TGIBF - POTW

Nope, that's not a typo. It's not just any old Friday - it's Black Friday.

And this week's outstanding shot comes from RanManDX, who transformed an old, abandoned shack into a work of art with some off-camera flash and careful balancing of strobe to ambient.

At first I thought the light coming from camera right was strobe, too. It balances so well with the ambient sky, it looks too good to be mere serendipity.

As it turns out, it was streetlights and passing cars that provided the extra light during the exposure. Excellent time choice for shooting the photo, I say. He pretty much nailed balancing the sky, strobe and incandescents.

The photo would have been fine with just the continuous light sources. But the strobe hidden inside the shack kicks it up several notches.

RanMan used a Canon 580ex, with an Omnibounce (a $20 little piece of tupperware) and popped it manually several times while hidden behind the boards.

The Omnibounce was a nice - and necessary - touch, as it made the strobe a "bare bulb," giving nearly 360-degree coverage. Those things eat light, though. Which accounts for the multiple pops needed.

(Of course, we know that we can use any old white or (neutral) frosted Tupperware, right?)

Nice work.

Back to the Black Friday part, I apparently pissed someone off, er, drew the lucky straw and got to shoot the 5:00 a.m. after-Thanksgiving shoppers this year.

Again.

"Just think how early you'll be done!" they always say.

I love getting up at four o'clock in the morning. Not.

Anyway, there's what was mentally left of me by about 8:30, when I was reduced to snapping reflection shots of myself in the escalator.

Turns out my mall was not very well trafficked. The shoppers were all at the Big-Box-Cat-Killer stores.

And speaking of Black Friday, if you are going to be doing any holiday shopping of your own at Amazon this year, please remember to click through from any Amazon link on Strobist.

It's a painless way to help support the site. And it is soooo much appreciated.

Especially if you are, say, Bill Gates and you are going to surprise your (lovely) daughter with a Ferrari for Christmas.

Or maybe a small, Caribbean island.

(And yes, I am pretty sure they sell small, Caribbean islands on Amazon. They have everything else...)

As always, thanks much for your support.