980th Engineer Battalion Dining Out

Whew! I was up until 11:30 last night. I finished a marathon Photoshop session around 8:00 PM, and then started ordering prints. 53 separate orders, some of them multiple poses. I haven't counted the total number of images processed and uploaded but there was a bunch!

The first order has been placed for people who wanted their prints before Christmas. You should see them in about 10-14 days. Last time I ordered prints they took about 7 days to arrive, and the mail carrier required a signature. That added two extra days because I had to pick them up before work, package everything that evening, then drop them off the following day. I made sure that no signature is required this time, so the envelopes will be in the mail the day after I receive the prints.

For those who chose the email option, I'll be sending them no later than Tuesday, Dec 8th. Update - the emails went out. If you haven't received yours, contact me at deckman73@gmail.com. I may have a spelling error or your inbox may be full and rejecting attachments.


The new softbox works great! We had to move it a few times to accommodate different poses, and it wobbled a bit. A small tension adjustment to the corner of the sheet straightened it right out. I'm using a large nylon stuff sack from the WalMart camping section to carry the softbox and my muslin backdrop. Easy!

Funny parallel - I was the first Soldier at the event, because I wanted to get the backdrop and tripods and softboxes and cameras and flags and laptop and all my other paraphernalia arranged before the unit arrived. Once the last picture was taken, nearly everyone else was gone. By the time my wife and I finished packing up, I was the last guy there in a uniform. One of the many mottos of the U.S. Army Combat Engineers is "First In, Last Out." I certainly lived up to that one.

How did the pictures turn out? Here are two of my favorites:






Thanks to everyone who showed up, and thanks to the Copper Tank for hosting our event!

Do it yourself Softbox

Here's how I made my own softbox. I designed it to be collapsible for easy travel. I've still got some bugs to work out as far as balance and stability, but it works.The basic idea is that the sides velcro together, and the fabric on the front is held on with bungee cords. The tension on the fabric is what keeps the box from tilting or collapsing.
Please excuse the lighting. I was using the on-camera flash for two reasons: First, I was building the light source that would give me that nice, diffuse light! Second, I probably could have put the 580 with the Lumiquest diffuser on the camera, but I just wanted to take snapshots and not interrupt the workflow of putting the thing together.

Cutting the foamboard:

The foamboard is 30" on the long side. I measured a 2" on either side of the centerline, and then drew a line straight to the corner. That leaves a 4" square opening for the flash unit.



Aluminum foil:



Testing the velcro:





Tripod adapter:


Adding "wings" to support the bottom of the box and add stability:





Attaching the fabric - an old bedsheet:

Canon 430EX II - duct tape around the plastic stand and velcro-ed to the support.





The whole thing comes apart and packs flat. I may need to attach the tripod plate a little further forward to balance the whole thing - it's a bit front heavy. I could also just add a counterweight on the back. As it is, the tripod will hold it, but it's a cheap tripod and I have to crank down to get it to stay.

But it works!