Mods Mods Mods

[wendellt]

Modifactions are essential in the industry industry one of the best things being at an international fashion week is you get to see the kit modifications seasoned photographers use to get them through 100 shows over 10 days

its safe to say most prefer canon

you can see some white nikon 70-200's in there too
this was shot at the Giorgio Armani show, you can see how crucial a good position is i was tossed right to the side up on the highest riser series D
Dead centre and eye level is a prime spot for runway.

Interesting to see a heap of photogs using a 500/600mm prime for closeups and most of them were nikon users, they mounted the lens upsiode down on a used custom tilt bracket so they could tilt the camera forward instead of the monopod its a pretty tight space and i had issues right at the back tilting my pod forward to get the right angle of view but the others sorted the issue with that cool tilt bracket


there is a quantumn flash head on there too with a custom cylindrical orange gel to balance the flash head light to the tungsten lights on the runway


custom brackets and softboxes with foldout reflective panels to get rid of most shadows for beauty shots

here is another example of a custom built rectangular flash to get rid of most shadows, it's funny seeing seasoned pros opting for a makeshift square tube flash instead of purchasing an expensive square flash unit
a standard flash unit is embedded in one of the corners


the coolest mod is something i couldnt photograph but there was a guy from germany who had built a riser lader into his pelican case it rose up like an achordian platform for added height if he needed to stand on something. Another guy constructed foldout metal riser boxes that attached under his shoes elevating him a few inches higher after use they folded flat like a box you woud get when ordering fast food

my best innovation was borrowing spare 600mm lens boxes from other photogs and stacking them up right at the back centre spot and standing on 3 or 4 at a time to get a view quite a balancing act

[Laurie]

this is really cool to see.

id love to see more if you have any.
i love seeing other people warez
especially pros

[padey]

wow, very interesting.

What iso was that first shot taken with?

[Alpha_7]

Wow wendell, can more shots of mods, or weird setups ?? Very interesting stuff!

[foonji]

waaaay cool setups! show us more please!

[Alpha_7]

 BTW I missed boxes in the last line, and for a instant imagined you using other photogs lenses as stilts.

[!~DeViNe~DaRkNeSs~!]

mmm sooo much canon

[wendellt]

i'll find more mods

padey i was shooting high iso 160 hand held just reference shots

craig i just meant to say i usually collected others togs boxes and cases after askign them politely if i could stand on them im small and light so they were o.k with also i was safegaurding their boxes for them by standing on them hence no one could steal their cases while they were working its pretty dark in the pig pit

[Oz_Beachside]

I'm looking for one of those bracket mounted softboxes. Chimera make them, and I can get them from CalumetPhoto, but wondering if anyone knows what this one is, and if I can get in Australia?

[wendellt]

more views of that square flash

you can see two canon 580 ex flashes lighting acting as strip lights


these guys really hate shadows square strip flash, reflector and softbox


all they needed was a model size light tent

[wendellt]

heres another pic of the flash bracket for that softbox
although i think its better if you just hold the softbox with the other hand



or get soemone to hold it

on ebay there is a similar one
http://cgi.ebay.com/Quick-Flip-Flash-Br ... dZViewItem

[Oz_Beachside]

thanks.

In the high res image, can you read the label inside the on camera softbox in that last one you posted (front on image?)

[Oz_Beachside]

I have the manfrotto brackets, and they work well, I just need brackets that seperate the hotshoe and hold the softbox. I was thinking of making one, but would be faster to purchase...

[wendellt]

it's a 'Chimera' branded softbox

but theres heaps of brands that are exactly the same whats custom about the kit is the bracket not the softbox

[Oz_Beachside]

Yeah, I know, and thats for your feedback.

Its the bracket mounting the hotshoe to the softbox that I dont have a source on yet...

the bracket from the camera to the hotshoe/softbox I have sorted.

[Alex]

Great stuff. Very interesting post. Thanks

Alex

[khalil]

yeah alot of interesting pics here.

looks like they use alot of custom made stuff or is this stuff available to all?

[Yi-P]

Very interesting stuffs wendell, so you back to Sydney now?

[ozimax]

To echo the other comments Wendell, very interesting indeed. You seem to be enjoying yourself amongst all this gear and photographers.

Is the regular pro a happy chap eg are they friendly or pushy? What about the models themselves? Too many questions Wendell, sorry...Ozi

[byrt_001]

great stuff,

now a homemade softbox for my sb800...uuhmm


I was wondering where you were?

thanks for the very interesting post

[Ollie]

... that is sweet!

nice tips for how to make equip on the cheap ... or buy it on the, um, not so cheap.

[Laurie]

wendellt, fantastic images, i love the behind the scenes of how those awesome photos you take are made.

thanks for sharing

[wendellt]

To echo the other comments Wendell, very interesting indeed. You seem to be enjoying yourself amongst all this gear and photographers.

Is the regular pro a happy chap eg are they friendly or pushy? What about the models themselves? Too many questions Wendell, sorry...Ozi

hi oz

the other backstage photographers were not pushy but slightly obnoxious but thats to be expected
i kept a low profile

the runway photographers were the ones who were really some piece of work they were pushy but once they all got settled in their spots they were quite nice to allow me to use their cases to stand on and they were willing to talk

as for the models most of them were from eastern block nations they were nice enough but quite reserved i spoke to the 4 australian girls i saw there most of the time

overall very different to what im used to in australia

[radar]

Glad to see you back in Oz, I had been wondering how your trip to Europe had been.

Thanks for sharing this, it's a view that doesn't get publicised much.

Cheers,

André

[Hybrid]

Fascinating stuff Wendell! Thanks for sharing

[wendellt]

hi stephen
you have an awesome website there great work

thankyou
i cant find any more useful pics of mods, so ill have to take more at the upcoming sydney fashion week

[byrt_001]

so ill have to take more at the upcoming sydney fashion week

do you need any help??

[Hybrid]

hi stephen
you have an awesome website there great work

thankyou
i cant find any more useful pics of mods, so ill have to take more at the upcoming sydney fashion week

Hey Wendell,

Thanks for checking my site out, I appreciate the comments! The site is in need of a bit of an overhaul but right now about all I've got time for is the daily photos...

I was checking your site out earlier - really impressive stuff! I especially like your recent Venice Carnival shots.

That would be really cool if you could take some more behind the scenes shots at the next fashion week... I'm always interested!

Cheers,

Stephen