Don't want to get out an external flash and a big diffuser? But you don't want the harsh, direct light from the pop-up flash on your camera? Here's the answer -- the Puffer, from Gary Fong.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Gary Fong Lightsphere - Universal
Just a quick video on how to attach the Gary Fong Lightsphere-Universal to your flash. It's a one-size-fits-all (up to 2 x 3.5 inches) light diffuser, perfect for your hotshoe-mounted flash. Currently available only as a Cloud. Since it fits so many of the most popular flashes, you don't have to buy different sizes to fit all your flashes.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Gary Fong Lightsphere or Whaletail
This question came in yesterday:
"Hi I am looking to buy two lightspheres for my 2 Canon 580EX II flashes that are mounted to light stands for quick off camera flash portrait setups. Would you recommend the clear or the cloud for this type of setup or would the whaletails be better suited for this. Thank you" - Tony
-----
Tony,
The whaletails give the most versatility. That is what I prefer for studio use. If you go with lightspheres, I would use the Cloud as your main light. Another Cloud or Clear is then your background or fill light.
One thing -- the Gary Fong website has an error. It lists the size 4 for the 580X-II. Actually, that is for the older , and smaller 580EX. Most people are getting size 2 for the mark II.
Gary just introduced a lightsphere-universal (has a one-size-fits-all mount), at PhotoExpo+, last month, in NY. It is only produced as a Cloud, but it will fit a variety of flash models. Unfortunately, he sold out at the show and won't have them in his eStore for a couple of weeks.
Whaletails are in stock. If you go that route, get a Studio for your main light, and a Reporter for the fill/background.
-----
"Hi I am looking to buy two lightspheres for my 2 Canon 580EX II flashes that are mounted to light stands for quick off camera flash portrait setups. Would you recommend the clear or the cloud for this type of setup or would the whaletails be better suited for this. Thank you" - Tony
-----
Tony,
The whaletails give the most versatility. That is what I prefer for studio use. If you go with lightspheres, I would use the Cloud as your main light. Another Cloud or Clear is then your background or fill light.
One thing -- the Gary Fong website has an error. It lists the size 4 for the 580X-II. Actually, that is for the older , and smaller 580EX. Most people are getting size 2 for the mark II.
Gary just introduced a lightsphere-universal (has a one-size-fits-all mount), at PhotoExpo+, last month, in NY. It is only produced as a Cloud, but it will fit a variety of flash models. Unfortunately, he sold out at the show and won't have them in his eStore for a couple of weeks.
Whaletails are in stock. If you go that route, get a Studio for your main light, and a Reporter for the fill/background.
-----
Monday, November 5, 2007
Using the Gary Fong Whaletail Flash Diffuser
I just had a question about using the Whaletail, outdoors at night. He was also concerned about getting the raccoon eye effect.
"I have two questions, what kind of shots can you get with the Whale Tail at night time outside, where you would not be able to bounce at anything, except for trees and whatever is hanging around. My second question is, what settings do you use in doing this? I have a D80 and a SB-600, I don't want the Racoon or the headlight shot effect in my pictures.
Craig"
First, let me talk about outside, in open shade. In this case, you are pretty safe with the flash on TTL and the camera on Program. Usually, you can keep both flaps closed, because you are only looking for fill flash. If you find that the specular highlights are too hot, you can add negative compensation on the flash. The idea situation would be to have the flash off camera so that you can move it closer or further away. with changing camera location. If you have a flash meter, you could meter for the sky or backgrond, then dial the flash it at a stop or two less.
At night, you are probably getting most or all of your light from the flash. In this situation, point the curved portion of the WT toward the subject and open the top - top flap straight up. Depending on distance, you may want to add the chrome/silver flaps -- or just line the flaps with foil.
Instead of shooting in program mode, put the camera in Manual, open to the widest aperture, and drag the shutter -- maybe 1/30. Also, shoot at ISO 800. The flash is on TTL. Since the flash is putting out 1/10000 - or faster - burst, you don't have to worry about motion blur.
The raccoon effect comes from the angle of reflectance being to sharp -- the angle that the light bounces of the ceiling is so sharp that it puts a shadow in the eye sockets, under the chin, etc.
This generally occurs when you are under a low ceiling -- like a home or office. The obvious solution is to back up - increase the distance between the flash and the subject. Unfortunately, that may no be possible, so the other solution is to reduce the amount of light that is being reflected from the ceiling. Do this by closing the top flap -- or trimming it (partially closing it) until you get the desired
result.
Remember, with the WT, the SOFTEST position is with the curved top pointing AWAY from the subject and the top flap straight up -- giving a large flat surface from the two flaps. The POWER position is to have the curved portion of the WT pointing toward the subject, with the top flap almost straight up.
Indoor settings are flash on TTL, aperture fairly wide open (2.8, 4.0), ISO 400 - 800, and shutter 1/60 to 1/30.
These are all starting points. You may want to modify some of them, depending on your specific situation.
I hope this helps.
"I have two questions, what kind of shots can you get with the Whale Tail at night time outside, where you would not be able to bounce at anything, except for trees and whatever is hanging around. My second question is, what settings do you use in doing this? I have a D80 and a SB-600, I don't want the Racoon or the headlight shot effect in my pictures.
Craig"
First, let me talk about outside, in open shade. In this case, you are pretty safe with the flash on TTL and the camera on Program. Usually, you can keep both flaps closed, because you are only looking for fill flash. If you find that the specular highlights are too hot, you can add negative compensation on the flash. The idea situation would be to have the flash off camera so that you can move it closer or further away. with changing camera location. If you have a flash meter, you could meter for the sky or backgrond, then dial the flash it at a stop or two less.
At night, you are probably getting most or all of your light from the flash. In this situation, point the curved portion of the WT toward the subject and open the top - top flap straight up. Depending on distance, you may want to add the chrome/silver flaps -- or just line the flaps with foil.
Instead of shooting in program mode, put the camera in Manual, open to the widest aperture, and drag the shutter -- maybe 1/30. Also, shoot at ISO 800. The flash is on TTL. Since the flash is putting out 1/10000 - or faster - burst, you don't have to worry about motion blur.
The raccoon effect comes from the angle of reflectance being to sharp -- the angle that the light bounces of the ceiling is so sharp that it puts a shadow in the eye sockets, under the chin, etc.
This generally occurs when you are under a low ceiling -- like a home or office. The obvious solution is to back up - increase the distance between the flash and the subject. Unfortunately, that may no be possible, so the other solution is to reduce the amount of light that is being reflected from the ceiling. Do this by closing the top flap -- or trimming it (partially closing it) until you get the desired
result.
Remember, with the WT, the SOFTEST position is with the curved top pointing AWAY from the subject and the top flap straight up -- giving a large flat surface from the two flaps. The POWER position is to have the curved portion of the WT pointing toward the subject, with the top flap almost straight up.
Indoor settings are flash on TTL, aperture fairly wide open (2.8, 4.0), ISO 400 - 800, and shutter 1/60 to 1/30.
These are all starting points. You may want to modify some of them, depending on your specific situation.
I hope this helps.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Using the Gary Fong Lightsphere -- Video in Spanish
This is going to be Spanish Day on the blog - the first post is a video explaining how to use the Gary Fong Lightspher flash diffuser.
The second video is an explanation of foofing, by one of the top wedding photographer in the world -- Denis Reggie. If you've ever heard the term "foofing", here's the master:
The second video is an explanation of foofing, by one of the top wedding photographer in the world -- Denis Reggie. If you've ever heard the term "foofing", here's the master:
Monday, October 8, 2007
Making Money with Your Camera - Quick
A number of years ago, I was one of two partners in a small, regional ad agency. We served a number of local hospitals, some ethnic food distributors, and the formed phone company - Pacific Bell. Our annual billing was just over $1 million. That's not a lot of money for an ad agency, but we were small and had low overhead.
My partner was the 'outside sales rep' -- he got the doors open so I could make presentations. We had some contract graphics designers and a copy writer. I also did copy writing, produced videos and TV commercials, and handled the commercial photography.
We won a few national awards, but, in the late 1990s, many local hospitals were being acquired by hospital management companies and many small hospital groups were being bought by larger groups. Each time this happened, the larger company would have their own ad agencies. Sometimes we were able to compete with the bigger ad agencies, and sometimes we weren't even given the opportunity.
Eventually, we decided to close the agency. Actually, I stayed on for a while, because I had a studio attached to the offices, but that, eventually, became much more than I needed. My expenses were over $4,000 a month. Even now, that's a lot of money, but prior to the year 2000, I rally had to attract a lot of clients to justify it.
I just didn't enjoy the constant beating of the bushes to get and keep advertising clients and when I got new clients, it was a full-timer job to service them. And, honestly, I just wasn't all that happy doing 'commercial' photography.
Once I decided to close the doors, I didn't have daily access to a well equipped studio, so I began to think of other ways to make money as a photographer.
Weddings and other events became the answer, but you don't just decide to be a wedding photographer, on Wednesday, and have a job on Saturday. People book their photographer 6-18 months before the ceremony. Fortunately, I had always shot a few wedding every year, so I had some work on the books, but I needed to generate some cash almost immediately.
I remembered going to an amusement park and while standing in line, a photographer came down the line, snapping pictures and handing out a small card. Now, this was pre-digital, and there was a kiosk where you could go to see the pictures. They would give you a small print, make a pin-on button, and a few other trinkets. Then I remembered seeing an old photo of my parents. It was a black and white, taken in a nightclub at the end of World War II. It was probably a 5x7 or 8x10, in a folder with the name of the club on it.
How many times have you gone to dinner and a pretty girl, with a basket of roses approached you?
I picked two local restaurants and approached the owners. They were both family owner places - not large chains. I talked to them, offered 10% of anything I made, and one agreed immediately.
I didn't go to the expense of having custom folders made, but I printed some flyers. On the flyers, I show three sizes: 4x6, 5x7, and 8x10 - I used an actual photo and just overlaid the smaller sizes on top of the 8x10. I though that was better than just drawing an outline. On the flyer, I had y web address. I didn't yet have an ecommerce site, so customers had to call or email. That was almost eight years ago, Today, it would be a lit easier. Everyone has internet access and ecommerce sites are inexpensive or free, and almost automatic.
OK, so here's what I did. After getting an agreement with the owner, I showed up at the two busiest nights - in this case, Wednesday and Saturday. After a few nights, he agreed to put a flyer and a small poster board display of images from the previous evenings. People would stop and look at them and even ask what nights the photographer was available!!!
I'd dress nicely - usually a blazer and open-neck dress shirt. Check the style of the customers and dress in a similar fashion. The best time to approach a table seemed to be right after the dinner order was taken. Once the food arrives, people don't want to be bothered -- and they my has spinach in their teeth :-).
I didn't normally ask if they wanted a photo. I'd just motion for them to squeeze together. Nearly always, they'd do it. At times, I could sense that they didn't want a record of the occasion. That might have been when they were having dinner with someone they weren't supposed to be having dinner with!!
I'd hand them a flyer -- with a business card stapled to it - and tell them that their samples would be online with about 4 hours. Surprisingly, I would get orders that night.
I won't tell you that I ever got a lot of repeat business from those couples - none ever called me to shoot their wedding - but I did get some birthday parties and a few family portraits. As my website improved, my volume of 'add-on' inquiries did increase. Also, I think that most of the restaurant's clientele were married couples and families. Had I picked a more 'romantic' location, I might have gotten other types of work.
After about 3-4 weeks, I went back to the other restaurant - the one that turned me down - and made a second presentation, based on my experience at the first place, and they agreed, so I added Friday evening and Sunday brunch.
I only did this for about five months. In that time, I was finding corporate events, more weddings, and even some commercial work from previous clients, so I decided to give myself some nights off.
Was it enough to pay all the bills? No, not at that time. Probably not now, either. But, today, it is much easier. You have many more ecommerce options. You could even use your laptop to set up a slide show, if there is space near the register. One of my former interns does this. The restaurant is so supportive that they even allow the customers to add the print sales to their dinner checks. She feels that this is the perfect way to do it. People are happy, feeling good, and have their credit cards in their hands :-) This venue has a trio that plays music throughout the evening, and they make several announcements about the photographer and the slide show.
She says that she does make enough, each week, that she can cover the cars payment. Money from the other weeks goes into her equipment fund. So far, she managed to buy new laptop and a spare camera body.
If you are just starting out, or looking for a way to keep your day job, while getting some experience this is an inexpensive way to get started.
I'd love to hear of your experiences.
OK, what do you need to get started? First, any consumer level digital SLR. I prefer Nikon, so a Nikon D80, would be a great choice. A kit lens will work - the one that probably came with your camera. Most of the lenses that come with today's DSLRs are zooms with Nikon 18-55mm or 70mm focal range. I used a Nikon 24-120mm. You'll need a decent on-camera flash. For Nikon, consider the SB-800 Speedlight-- or SB-600 (Not the SB-400). You don't need a flash bracket, but you will want a Gary Fong Lightsphere or Gary Fong Whaletail. If you are just starting out, I'd go with a Cloud Lightsphere. If you have lots of experience with flash - and bouncing the flash (or want to use multiple, off-camera flashes) - consider the more versatile Whaletail.
Scroll down this blog for a couple of videos on how to use the Lightsphere or Whaletail.
My partner was the 'outside sales rep' -- he got the doors open so I could make presentations. We had some contract graphics designers and a copy writer. I also did copy writing, produced videos and TV commercials, and handled the commercial photography.
We won a few national awards, but, in the late 1990s, many local hospitals were being acquired by hospital management companies and many small hospital groups were being bought by larger groups. Each time this happened, the larger company would have their own ad agencies. Sometimes we were able to compete with the bigger ad agencies, and sometimes we weren't even given the opportunity.
Eventually, we decided to close the agency. Actually, I stayed on for a while, because I had a studio attached to the offices, but that, eventually, became much more than I needed. My expenses were over $4,000 a month. Even now, that's a lot of money, but prior to the year 2000, I rally had to attract a lot of clients to justify it.
I just didn't enjoy the constant beating of the bushes to get and keep advertising clients and when I got new clients, it was a full-timer job to service them. And, honestly, I just wasn't all that happy doing 'commercial' photography.
Once I decided to close the doors, I didn't have daily access to a well equipped studio, so I began to think of other ways to make money as a photographer.
Weddings and other events became the answer, but you don't just decide to be a wedding photographer, on Wednesday, and have a job on Saturday. People book their photographer 6-18 months before the ceremony. Fortunately, I had always shot a few wedding every year, so I had some work on the books, but I needed to generate some cash almost immediately.
I remembered going to an amusement park and while standing in line, a photographer came down the line, snapping pictures and handing out a small card. Now, this was pre-digital, and there was a kiosk where you could go to see the pictures. They would give you a small print, make a pin-on button, and a few other trinkets. Then I remembered seeing an old photo of my parents. It was a black and white, taken in a nightclub at the end of World War II. It was probably a 5x7 or 8x10, in a folder with the name of the club on it.
How many times have you gone to dinner and a pretty girl, with a basket of roses approached you?
I picked two local restaurants and approached the owners. They were both family owner places - not large chains. I talked to them, offered 10% of anything I made, and one agreed immediately.
I didn't go to the expense of having custom folders made, but I printed some flyers. On the flyers, I show three sizes: 4x6, 5x7, and 8x10 - I used an actual photo and just overlaid the smaller sizes on top of the 8x10. I though that was better than just drawing an outline. On the flyer, I had y web address. I didn't yet have an ecommerce site, so customers had to call or email. That was almost eight years ago, Today, it would be a lit easier. Everyone has internet access and ecommerce sites are inexpensive or free, and almost automatic.
OK, so here's what I did. After getting an agreement with the owner, I showed up at the two busiest nights - in this case, Wednesday and Saturday. After a few nights, he agreed to put a flyer and a small poster board display of images from the previous evenings. People would stop and look at them and even ask what nights the photographer was available!!!
I'd dress nicely - usually a blazer and open-neck dress shirt. Check the style of the customers and dress in a similar fashion. The best time to approach a table seemed to be right after the dinner order was taken. Once the food arrives, people don't want to be bothered -- and they my has spinach in their teeth :-).
I didn't normally ask if they wanted a photo. I'd just motion for them to squeeze together. Nearly always, they'd do it. At times, I could sense that they didn't want a record of the occasion. That might have been when they were having dinner with someone they weren't supposed to be having dinner with!!
I'd hand them a flyer -- with a business card stapled to it - and tell them that their samples would be online with about 4 hours. Surprisingly, I would get orders that night.
I won't tell you that I ever got a lot of repeat business from those couples - none ever called me to shoot their wedding - but I did get some birthday parties and a few family portraits. As my website improved, my volume of 'add-on' inquiries did increase. Also, I think that most of the restaurant's clientele were married couples and families. Had I picked a more 'romantic' location, I might have gotten other types of work.
After about 3-4 weeks, I went back to the other restaurant - the one that turned me down - and made a second presentation, based on my experience at the first place, and they agreed, so I added Friday evening and Sunday brunch.
I only did this for about five months. In that time, I was finding corporate events, more weddings, and even some commercial work from previous clients, so I decided to give myself some nights off.
Was it enough to pay all the bills? No, not at that time. Probably not now, either. But, today, it is much easier. You have many more ecommerce options. You could even use your laptop to set up a slide show, if there is space near the register. One of my former interns does this. The restaurant is so supportive that they even allow the customers to add the print sales to their dinner checks. She feels that this is the perfect way to do it. People are happy, feeling good, and have their credit cards in their hands :-) This venue has a trio that plays music throughout the evening, and they make several announcements about the photographer and the slide show.
She says that she does make enough, each week, that she can cover the cars payment. Money from the other weeks goes into her equipment fund. So far, she managed to buy new laptop and a spare camera body.
If you are just starting out, or looking for a way to keep your day job, while getting some experience this is an inexpensive way to get started.
I'd love to hear of your experiences.
OK, what do you need to get started? First, any consumer level digital SLR. I prefer Nikon, so a Nikon D80, would be a great choice. A kit lens will work - the one that probably came with your camera. Most of the lenses that come with today's DSLRs are zooms with Nikon 18-55mm or 70mm focal range. I used a Nikon 24-120mm. You'll need a decent on-camera flash. For Nikon, consider the SB-800 Speedlight-- or SB-600 (Not the SB-400). You don't need a flash bracket, but you will want a Gary Fong Lightsphere or Gary Fong Whaletail. If you are just starting out, I'd go with a Cloud Lightsphere. If you have lots of experience with flash - and bouncing the flash (or want to use multiple, off-camera flashes) - consider the more versatile Whaletail.
Scroll down this blog for a couple of videos on how to use the Lightsphere or Whaletail.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Differences Between Gary Fong Lightsphere and Whaletail
One of the questions I most often hear, regarding Gary Fong light diffusers is: "What's the difference between the Lightsphere and the Whaletail?"
Both the Lightsphere and the Whaletail are flash diffusers -- they are designed to soften the light of hotshoe mounted flashes. In many ways, they provide studio quality light -- without the studio.
The first Lighsphere was a hard plastic, translcent body with an external (convex) dome -- a bubble top -- that snapped on the top. It offered a wonderful, soft light, but it was bit heavy, it was difficult to get a perfect fit, and the external dome sometimes stuck out beyond the lens hood, and created lens flare. Still, it was like nothing else available, and allowed many photographers to acheive results never before seen outside of the studio (or without using large lightstands, umbrellas or softboxes). In that sense, it was revolutionary.
Original Lightsphere
I'm not certain when they were first realesed, but I bought mine sometime in 2002 or 2003. In the Fall of 2005, Gary Fong replaced the original Lightsphere with a pliable, vinyl version. Interestingly enough, both the original and the replacement were called the Lightsphere II. In fact, Gary had been developing light diffusers for his own use for several years, so what we now call the 'original Lightsphere' was actually in a chain of evolution that still continues.
The 2005 model came in two versions: Clear (photojournalist) and Cloud (portrait). Both had 'photojournalist' embossed on them because they came from the same molds with only the color of the vinyl changing. The Clear was a transparent vinyl, while the Cloud was translucent.
Cloud (L) & Clear (R) Lightspheres
There were two major design changes in the '05 models. First, the top fitting dome was changed from convex to concave: It now fitted inside the body of the Lightsphere -- and was called the Inverted Dome. It was a hard plastic, frisbee looking device and was translucent. It was the same color dome for both the Clear and the Cloud Lightsphere. The second change was in the way the Lightsphere attached to the body of the flash. It came in four sizes and had a combination of different size ribs that gripped the flash much like a swim fin fits your foot. This solved most of the fit problems without the use of any adapters or gaskets.
Gary Fong was a wedding photographer for twenty years. He was a well know speaker and instructor, within the photography industry and the primary users of his Lightspheres were other professional photographers -- especially wedding photographers. These new Clear and Cloud Lightspheres were so popular, that by the beginning of 2007, there were over 90,000 in use, worlwide.
In March of 2007, at the WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) annual conference in Las Vegas, Gary introduced a new flash diffuser called the Whaletail. Readers of Gary's blog were anticipating this release for months as Gary presented preliminary drawing for 3-4 months, before the official introduction.
Whaletail
The demand, on the conference floor, was so great that he immediately sold out his entire inventory and it was months before he could catch up with the demand. Even at this writing, there are sometimes shortages. New manufacturing capacity is expected to come online this Fall (2007).
The Whaletail is not a replacement for the Lightsphere. In fact, the Gary Fong Lightsphere is still the top seller. However, the Gary Fong Whaletail is more versatile than the Lightsphere. While the Lightsphere has one opening -- on the top -- and you can either have it open, or covered by the internal dome, the Whaletail has two openings. One is on the top, and the other is on the back -- or on the front. This is completly up the the user. Many flashes swivel 180 degrees, so it is very easy to change the position of the second opening. Since the Whaltail is attached to the flash with a hook & loop (Velcro) cinch strap, if your flash does not swivel, it is a simple matter to take it off, turn it around, and reattach the diffuser.
Studio (L) & Reporter (R) Whaletail Light Diffusers
Instead of a snap on cap (dome), the Whaletail uses two hinged flaps. These flaps can be adjusted to any setting between fully open and fully closed. This means that the photographer can vary the ratio of direct light to bounced or diffused light, giving a wide range of creative lighting contrtol. The Whaletail comes in two sizes: The smaller Reporter and the larger Studio. Both are made of a translucent white plastic.
If you are reading this, you are probably a photographer, and will appreciate pictures over words, so I made a short video, showing the Lightsphere and the Whaletail models.
One mistake that I made on the video -- I say that the Whaletail will fit any rectangular flash up to 2x3 inches. In fact, it will fit up to 2x3.5 inches.
Search for Gary Fong Light Diffusers
Both the Lightsphere and the Whaletail are flash diffusers -- they are designed to soften the light of hotshoe mounted flashes. In many ways, they provide studio quality light -- without the studio.
The first Lighsphere was a hard plastic, translcent body with an external (convex) dome -- a bubble top -- that snapped on the top. It offered a wonderful, soft light, but it was bit heavy, it was difficult to get a perfect fit, and the external dome sometimes stuck out beyond the lens hood, and created lens flare. Still, it was like nothing else available, and allowed many photographers to acheive results never before seen outside of the studio (or without using large lightstands, umbrellas or softboxes). In that sense, it was revolutionary.
Original LightsphereI'm not certain when they were first realesed, but I bought mine sometime in 2002 or 2003. In the Fall of 2005, Gary Fong replaced the original Lightsphere with a pliable, vinyl version. Interestingly enough, both the original and the replacement were called the Lightsphere II. In fact, Gary had been developing light diffusers for his own use for several years, so what we now call the 'original Lightsphere' was actually in a chain of evolution that still continues.
The 2005 model came in two versions: Clear (photojournalist) and Cloud (portrait). Both had 'photojournalist' embossed on them because they came from the same molds with only the color of the vinyl changing. The Clear was a transparent vinyl, while the Cloud was translucent.
Cloud (L) & Clear (R) LightspheresThere were two major design changes in the '05 models. First, the top fitting dome was changed from convex to concave: It now fitted inside the body of the Lightsphere -- and was called the Inverted Dome. It was a hard plastic, frisbee looking device and was translucent. It was the same color dome for both the Clear and the Cloud Lightsphere. The second change was in the way the Lightsphere attached to the body of the flash. It came in four sizes and had a combination of different size ribs that gripped the flash much like a swim fin fits your foot. This solved most of the fit problems without the use of any adapters or gaskets.
Gary Fong was a wedding photographer for twenty years. He was a well know speaker and instructor, within the photography industry and the primary users of his Lightspheres were other professional photographers -- especially wedding photographers. These new Clear and Cloud Lightspheres were so popular, that by the beginning of 2007, there were over 90,000 in use, worlwide.
In March of 2007, at the WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) annual conference in Las Vegas, Gary introduced a new flash diffuser called the Whaletail. Readers of Gary's blog were anticipating this release for months as Gary presented preliminary drawing for 3-4 months, before the official introduction.
WhaletailThe demand, on the conference floor, was so great that he immediately sold out his entire inventory and it was months before he could catch up with the demand. Even at this writing, there are sometimes shortages. New manufacturing capacity is expected to come online this Fall (2007).
The Whaletail is not a replacement for the Lightsphere. In fact, the Gary Fong Lightsphere is still the top seller. However, the Gary Fong Whaletail is more versatile than the Lightsphere. While the Lightsphere has one opening -- on the top -- and you can either have it open, or covered by the internal dome, the Whaletail has two openings. One is on the top, and the other is on the back -- or on the front. This is completly up the the user. Many flashes swivel 180 degrees, so it is very easy to change the position of the second opening. Since the Whaltail is attached to the flash with a hook & loop (Velcro) cinch strap, if your flash does not swivel, it is a simple matter to take it off, turn it around, and reattach the diffuser.
Studio (L) & Reporter (R) Whaletail Light DiffusersInstead of a snap on cap (dome), the Whaletail uses two hinged flaps. These flaps can be adjusted to any setting between fully open and fully closed. This means that the photographer can vary the ratio of direct light to bounced or diffused light, giving a wide range of creative lighting contrtol. The Whaletail comes in two sizes: The smaller Reporter and the larger Studio. Both are made of a translucent white plastic.
If you are reading this, you are probably a photographer, and will appreciate pictures over words, so I made a short video, showing the Lightsphere and the Whaletail models.
One mistake that I made on the video -- I say that the Whaletail will fit any rectangular flash up to 2x3 inches. In fact, it will fit up to 2x3.5 inches.
Search for Gary Fong Light Diffusers
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