Fuji, I hope you'll find this helpful.

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Music automats

Tourist season

Shop update

I've updated my shop with some drawings: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MattiasAdolfssonShop

Annual Best-of-Strobist Collections

Starting in 2008 we began the tradition of taking a pause as each New Year approached. The result was the time a space to reflect back on the best work of the year—my choices and yours:

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How To...

The below are a collection of explainer posts on a variety of subjects—some specific, some general. But all, hopefully, helpful.

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50 DIY Projects for Lighting Photographers

Do you have more time than money? Time to get your MacGuyver on with this collection of DIY projects. From the ridiculous to the sublime, it's all here. Most of these have been submitted by Strobist readers with more ingenuity than cash. That said, no matter how flush you are it is always better to save your cash for things you can't make yourself.

Links are coded to open in new tabs, for easier multi-project browsing.

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Interviews/Photog Features/Guest Posts

I am always looking for inspiration from other lighting photographers—or frankly, anyone who really understands light. To that end, our interviews have ranged from 17-year-old wunderkind photographers to long-dead old master painters. Whatever gets the job done.

Links will open in separate tabs, for more efficient bulk browsing.

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Reviews

Money is hard to come by, and easy to watch slip away. So I have always tried to do my best to guide people to the best things on which to spend their hard-earned cash. Chosen well, books or gear (or whatever) can return great value. Chosen poorly, you may as well be flushing it down the drain.

Most of these are solid items, and worth the investment. If it is bad, I usually do not waste your time or mine with it. But some things are bad enough for me to actually want to warn you off—and some are total junk.

Herewith, the collection of Strobist Reviews. New pages open in tabs, to make bulk browsing more manageable.

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Rants/Essays/Humor/Unclassified

I try to keep on topic to the main idea of this site, but sometimes things get a little … tangential. Sometimes it is a broader issue. Or a practical joke. And sometimes you just need to vent, you know?

The below are just as likely to be deep thoughts as they are the product of the sense of humor of a 12-yr-old. The only thing that ties this thread together is that nothing really ties it together.

Articles open in a new tab, for ease of multiple-post browsing.

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Strobist Video Vault

Over the last eight years many cool videos have graced the pages of Strobist.com. Here, in the order in which they originally appeared, are the Top 100.

Windows open in tabs for easier multi-video browsing:

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The Updated, Essential Strobist Bookshelf

A great photo book (whether lighting or otherwise) is an amazing value. You get to rent someone else's brain for the price of a good dinner. And depending on who's brain you're renting and what you do with the info, the return on investment can be hundreds or even thousands of time what you invested.

Now more than ever, it is a wonderful time to be a lighting photographer. I have long maintained a book list on Strobist, but it has gotten out of date. Today I am correcting that with a tight list of books that I can absolutely recommend for photographers who want to learn.

The list includes just five books on lighting, a book on the interpersonal aspects of photography and a massive, magnum opus that is not even out yet. (But I've seen it!)

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Birtday car(d)

Essentials

They are the same

The Limousine exterior

How to Gel a Beauty Dish, v.2.0

One thing I have learned about light and lighting: there's always different—and often better—way to do something.

A few months ago we ran a piece on gelling various soft light modifiers, wherein I listed my go-to ways to color soft light. But someone in the comments offered a different way—a way better way—and I have been using it ever since. Here's what he suggested.

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the Limousine

Flight plan

Fly away with me

Selfies

My new book is out, it can be ordered here: The Second in Line

Low Frequency, High Amplitude

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking recently about the next step in my weird, one-off career. And this tweet, by a man who I truly admire, summed up my thoughts in just four words.

As a photographer, you could hardly ask for better advice. I’m taking it to heart, both for myself and for Strobist.

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Family photo

Sketchbook dump

You can get a closer look by buying my new book:

3D trance

Sketching from the imagination from 3dtotal

The Table is set, book signing in Stockholm

I will be signing books at Staffars serier Söder (Mariatorget) Stockholm, Saturday between 1-3 pm. As a special treat it seems as Staffar still holds one copy of the first in line (thought to sold out).

In Line 7

Shipping news

Just some quick news on the pre-orders of my new book "the second in Line" the response has been overwhelming, I had to make three additional trips to the publisher to sign all the copies. Half of all orders have already shipped and the rest are being processed as of now. Expect shipping to take 5-14 days. Thanks for ordering and your patience.

Random

Chokra-and-Awe: Loren Wohl Blasts Through The Fog and Noise

On the face of it, music photographer Loren Wohl's backlit photos of performance artist Chokra are themselves a series of cool photos. But dig a little deeper and they are a textbook example of gaining access and building out your book.

And the latter is just as important—if not more so—as the former.

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Book signing in Stockholm

I will be signing books at Staffars serier Söder (Mariatorget) Stockholm, this saturday between 1-3 pm

In line 8

In line 6

In Line 5