Chambers Bay Ten Legged Monster

The concrete structure in the following images is about 40 feet high and 100 feet long. The land it lives on has been reclaimed from a sand and gravel quarry and is now a (mostly) public park. When I chose to shoot this structure the goal was not to convey its size but instead to create an 'artsy' image.




(Images from a Hanimex 35mm and Soligor 75-260mm 1:4.5 m42 on my manualized Canon 10D.)

These two images represent both the image I was hoping to create and also an image that presented itself for capture. It is up to the reader to decide which is which.

Simple Strobist Style Speed Strap

I've been a fan of Strobist Speed Straps since I first read about them. I made a few of them and they seem to work at least as well as the sticky back velcro they replaced. (FWIW I've had good luck with WD-40, applied sparingly to a rag, to clean off the inevitable adhesive residue.)

The original style Speed Straps worked well but than I discovered an even cheaper and quicker 'no assembly required' solution that I'd like to share.

Sigma EF-500 DG Super for EOS sporting its simple speed strap.

First, instead of a bicycle inner tube, the friction enhancer is a couple wide rubber bands placed around the head of the flash. I prefer the blue ones that come from the supermarket and hold the stalks of broccoli together. (David Hobby probably doesn't eat broccoli but he's the master of light, I'm just a student.) Next up is the key to this super simple strap. Double sided velcro. Hooks on one side and loops on the other. The velcro is tightly wrapped over the rubber bands, overlapped at least a few inches, and cut to length.

While my simple strap may not be professional grade it has been more than adequate for the light enhancers I typically hang off my flashes.

Word, Wired or Weird? Wyrd!

After owning my Warmoth manufactured Stratocaster style guitar for a while I opted for a neck upgrade. While I never experienced a Warmoth neck failure, I did prefer to move away from the double expanding truss rod and the compound radius.

Best Guitar Parts, the makers of the Wyrd line of solid body electric guitar parts, was contacted and a Wyrd paddle head guitar neck was ordered. I was able to choose from a long list of options but the icing on the cake was the variety of neck back shapes and sizes. I opted for just a bit thicker than standard.

My distaste for glossy finishes helped finalize the decision to upgrade to a rosewood on rosewood neck. Other than a really light coating of lemon oil no finish has been or will be applied to the neck.



Outside the custom headstock shape work no special assembly was required. The neck to neck pocket fit was perfect. The neck responded well to the truss rod adjustments. Having excercised my option to spec a slightly thicker neck means this axe now fits me. And the guitar plays just a bit better than when it wore it's previous neck.

Summary: Rock solid.