Well if we lived on a planet that was sustained by two suns then we might find double catchlights more natural!

I like the cloning idea, and that softbox catchlight is rather nice ... It's what I was looking for in the left eye, and it missing made me realize the angle must have been quite severe.

It's definitely all about trying things and reading about ideas. Eventually we hit on something that seems to work well, is practical to set up and repeatable. Don't get put off by all the pie-in-the-sky stuff in flash photography books .... Everything has a simpler solution that is practical with a modest set-up and within the constraints of the domestic situation.

Yes, I think so too! Clearly you are well cut out for all this flash work Peter, and your model here seems to be relishing it too .....

It's a very subtle fill effect from your AF-360, and really this is a personal creative choice, there's no right or wrong. For me it's a bit underpowered, I'd like to see more revealed of the dogs left side, but you have created a strong contrasty side light effect (but without it being hard) ... And it works well with the deep tones of your subjects coloring..... I'd think this would look good for a dark skinned human model too.

The catch light from the softbox is not on the left (offside) eye .... This is unusual, and must be the result of the more pronounced nose bones than found with human models. So the main light is more abruptly cut off here than we would normally see, leaving most of the offside work to your fill light.

I'm not sure if this a good or bad thing? Others may have ideas too. Normally the main light will create a spread of coverage across the face, so if you wanted that then the angle will have to reduce, coming from nearer to the front, or the subject has to turn to face the softbox. In any case it would be interesting to see the different effects if you were able to try it and had enough patience left from your willing model!

I don't know about your Bowens and Fong things without seeing them ..... The catch light suggests they are still a fairly small light source, so fairly hard light. The other thing to try for fill is a white reflective umbrella set up just above the camera position facing downward (so the flash is just above your head level). This will fill in the whole subject and allow a more extreme angle for the main light without creating too dark and abrupt shadows.

I set up a portrait session at home recently and after photographic the baby and my wife a bit, I got my wife to shoot a few of me, one of which I used for my new avatar image here on the forum..... Have a close look, it uses a main softbox light coming from the classic position (like yours) although from the right ..... The fill light is simply the on camera bare direct flash set to 'master' .... The camera was a little raised and it's just filled in everything, albeit at a low level (I had a ratio of 1/3rd and minus 0.7 stops on that fill flash).

So even direct on fill can work if the main light is strongly directional and the balance is quite wide apart.

They're not cheap, but those latest Cactus triggers are very handy and I think easy to control things with. I'll be picking your brains about how things work when the promised firmware update arrives bringing P-TTL metering along as well! Then you really will have the best of both worlds ....

For now you can count yourself in amongst the 'real strobists' !!

Thanks Mike, I was lucky to only have a 1 min walk to get to the flowers that day!

Yes that first one is certainly very ....'canine noir' ...(that's the well known trendy light technique used by the pros who photograph the dogs of stars! )

The rim light works very well in both Peter. It's great you've got those flashes off camera all up and running. I've forgotten, have you got V6IIs or the original type?

I find it difficult enough to keep my small human models in the right place with off-camera flashes ....I imagine a dog must he even more of a challenge! ...(or maybe not!).

Thanks Jeremy, Don, Karlo, Philip and Peter ....

There's no doubting the real practical value of the old manual lens. I think it made focusing easier to experiment with, quick and smooth ...... (I'm thinking this particular type of shot would actually he more work on my other options, the D FA28-105 or Tamron 70-300, even allowing for the stop down metering process also), so it's not just a choice for nostalgic or ultra-budget reasons.

I had to laugh ... A work colleague, non-photographer, saw the camera and asked to see the shots, which he admired, and of course commented on my 'professional' camera . My copy of the 75-150 is pristine and looks like its box has only just been unsealed, so I asked him how old did he think my lens was....? He looked serious nd tried hard to give the right answer ....' about 3 months ...?' !!

When I said it was nearer to 38 years, he just looked bemusedly as if I must he having a little joke.

Sometimes it's nice to have an interest that hasn't really changed completely into something else over the decades.

A rare sunny spell last week saw me, unusually in recent times, ready with my camera during a work break . I had the K7 and M75-150 F4 zoom, an oldy but a goody which I thoroughly enjoyed putting through its paces again after a long break. Needless to say it was a pleasure to work with, lovely zoom and focussing actions! Here's a few from the session .....









































Thanks for your views , Nigel

10 and 11 hit the spot for me, really because they give a sense of the location and nature of the beast (I can truly feel the force, the chill and the air pressure from those ones!) ... excellent.

The others, whilst showing some nice lines and shapes, have that sense of constriction and claustrophobia I've mentioned before, and perhaps needed some stronger light (?).

The first one of the Bay has a strong 'wraparound' feel to the composition and a sense of depth leading down to the water. The second is full of complex detail and multilayered, with loads to explore. It's a pity the light wasn't better, but you've made the most of what you had!

Very good, lots of softness both in the colours and the transitions between in and out of focus zones .

I always find this type of subject tricky because it's hard to decide exactly where to focus, as well as being difficult to see the focus point clearly .... Depending on the lens the focus movements can he very delicate.

You've had a good season for flowers this year Gareth! Some great shots in the bag.