Anesti » Photos

DIY Ringflash on the Cheap

Sawyer — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 03:29:09 +0000

Upon seeing several photos on Flickr taken with the Ray Flash (link), I thought I could build my own ringflash for less than the $200 Ray Flash. Seeing numerous instructions on how to build a ringflash on Strobist (link), I began searching for parts. I found a salad bowl ($1 from Dollar Tree) and a toilet brush bowl holder ($1 from Dollar Tree), and some other components from Home Depot. At Home Depot, I picked up some reflective duct tape for use on the inside of the bowl.

Step 1: Measure the holes to be cut from the salad bowl for the flash and brush holder.

Step 2: Cut holes in both pieces of plastic (I used a Dremel Tool) and sand the edges with the same tool.

Step 3: Apply the reflective tape in stripes from the bottom of the bowl to the top for the salad bowl, doing the same for the brush holder.

Step 4: Put the pieces together, the brush holder inside the bowl from the bottom.

Step 5: Drop in your flash and test!

Check out the rest after the break!

There are a few more things I’d like to do to improve this. Firstly, I’d like to add a diffuser, with a sight increase in thickness where the flash is. Secondly, a variable length mount from the tripod screw mount on my D50 is in the works.

I’m still waiting for some hotshoe flash triggers, and looking for a cheap hotshoe sync cable. I’ll post an update or a newer post when I find the other necessary parts.

Update: If you want to see further construction/modification I do with this ringflash, check out my set on Flickr where I’m detailing the changes I’ve made.

Now Introducing the Newest Member of my Tech Toy Family

Sawyer — Wed, 28 May 2008 21:13:53 +0000

Oh, the wonders of Craigslist. Without it, I wouldn’t be using my wonderfully awesome Nikon D50. I arranged a meetup with someone selling a D50 with an Nikon 18-55mm lens on Craigslist. The camera was in great shape for being used. I got all the original accessories and even a really nice Lowepro case with a rain shell. The camera had a bit of dust on the sensor, which was easily removed using a blower. After a bit of a tune-up and clean up, my D50 has proved to be a great photography camera. My younger sister has the same model (only she bought it new), and I’ve been borrowing a few of her lenses to use on my D50. I’m definitely still learning the tricks of the trade and how exactly to use this superb piece of work, but you can follow my photos on Flickr.

Not So Creative

Sawyer — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 18:24:17 +0000

I recieved a 5GB Creative Zen Micro for Christmas last year as a gift from my parents. The player has many great features, and is a good-looking player overall. About 3 months after I recieved this first 5GB Zen, the headphone jack went out. I only could hear audio out of the left earphone. So, I contacted Creative’s customer support and finally got an RMA for my Zen. I mailed the Zen to Creative, despite a possible warning that I might have to pay $65 to get it fixed. It turns out that the design of the player was flawed, and despite having professional engineers, they only soldered the headphone jack to the circuitboard, which when it came loose, crippled sound in the right headphone. Yet Creative still refused to admit it was a design flaw, as seen throughout the Creative support forums. I mailed the player in, thinking about how much of a pain this had been so far. I recieved the new player a few weeks later, and they had been so wonderful as to upgrade my player to the 6GB model. Were my problems with this player over? Nope. After enjoying the player for another three months, I had another wiring problem with my Zen. No, not the headphone jack this time. The power switch had ceased to respond. I upgraded firmware, downgraded firmware, formatted the player, and tried about every trick I could think of (without voiding my worthless warranty) to get the player to respond. I ended up having to turn the player on by plugging the USB cable into it, and then unplugging it, as it would stay on. So, small problem solved. But how was I going to turn it off? The player either has an idle shutdown period of 5 minutes, or I could remove the external battery. I was again, upset. Returning to Creative’s support forums again, I found numerous people with the same problem. Another design flaw? Creative doesn’t think so.

Resorting again to their customer support (which takes several days to get a response), I recieved a response, giving me the RMA information for yes- my second player. But this time I wasn’t going to get the player fixed for free, they said. a $25 fee would be my price to fix what seemed to be a terrible example of engineering. Writing a short paragraph before providing my mailing address, serial numbers, etc., I mentioned that I had not dropped the player or abused it. I had merely used the player the way it was intended to be used. I asked why I am the one responsible paying for a design flaw in a product. No response in regards to that paragraph, but just the information to where I should mail my second flawed Zen Micro. Angered, I searched the website for a customer support phone number to call to discuss my objection to paying for both shipping and handling, and a $25 fee. Let’s see if you can find a phone number on their site.

No? You can’t find one? That’s because Creative only offers telephone support for the first 60 days after you buy a product. After that, you have to pay for it. How cute. But wait – the website says that there is a support number that can be found in the manual. So, I dig my manual out. No support telephone number anywhere. Again, cute. It seems that Creative doesn’t even read their own manuals. So no luck there.

In conclusion, I would advise anyone who is looking at buying a MP3 player for themself, or for a child or sibling, don’t go for Creative. Their products don’t last, and their support is mediocre at best. I personally, though I told myself I wouldn’t, am I looking at buying an iPod. So long, Creative. Hope you open your eyes to your terrible customer support and poorly designed products. I won’t be buying from you again.

I’m Sorry…

Sawyer — Sun, 16 Apr 2006 20:31:21 +0000

Christ Is Risen!
In the midst of this holiday, I stumbled upon something that I couldn’t be any more in agreement with.

I think most people will agree that Christians have, at various times throughout history and throughout our own lives, been jerks. Well, it’s time to own up to that and time to apologize — for what it?s worth. Hopefully it will be worth something to someone. Here’s how you can do the same:

1. Check out the photos that have already been posted on Flickr.

2. Download and print the “Sorry We Christians Have Been Jerks” PDF file.

3. Write your name or city (or whatever) on the sign and take a picture of yourself holding it.

4. Upload your picture to Flickr and tag it with these tags:

sorry

sorryeverybody

sorrychristians (three separate tags – this is essential for the meme to work)

5. Tell all your friends and get them to do the same thing (hint: just write your city on the sign and pass it around when you?re with a bunch of people, and take pictures of each of them holding the sign)

6. Most importantly, mean it, and contribute to a global, lived-out apology to the world for the way Christians have acted (or failed to act.)

Christmas Break

Sawyer — Fri, 30 Dec 2005 03:35:58 +0000

Green grass is what currently makes up my lawn. Even on December 29th, when show would normally blanket our front yard of my house. The weather is around 50 degrees Fahrenheit in Salt Lake City, and so I thought I would head downtown for some photos.Thus far, this break has been rather eventful, Christmas included. As lame as this may seem, I?m going to now list off the gifts I recieved and from whom I received them.

Creative Labs Zen Micro (5gb) from my parents. photo here
Camera Accessories (A tripod, mini tripod, and a bigger camera bag) from my parents.
$15 iTunes Card from my sister
Clothes from my parents, all of which fit this year
A Paul Reed Smith guitar t-shirt from my grandma
Mocha with Max, a book by Max Lucado from Alison
A handmade beanie, also from Alison
A large assortment of candy and gum in my stocking

I hope your Christmas break was as wonderful as mine was!

A Giant White Beast

Sawyer — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 06:50:07 +0000

Snow has finally gotten to the point where it is impossible to pretend it isn?t there anymore. Twenty minutes prior to writing this post, I was sitting at a University of Utah Campus Shuttle stop, as the wind was blowing snow directly into my face, while I was watching for the bus to come. In addition to that, my cotton hoodie had decided to go the way of a sponge, soaking up all the snow it could, before being permeated with the frozen water. In case you?re wondering the extent of the snow, I have some pictures on my Flickr, which are also available on the sidebar. The snow has been falling at this point for about 2 hours, with no signs of halting. If you?re interested in seeing some of the photos, click the link below.

In addition to the snowfall, this week is seeming to be what Alison calls ?The week from hell that never ended.? Finals are coming up, so this week has either been spent starting/continuing/finishing projects, or studying for finals. I?ve gotten off fairly easy, with only two formal finals. Most of the other finals have been projects or papers. I appreciate everyone?s prayers, and I hope my hard work will pay off.

Don?t forget to check out my pictures:

Footprints:

Falling Snow:

The calm before the storm:

Blue Aura:

Bells and Ensemble Tour 2005

Sawyer — Sun, 13 Mar 2005 05:39:00 +0000

My school has a tradition of taking their vocal ensemble (Proclaim) and handbell choir (His Design) on a annual tour used for outreach as well as to perform for people where a handbell choir would not usually be seen. This year, we traveled through New Mexico and Arizona, performing at churches and schools on Zuni, Hopi, and Navajo Indian Reservations. I took a great deal of photographs, ranging from people to scenery to symbols. If you’re at all interested in how the tour went, be sure to check out the link above.