DIY Stuff
The External Flash Power That Will Last Till Hell Freezes
UPDATE: IanW has a good point in the comments that flashes can go thermal on you. He is right. pop to hard and too fast and you will over hit. "Fire a flash too frequently with this setup and you will destroy it due
to overheating, unless it's got a thermal cutout (most don't)."
We write quite a bit about portable strobes. If you've been around for a while you may remember an older version of those strobes. The Sunpak family. While I have not used them myself (too young, sorry), those behemoth shoot at a staggering GN of 48 (meters) and have the look and feel to support it. That makes them ideal for sun swamped on location lighting. The nice thing is that they are old enough to be bought at ridiculously low prices second hand.
The following post about portable power source for small flashes (and Sunpak 611 in particular) is written by John Hagar (blog).
udijw1436304367354840280401763970839724971972The External Flash Power That Will Last Till Hell Freezes
UPDATE: IanW has a good point in the comments that flashes can go thermal on you. He is right. pop to hard and too fast and you will over hit. "Fire a flash too frequently with this setup and you will destroy it due
to overheating, unless it's got a thermal cutout (most don't)."
UPDATE 2: if you're gonna do this, make sure you're doing this on a 6V flash, i.e. 4 AA batteries. This will fry your flash if it is a 3V flash (2 AAs)
We write quite a bit about portable strobes. If you've been around for a while you may remember an older version of those strobes. The Sunpak family. While I have not used them myself (too young, sorry), those behemoth shoot at a staggering GN of 48 (meters) and have the look and feel to support it. That makes them ideal for sun swamped on location lighting. The nice thing is that they are old enough to be bought at ridiculously low prices second hand.
The following post about portable power source for small flashes (and Sunpak 611 in particular) is written by John Hagar (blog).
Two Flashes Are Better Than One + Simple DIY Multi-Flash Bracket Tutorial
I guess this should go without saying, but I am going to say it anyhow: two flashes are better than one. Now you must be wondering why?
For starters, two flashes will get you a higher score on the GAS scale. (G.A.S. stands for Gear Acquisition Syndrome). This alone is a good reason to get two. But there are lighting oriented reasons as well. For some tech talk and a multi flash bracket tutorial, hit the jump.
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I guess this should go without saying, but I am going to say it anyhow: two flashes are better than one. Now you must be wondering why?
For starters, two flashes will get you a higher score on the GAS scale. (G.A.S. stands for Gear Acquisition Syndrome). This alone is a good reason to get two. But there are lighting oriented reasons as well. For some tech talk and a multi flash bracket tutorial, hit the jump.
Valentines Special: Couples Album
With Valentines just around the corner and all, I thought I'd share one of the wedding gifts wifey and I got about seven years ago when we got married. Amongst all the gifts, this gift is the one single gift that helped us hold our marriage through some very rough times. Really, I cannot over estimate it one bit.
That said, it is full of commitment so only give it if you're OK with smelling your current significant other's morning breath for the rest of your life. If you are that serious, hit the jump for more details.
udijw07596474076072084546Valentines Special: Couples Album
With Valentines just around the corner and all, I thought I'd share one of the wedding gifts wifey and I got about seven years ago when we got married. Amongst all the gifts, this gift is the one single gift that helped us hold our marriage through some very rough times. Really, I cannot over estimate it one bit.
That said, it is full of commitment so only give it if you're OK with smelling your current significant other's morning breath for the rest of your life. If you are that serious, hit the jump for more details.
A La Carte Pie in a Jar Is Brilliant, Looks Delicious [Cooking]
There's nothing like a great slice of pie, but unless you're going to a party or pot luck, an entire pie spells danger for your waistline. The solution: a single-serving pie-in-a-jar.
Cooking weblog Our Best Bites shares their brilliant brainchild, the single-serving pie-in-a-jar. Making them isn't all that different from making a regular pie—you'll make some dough, some filling, and bake them—but they're small, freezable, and easy to cook up at any time once you've put in the legwork of making them.
Hit up the post for the full, delicious details.
Single Serving Pie in a Jar [Our Best Bites]
No-Knead Bread
Bread is my favorite food, but I’m no baker. I hadn’t been one, at least, before a friend showed me the well-known New York Times video of Jim Lahey going through the remarkably simple steps of the no-knead approach to breadmaking. Mix the ingredients; let the resulting dough sit for 18 hours; fold; bake. That’s it. The resulting bread has a crunchy, thick crust, soft, chewy interior and excellent flavor.
No-knead bread is baking for nonbakers, perhaps also for skilled bakers too busy to bother with more labor-intensive approaches. This process requires so little effort but yields a beautiful, satisfying, delicious creation. It's really not much harder than making toast.
Since learning this technique, I’ve begun baking bread at least twice a week, finding the process as fun as it is a pleasure not having to buy inferior bread from the market. I’ve also used resources such as Breadtopia.com to refine my recipe and experiment with different ingredients. It’s given me the confidence to try more complex recipes.
Most, if not all, of the fundamental baking tools necessary for making no-knead bread will likely already be around your kitchen. If not, Breadtopia is one of many sources for the tools you’ll need to give it a try. I use a Lodge cast iron Dutch oven that’s been in the family for ages, a very cool tool. The web offers many resources regarding no-knead breadmaking, and I hope Cool Tools readers will share their favorites in the comments, but the NYT video is the best I’ve seen, especially as a starting point for novices, thanks to its utter simplicity.
NYT Video
Lodge Logic Dutch Oven with Loop Handles
$50 (7 quart)
Available from Amazon
Manufactured by Lodge
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Okay, okay, you can’t really go wrong with pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving festivities. But if you really want to send your family over the edge to the afternoon food coma, give them a chunk of pumpkin pie fudge from Phillips Candy House—and fair warning, this could become a new family tradition.
