Post series Strobist
“Strobist” is a term coined by American photographer David Hobby, who was one of the first bloggers to hit the mainstream and help his readers learn more about the use of artificial lighting techniques on a budget.
David Hobby at CERN
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The “Strobist” himself, David Hobby, was in Geneva this week and held a seminar in one of the gloriously 70s-style lecture theatres at CERN.
One of those laptop shots
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A work colleague, backlit by the sun coming in through the window, flash laid on keyboard and bounced from laptop screen at 1/8 power to give f 2.8 at ISO 100. Fill-in flash from camera right at 1/1 power (losing 2 stops due to diffusion). And a little bit of dark vignette added during post-processing
Manuel and Karolina
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Taking portraits is always a great opportunity and I enjoyed taking photos of Manuel and his wife Carolina this past weekend.
Kate’s Visit
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Loads of lovely photos online from when my friend Kate was visiting us in Switzerland.
Flickr Strobist meetup, ETH Hönggerberg (Zürich)
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Thanks so much to everyone who turned out yesterday on the ETH campus in Zürich, for a great afternoon’s photography, teaching and learning how to effectively use off-camera flash and achieve both dramatic and interesting portraits. A surprisingly and gratifyingly high number of photographers attended – almost 20 in the group, if I remember correctly
Swiss Strobist meetup on 21st September
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We’re planning a day/afternoon of photography on the ETH Campus at Hönggerberg in Zürich, on Sunday 21st September. We’re planning on separating into a couple of groups, with one or more experienced strobist photographer/s with a group of people eager to learn. We’ll set up a couple of shots, explain the lighting setup and then
Storm Approaching
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This is a rapidly conceived and executed shot, as a big storm headed in from the Simmen valley from western Switzerland. I saw the distant clouds being illuminated by lightning (which accounts for the varied colouring in the clouds) so I grabbed a tripod and framed my shot from our living room window, setting exposure
Inexpensive still-life photography
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This Lladró statue, designed by Francisco Català, was a gift from my parents and fits well with my photographic tendencies. It is also a great test piece for studio photography, so when I was looking to test flash technique this evening (in particular, soft lighting) it was immediately brought out. The statue is around 13″
Learning a lot, a little at a time
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This is a short (ten minute) outtake from David Hobby‘s workshop DVD set, which is on sale for US$139. The price seems steep for “just” a DVD, but reconsider: what you’re actually getting isn’t just a film, but an in-depth tutorial over eight DVDs (over ten hours of content) which has the potential to seriously
Strobism in the old city of Bern
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I’ll be photographing a band in Bern at the end of next week with a couple of friends and so Jo and I headed to Bern last weekend to scout out some locations. We headed for the lower, older part of the city below Kornhausplatz and wandered down through Rathausgasse, stopping off at St. Peter
Are you interested in and knowledgeable about Strobism? Do you write fluent French? Can you write well and are you interested in helping other photographers based in Switzerland to learn how to improve their technique and extend their knowledge? Can you spare a little free time each week to write for a new blog about
Selve Areal, Thun, Switzerland
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We were in Thun this past weekend, with a couple of friends from Zürich who’d come down for a day of “strobism” (the art of non-studio-based photography using portable flash units for illumination). As well as locations in Spiez and Gwatt, we sneaked into the dilapidated Selve area in Thun, where old factories, once converted
Strobism, Winterthur, Switzerland
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So, yeah. Quiet here. I’m working like a demon and I can’t tell you about my main private project – still – for fear that the information will leak into the wrong hands and spoil. Nothing bad at all, rather exciting, in fact, as many people who are in the know will be able to









