Tag: photography

Enter the MagMod

MagMod 2

For Christmas, there were a few photography accessories on my list, one being the MagMod 2.0.  I must have been a good girl, because I got one.  It is an attachment for your speed light, and allows a grid to be added to the flash, along with colored gels, to focus and change the light of the camera.  It is made of rubber – or a rubbery substance – that stretches to fit the speed light.  I put it on my SB600 as well as the SB400 (which is smaller than the SB600) by stretching the MagGrip.

From there, using the MagGrid 2 and the MagGel 2 systems, I could change my image’s character.  Coupled with extra lights from the side, or backlighting, the results were rather nice.  What I liked was the fact the MagMod 2 is very easy to use and is modular – hence the “mod” in MagMod.  The grid reduces the divergence of the light spread from the flash and focuses it to 40 degrees, per the MagMod website; add another, and it reduces it to 20 degrees.  (Will a third halve it to 10 degrees?)  In looking at this site, it appears they are now developing a bounce and a diffuser, but they are not yet for sale on the MagMod web page.

Images taken using the MagMod 2 Grid and Colored Filters

The MagMod 2 is easy to use – and rather fun! The magnets do have north and south poles, and they will remind you of that when you line them up wrong. Quality seems to be very good. I am not sure how the filters are made. There are air bubbles in them, which move around, but they do not affect the image at all from what I can see. Also, a few months back, I emailed them with some questions, and I was very pleased with the promptness of their replies. For the price, some people may find this an expensive item, but the kit is a good place to start, and from there, you can add what you want. Modular they are, and you can buy pieces individually.

Finally, here is a video done by someone in the studio, using a number of them.

And here, you can see all their products in production and available for pre-order.  Altogether, this is a rather exciting product, I think, and look forward to the continuing development of the MagMod system.

Fun & Games with Topaz Glow

Every now and again a program comes along for photography that is just plain fun. Topaz Glow is one of them.  Essentially a fractal program, Glow gives some interesting results.  Many similar results can be done in different programs, such as different filters in Photoshop, but they could require a bit more work.  Below are some videos about the product.

This is one in greater detail.

I like this next one because it shows a very clear way in which you can incorporate Glow into your workflow from Photoshop.

Using a program like this requires practice and time. Me, I don’t have a lot of it, but I really do think using videos to learn about something can be worthwhile. Companies often provide nice oversights of their products, but individuals can come up with incredibly creative ways to use a program.

Below is my original picture.

Pepper Tree

Here, I am simply going to show you some pictures using the default settings for all the presets that come with Glow. Many of the presets are similar, others have light or dark variations.  There is a lot of potential here for the creative . . .

Click on an image to begin a slide show.