Dustin Diaz Photography

252/365. I do things ~ Jason Goldman — no really, he does things

Everyone... if you didn't know him, this is Jason @Goldman. He's kind of a somebody at Twitter who does things. He didn't know I'd be posting this one to my 365 project, but surely, this attention won't bother 'em.

K. it's late. let's do this...

setup, camera, strobist info: see here

189/365. When she walks, she swing her arms... instead of her hips ~ Cake (let me go) — have you waited for her for so long?

So... the return of stubby (the 200mm ƒ/2.0) didn't happen. Nikon mixed up my orders and sent back my old D700 (which will now be up for sale).

On this photo itself, Erin and I rigged up the Flash Bullet studio. For a second I thought about doing my usual Flickr/90second edit... but there was just too much good stuff (about 5 minutes worth). Plus it really shows how we work together when shooting with each other.

So without further waiting, it's definitely worth your time checking out the setup, camera, and strobist info video (via iPhone 3Gs - hosted on Youtube).

strobist info (for those who prefer text):
SB900 @ 1/2 in 28" softbox high and above
SB900 @ 1/16 @ 35mm direct left
SB900 @ 1/64 @ 200mm into 1/8" grid direct right
580EX2 @ 1/128 @ 105mm front left

168/365. I can't stop raving... I can't stop raving... I can't stop... ~ Dune — have some ecstasy

So... I've never personally done ecstasy, but good 'ol Flat Eric here seems to be havin' a blast. Oh, and if you curious about the tie in to Dune, have a throw back and watch the rave video.

Tonight started off with me wanting to take a photo of our new wedding rings... but then... somehow... it turned into this.

Ok, time for some more Q & A pulled from the most common questions I get from y'alls emails

Q: "How do you get such perfect focus on your self portraits?"

A: Well, perfect is debatable, but my technique is simply and works "most of the time" and with patience.

First, use your AF to lock onto something near by where you will be standing. Notice in near all my shots I'm near "something". Lock on those things. Then swap your camera back to manual focus, then start firing away with your remotes, timers, intervals, tourists... who/whatever fires it, your chances are now much greater. Even in this shot where I had a tourist press the shutter, I disabled the AF on them so they wouldn't have the option to mess it up. I knew "exactly" where to walk and stayed directly on that focal plane.

Secondly, use "spot focusing". You Nikon folk, it looks like this as explained by Rockwell (ignore what he says about it — it's still useful).

The "big dumb rectangle" is given too many options and doesn't know where to focus.... especially at night in busy settings like... oh I don't know... a city!

Q: I've been thinking about by *brand x* flash. What do you think?

A: If you haven't read this article I wrote on Flash Photography and pwning the inverse square law, do that now... and there's a section at the bottom which discusses a bit about "what flash do I buy?"

Personally, I LOVE the SB-900, but it's understood that for most folks it's a big commitment. The way I see it, it's like buying a new lens... except most great lenses can cost $1,000+. And in my world, my flashes are far more important and an influence in my photography than a pile of lenses.

Q: "Would you ever consider making a book with all these setup shots?"

A: Don't think it hasn't crossed my mind, but that's time I don't have right now. One day I'd love to throw together some of my most unique shots along with outtakes, alternate takes, and of course some extra commentary on how I arrived at each shot.

But you know... not now.

And finally, that link that usually ends up at the bottom....

setup, camera, strobist info: see here (pssst... 4 light setup!)

120/365. Are you trying to say I don't know how to play?

I've had this trumpet sitting in my closet for 12 years, I'm pretty sure I still know how to play it... or at least hold it correctly.... is this right? Hehe. Thanks to Erin, I almost gave this up to good will, but she said it would make a fun prop. She was right.

One more thing, this is my first photo from our new studio setup. It's totally awesome. Erin made the big investment :)

Nevertheless, here's that 'ol setup stroby diagramer. cheers!

camera, setup, strobist info: see here

112/365. This is Twitter

And so this concludes the announcement.

camera, setup, and strobist info: see here

110/365. No Honey, we don't talk to strangers...

This is Malfi, Little Malfi, and of course, Domokun. The Malfi's belong to my Erin.

Ever had one of those moments where you took the perfect shot the first time? Yeah, this was not one of those times. I packed these guys up in the bag in hunt for a good spot only to run into many failures. I kept reorganizing different setups, changing light settings, moving lights, creating different compositions, new scenes. It was frustrating. In the end, I got one that I liked that actually evoked emotion after reviewing it on the LCD screen. Thus, this was the last photo I took of the night.

I had a few crazys pass by while taking this shot... especially this big Mexican bearded dude talking on his phone in a fake woman's voice. It was totally creepy. That's when I knew it was time to leave; not to mention it smelled like pee.

location: 26 & Mission-ish.

Those obsessed with setups and lighting, read on....

setup, camera, and strobist info: see here

Final note: I have a big announcement coming up within the next day or two. Stay tuned.

108/365. And he was all like... and I was all like...

Today started off great. Whether you knew it or not, I was on all ur Flickr Homepagez :) Yes. That's right, I was featured on the Flickr Blog for my strobist photos. Crazy, I know! But keep reading...

Ironically, some of my photos have been removed from Strobist Group :/ Yeah. This photo is for those people that awkwardly gave me crap on the strobist thread.

Nevertheless, I will continue to contribute.

On one final note... I want to give a MASSIVE GINORMOUS THANK YOU to everyone who visited my stream, added me as a contact, commented, and sent emails. Talk about a freak out traffic spike! I'm still trying to answer many of your emails and comments as I usually do.

Final Note Part II: Users of the Quickr Flickr Plugin, please update, I fixed some bugs (incase you forgot, I'm an engineer at Google — not a pro photographer (yet)).

As usual, for the strobist junkys... read on...

strobist info, camera info, setup info: see here. FYI the details are worth checkin' out large on onblack.

107/365. If you're going to be sexy in a photo, you'd better be thinking about sex rather than about being sexy ~ Peta Wilson

This is Cindy, Erin, and Dottie... And Yes, this really happened. I was there. The funny thing was that I could barely tell what they were doing having stood so far away.... but when I reviewed the LCD screen, I knew it was a winner.

This shot was taken after a few bottles of sake near 3rd avenue and Geary. Those truly dorky enough to look at the setup, read and view on...

camera, setup, and strobist info: see here

Happy Birthweek Dottie!