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Friday May 09, 2008
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UPDATING CONTACT INFORMATION: After cable disaster
ajacobs2@tampabay.rr.com
REGULAR EMAIL FOR ORDERS AND QUESTIONS
ajacobs2.mobile@gmail.com
GMAIL.COM WHILE I'M ON THE
ROAD
NEW ADDRESS ( Note
the APT Number change)
Al
Jacobson
1200
Country Club Drive
Apt. 3504
Largo, Florida 33771
PHONE: 727-812-8101
Both emails and
phone calls are monitored by my Blackberry.
 NEW
DOUBLE BRACKETS ! ! !
After years of testing,
months of field evaluations, many fresh, cold / warm forgotten beers
and a couple skinned knuckles, the guru has the perfect double bracket
for all the STROBIST fans (Vivitarous strobistus economus).
These are the fans who have discovered the joy of placing two
strobes side by side and doubling the light shooting direct or
through/reflected with an umbrella.
Here's the good part I have a limited amount of these jewels in
Black Dura-Coated Finish, similar to Teflon or Powder Coating used on
guns. in fact it is done at an armory. Not just spray paint which does
not stick to galvanized even with special toxic primers and acid
baths. I farmed it out to the pros.
You can build this super strong
dynamic, incredible unit in double flash heaven for the cost of the
bracket as the feet shown are already threaded for 1/4 x20 VOILA!
No tools, no drilling, no brains needed, with our new metal foot.
On our
HOT! Vivitar Page
After producing these I have
removed all other references to previous models and this is the
one I'm going with. The latest evolution of my twin light stand
was created after using plastic, aluminum, and steel, being assembled
with plumbers bubble gum to epoxy, testing and heavy abusive language
and field evaluation. You see it here mated with the excellent
PhotoFlex Umbrella adapter for your light stand. we tried a bunch of
those from Aetna, Kalt and others and save your bread, this is the
best one. Avoid those cheap eBay adapters, as they are CRAPAZOLA
(see the Jacobs Brooklyn Dictionary)
WEDDING SEASON TUNE UP
OOOOps, I forgot to
keep the battery on the charger and my battery pack is Ka-boom...
Spring TUNE-UP TIME. My battery pack is dead! Why does
this phenomenon happen this time of the year more than the rest of the
year? Because it is the beginning of the Wedding Season and most of
the units have been laid away, dormant, not on the charger as
recommended or put away four months ago after a shoot and forgotten
about. When I was a Quantum Dealer this was the money time of
the year. So please go check your units now or send them to me
for a check-up or tune up so it doesn't fail in the middle of the next
wedding you shoot.
That's why all the makers have large repair facilities. We have
a very small one and I am it. Most unfortunately fail due to
operator error. Luckily Black Boxes are easy to repair. That's why we
usually don't charge for boo-boos. Here are some of the things
to avoid, not in any order, but never the less here they are.
(Continued)
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Travel Alert - On The Road Again
I will be on holiday in
Australia June 29th through the 10th of July for a Wedding, family
commitments and a much needed vacation though I expect very little
rest. It's been five years since I had any kind of time off.
My itinerary: Travel via Delta (US Leg) then Qantas to
Sydney and other locations for eight days allowing the two additional
days for (Ughhh) travel. It's twenty or so hours and this former
pilot sitting around for that long doing nothing is a killer. I'd
rather be up front. Most pilots are
 terrible
passengers.
Hopefully I can hook up with friends and customers from that region
since I'll need a helper for the Wedding and I will donate a Black Box
Kit for the helpers services. After studying the maps of that
continent, I have determined nothing is around the corner. Corners
there are 1000 miles...
We truly are a global family as I now have family in Australia and
Canada. In the old days we all lived in the same block and even in the
same house. I am really looking forward to this trip.
G'day..... ( Wonder how they spell that?)
Welcome. . . 51 Years with Cameras in Hand and Still not Baker
Acted!
Welcome friend. I think it
proper to let you know what this site is about. It might and it might
not be for you. Time is money and we all value our time. I'm a
prisoner of photography. I enjoy all the aspects of it and I
mean "all the aspects". From shooter to lab owner, in 50 plus
years I probably have messed up more than a few things and luckily
might have won a few accolades on the balance sheet.
You'll need a sense of humor and patience to survive here. I
have a very active mind and tested "Extreme" on the IQ scale. My
teachers hated me because I took nothing for granted. Especially
my science teacher who had us convinced the cavemen slaughtered the
dinosaurs. Good: Off to the museum. Bad: It was a school
day. Mediocre: A modest but flashy career as the number one
truant in NYC, voted tops by the Drop-Out Participant Association.
(DOPA)
My journey came about through strange circumstance almost divine
intervention.
Bad can be good. Photography
started for me with a paper bag left sitting on a park bench in NYC's
Central Park. I was fourteen, a junior, playing hooky from school. I
grabbed it after eyeing the bag for an hour, artfully dodging the
truant officers who carried my picture in their wallets. With no one
claiming it, I stood on top of the park bench and yelled the sacred
words "finders keepers".
With the legalities out of the way and beating a hasty retreat out of
the park, I had mischievously become the owner of an AIRES IIIL 35mm
Rangefinder Camera, the first of the Japanese clones of a Leica.
It took nice pictures of the Dinosaurs at the Museum of Natural
History in NYC and other sites. Fifty years later I still carry
a camera every day after being involved
in several
photo operations.
And I still build
much of my own gear like battery packs, flash cables, brackets and
product shooting tables. Tearfully,
the little Aires either got lost or I left it somewhere. Ashes to
ashes, dust to dust.
There's something for everyone on this site: I discuss techniques on
the; basics of photography; building your own equipment;
common
sense approaches to Weddings with of course a few close calls and
funny stories. More, much more on gear and my battery packs,
which I personally build for wedding and sports shooters. No
assembly lines, no employees and I'm the guy who answers the phone.
I learned to make much of my own equipment because of necessity.
Sometimes called the "mother of all inventions". Actually it was
poverty, you see poverty is, "the father of all ingenuity".
I picked up the nickname "the
Gadgetmeister" starting in an obscure camera repair facility in the
camera district of New York City. It was where I first found out man
could fly if he simply touched a capacitor from a Honeywell 770
Strobe. Only the Wright Brothers had a better first
flight. After forty years of working on these things a Metz got me the
other day. I just think of it as a reminder, capacitors can be flighty
even if you think you discharged them. Nothing really has changed in
Photography...St. Murphy-Lawes is alive and kicking.
Oh, yes my shooting eye (the right one on your left) is smaller
than the other eye. No, I'm not one of the original "Big Seven"
Cinderella dwarfs, "Droopy". You too can have this "special low
aperture eye installed" free by my cousin who threw baseball size
rocks when he was a kid and got me with a curve ball dead on when I
was eleven. About 48 hrs "dead on - out cold". He also
does windows , car glass and anything else that can break.
SHAFTA the trade foo-pah!
Rumors abound, it is speculated the cost
of lead and batteries will rise in 2008 by 13%. No one looks
forward to increases. The sleeping giant PANDA BEAR, realized they own
the market now with little or no competition. Seems their abundance
of lead spilled over into paints used on kids toys.
How did CHINA become the worlds leader in battery componentry? Simple,
it's dangerous and profitable. Few other countries other than
South
Korea process lead, NiMH, or Ni-cad and add Li-On to the list.
Battery making is a dangerous sport. Even the Japanese learned
that lesson after the SONY plant blew up and burned to the ground
offered great incentives to the Chinese to do their battery business
for them. Thus the En-EL3A from Nikon in Japan at outrageous
prices are probably made in Zhenfeng, China.
All US companies (some in name only) are either buying from
China or China is shipping batteries and parts to Mexico to avoid any
tariffs related to the fair trade agreement. It's simple, CHEAP
labor costs. High profits and the CEO gets a new Rolex each
year, gets to lobby Washington and that sets the pace initiated by the
Clintons and Bush's "global economy". Our money gets to see the
globe on one way tickets... With the loss of jobs and production in
the USA.
Made in the USA can be misleading.
This is all under the NAFTA program. We should change that to
SHAFTA. It stands for: SH*T HANDED to AMERICA by the FREE
TRADE AGREEMENT. Thank former President and cigar
aficionado William Clinton for the open door policy and the
current renter in the White House King George "Crusades" Bush for
driving the freight train through it. Who says there's
partisanship? Both parties exhibit a large amount of
"stinkin thinking" on a frequent flyers schedule.
The JACOBS MANIFESTO
My goal is simple, I delight in
building a line of hard working, industrial strength,
inexpensive alternatives to the expensive battery packs and power
supplies from other manufacturers. They can operate alone or in
conjunction in some cases with these other brands. I have a
minimalist and simplistic approach to the equation. Less is more. Less
things to go wrong and more power.
In other words "Less Bling-Bling saves you Ching Ching". Think
of me as an exercise in "Ooops Prevention". We deleted every
power robbing feature to provide you with almost a 1000 clean shots
with a Nikon SB-800 or slightly less with the Canon 580. And
still kept full dumps to about three seconds without any accelerators
or overheats. And we found similar results with other models
such as Sigma and Vivitar, Braun, and Sunpak 611's, and
METZ 45's. These can all be adapted in a second life on light stands
for background, bumpers and backgrounds. The main reason these
excellent flashes dropped from sight was lack of a secure inexpensive
power source. That's over, we have one now.
Unfortunately "We" are now a one man
company. The love of my life and partner for thirty years passed on to
a better place on August 30th , 2007. She is interned in the
beautiful Smoky Mountains in a place scared to her and I. Almost
thirty years ago I told her how I felt about her in that same place.
I hand build everything we make, including all the connections that
are hand soldered. No hiding behind phone boards, I am generally
available by phone (Monday thru Friday 9AM-9PM EST) I will gladly
answer your questions. Try that with almost anyone else. It's called
service. I prefer a call to long emails. We now have
chargers for shipments to the U.K. most Euro countries, and Australia,
New Zealand It's taken a while because no one had the charger I
wanted for overseas. We do now, I waited two whole years. Also I
build with retro gear in mind so you can make use of the oldies but
goodies you have in the closet that represent Money Burning doing
nothing.
NEW WEDDING PHOTOGS MUST READ:
A Wedding is a totally unpredictable planned event. Too oxymoronic a
statement? Hmmm, How about describing it as a train heading for the gorge,
with termites chomping on the bridge timbers. Too graphic? Both
remarks can describe it well if you are foolish enough to get into a
situation you are unprepared for.
THE DOWNLOAD: This is a growing BOOT CAMP for NEWBIES. Essential
reading for those wishing to become Wedding Photographers. There are tips
and links for those who have done a few weddings and survived. My thanks
to friends and colleagues in the business for the input. This is the
biggest task a new photographer can undertake because he is dealing with
other people and their emotions and expecting to get paid.
Slipup on that picture of your dog or cat and the unrequited love will
still be there. Slipup on a Wedding and you might meet Bridezilla or
her Attorney...
Your E-Book on weddings starts here... It is downloadable in PDF format
since it is too big (when finished over 300 pages, with a directory, table
of contents etc. ) to post on this site. Make sure your browser is set to
accept those little pop-ups and PDF files....When you click this button it
will automatically take you to the PDF download, you save the file, the
PDF file. The file is not that big but has 80 pages so far.
The 2nd Revision is about
to be released May 2008 with a third probably written in July when I am in
Australia. Total: Additional 200 pages. I apologize for the delay in
finishing this project BUT my wife's losing battle with Cancer came first.
This project is on the burner again...
Download:
WEDDING HAND GUIDE FOR THE BEGINNER
(continued)
We start by trying to understand the makeup of a Wedding,
and we are not talking about lipstick and rouge. We'll be discussing the
players, the combatants and the judges, who attend this elaborate
ritualistic and unpredictable affair. We'll also discuss your
place in this great theme park for a a day and whether you'll ride the
E-ticket or be the E-ticket.
In the later sections
we'll discuss the contracts, forms and other legalities you must have
to protect yourself in the crazy sue happy world we live in today.
These will be downloadable forms you may put together yourself to create
a great Wedding product and guide for your work.
What can I say going into a Wedding underhanded in some countries might
cost you your hands as is their custom. Here it only costs your your
neck. What tools do you need for the next episode of survivor....
We'll really get technical here and get into the crux of gear. What
works and what doesn't work. The tips of the trade , not the
tricks, real things you can do to boost your earnings.
REAL LIFE STORIES
(from the sidebar on the left)
Cancer, when it strikes
home
FINAL CHAPTER - The
Last Trip.
I have lost the love of my life... My wife Dolly. She was my
companion, confidant support team, friend, sunshine, smiles and all
the good things that life together offers. It came quick,
Ovarian Cancer is quick. I asked her on a scale of 1 to 10 how
does she feel? She replied: "an 11". I took her to the ER
at Midnight. She beat Ovarian Cancer, aka "the silent
killer", the last time (almost four years ago) and it has reared
it's ugly head again. Four hours after arriving at the hospital,
we had the news. They admitted her immediately.
(Continued)
Gator Bait
Welcome to Florida, Things the Tourist Board Just Won't Tell You!
Someone once asked me are Gators
that dangerous? GATORS! They are our state treasure. They won’t
bother you boating in the Florida swamps. Just avoid the nests around
mating season, don't look for lost golf balls near the edge of the
water and watch out when swimming in inland lakes. It's a territorial
thing. And they were here first. Gators aren't the only things we have
to be aware of in our state. Seems those who profit off the Gators
might be more dangerous.
(Read this)
Food
on the Town
If you live in Largo this ain't Yo Momma's kitchen!
This is not about gourmet restaurants
where the lack of food on the beautifully decorated plate is offset by
the large amount on the bill. This is where we all go for a
meal. Not the "experience", a meal, a belly filler, a pause in
the hassle of life for sustenance and hopefully a fair shake (no pun
intended). There is a separate section for the upscale dinning
adventures, hopefully a step above fast food, it should be a large
step.
(Read this)
Support our troops by helping build this Memorial.
FINALLY BROKE GROUND! and
construction is proceeding at a rapid pace.
www.centcommemorial.org
The Ultimate Sacrifice -
4000th US Soldier Dies in the Conflict
BAGHDAD, March 24 (Reuters) -
The number of U.S. soldiers to die in Iraq has reached 4,000, the U.S.
military said on Monday, just days after the fifth anniversary of a
war that President George W. Bush says the United States is on track
to win.
Boating News - The
S.S. American Victory
For those of you who
have had the pleasure of spending time relaxing on the beautiful
lakes, rivers, and oceans, of our world and actually purchased a
vessel of sorts you'll enjoy this vibrant discourse on boat ownership.
And the responsibility that comes with that partaking especially if
the vessel is in need of repair.
As they all are, after the initial joy of ownership wears off,
usually the second day, during the lets wash the boat family project.
Think of this article as going from feeding a Chimp to feeding King
Kong. Our boating project is unique, to say the least, find out
about how we are restoring a pretty good sized vessel. We need skilled
volunteers. She's 455 feet long, 109 feet high and 68 feet wide and
she's still kicking ash...
(READ ON)
Photojournalistic
PHOTOGRAPHY
I do a fair amount of PR photography,
product and work for some major organizations. And I do get to meet
some of the folks who are in the headlines. So far it's been
mainly Military, Congressmen and the President. I somehow keep missing
J-Lo, Paris and Jessica...Oh well...
Of course Washington is playing to a
different drummer these days, sort of like having Gene Krupa as a
guest soloist on a Roman Galley.
THE OLD DOG STORIES
(COUPLE OLD TRUE STORIES)
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Playboy Club
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N5707U
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United Way
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Gen H. H.
Shelton
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Eddie Adams
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Marty
Forscher
PHOTOJOURNALISM
(COUPLE NEW TRUE STORIES)
Contact me:
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FOR
PRODUCT TESTS We tell you what we
think. Many times it's not what someone getting paid to tell
thinks. We call that kind "slinking thinking".
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LINKS to
Manufacturers, Builders , Blogs, Reviews and a few ALIENS...
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The JACOBS DICTIONARY
Learn to speak Brooklyn
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FEEDBACK (What others are
saying about me #%$R@F&^%$#(%)#&(*!_)
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