NEW BLACK BOX COMBINED WITH DUAL PERFECTION KIT $354.00
This months lucky buyer, since only one is offered, will make a Strobist or Vivitar, Luomo, user very happy, the kit consists of gear thats all brand new, unused in the box:
1- One 2010 Dual Port Black Box , Euro Charger Complete Kit
2- Two Quantum MA2 Cables (New) for Vivitar 283, 285, 285HV, Olympus FL-40, Sunpak 120J, DX-8R, Soligor MK-9A, Canon 155A, 199A, MR-14EX, MT-24EX, plus others.
3- Complete Perfection Bracket Kit.
4- GIZMO stand hanger for Black Box.
SPECIAL: One kit only , I cannot duplicate this. $300.00 includes Shipping and Handling. Paypal OK, First Call Gets It!
MY PRODUCTS and KNOWLEDGE BASE
I'm glad you made it. My website has many sides to it. It is about what I build and it is about helping you to do better at what you want to do by sharing fifty years of experience in the industry. For that, you do not have to join a club, attend expensive seminars, buy a decoder ring or send money.
We make Battery Packs and a line of accessories for the financially concerned shooter. Thats the wedding, event, the paparazzi, photojournalists, sport and portrait shooters who do this for the thrill of cashing a paycheck for their work and don't want to go broke getting there. Everyday on Craig's list, the forums and eBay, I see a lot of expensive equipment for sale because it's still on the credit cards and the folks can't get enough to cover the depreciation. We build simple, strong, dependable products that work and won't drive you broke. Period, I accept nothing else. But there is more here.
KNOWLEDGE BASE
My goal is to get you better at photography as a career. If so interested, start reading. We cover the gambit of photography from techniques and tips to the insider stuff and the business end. And it's geared to both the pro shooter, who understands it's more than peering into the LCD to see if you have image, to the beginner who found a need for the camera gear to start paying for itself. We get plenty of data from others who have developed tricks and ideas we share...
KEYS TO THE TABS ABOVE
• MY PRODUCTS - The products I build and produce. the Black Box, the Tuxedo, the Perfection Brackets, the Gizmos and the larger projects.
• CABLES FOR FLASH - The cables you will need to make the packs work. Our packs contain everything you need except one component which is available but depends on the system you use.
• CONTACT ME, ETC. - The most common page people don't find. It's all here. Unless you are lazy, then call.
• FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHERS - No slouches here. These are the pros in their respective field.
• THE WEDDING GUIDE - PART ONE - "SHRINK WRAPPED" - Is eighty pages of the Psychology of Weddings. Better to read it, learn about the forces, mental, chemical, and physical effecting this trial of your patience, rather than have to pay a shrink when you have a breakdown. It explains the structure and the pitfalls, what to look out for and how to prepare to be smarter than the "Bridezilla's" of today. The Wedding Guide shares those thoughts and ideas I wrote about, still very, very relevant to this day. Nothings changed in weddings except the bar has come down and basically anything goes.
• THE WEDDING GUIDE PART TWO - "YOUR BUSINESS PLAN", the last section is the most complete series of both mental structuring, and good business sense to succeed in this business or any other for that matter. Much of it came from field training I did for a large corporation which is still in business. This stuff works if you are smart enough to take advantage of it and apply it to the audience you have, not what you saw at a trade show that has nothing to do with your market.
• THE WEDDING GUIDE PART THREE - "GEAR TALK" - All about the stuff you buy and whats good and whats not. Tripods, Brackets, Flashes, aftermarket gear, Light modifiers, Camera Maintenance and a huge section on flash about light. Thats what it's all about.
• SALES AND SPECIALS - every month there are some things I balance stock order with, made a deal on, or I might have no further need for. If you don't look here you are missing a bargain.
The first is my unique NO SMOKE- NO BULLSHIT icon which came to me after reading Popular Photography and Consumer Reports for many years. Popular Photography never found anything it didn't like about a product as long as you advertised with them. Today most brands of cameras and equipment are really about equal with no one company holding the lead in technology for too long.
Like leapfrogging, it's not how far you leap, it's where you land that counts. I learned that in Land-mine Retrieval School. I own and both shoot with Canon and Nikon. I have seen speed, speed, speed, pushed and the flashes burnt up and a company go under. I have seen manufacturers promise and not deliver. We simply call it hype. This is a no hype zone.
If you see this work icon, it indicates the page is under construction and more information is forthcoming. This website is changed daily based on my workload. Yes I do have to write sometimes at 5:00 AM to keep up. The secret lots of strong YUBAN coffee, two shots of Nestles Cocoa, Vanilla Bean Syrup and Whipping Creme. The rush gets me cranked. Cafe Al Frappe. Free at my house, $5.00 at Starbucks.
BLACK BOXES -
If word of the BLACK BOX, or the cure for the fumbling, inadequate, inconsistent use of AA batteries got you here, you are saved. You are in the right place. I build because I see a need. Most pro gear is too expensive, too short lived and just when you get ahead, you blow more money on something else and the wife starts to look at you like you need rehab. I started building these boxes for the Wedding and Event work I was doing.
I'm fifty years in this game, been there done that and survived. I also love inventing and innovation, and I am the sole originator of the Black Box. I am still a working photographer, preferring now to do corporate, military and product work since I can't run as fast as the young shooters.
When inspired, (inspired in photojournalism means a snitch gave you a lead) I shoot event photojournalism, both writing and recording, and somewhat of a writer-detective chasing politicians, fake religionists, scam artists, and their events if only to disclose their lies and indiscretions. I spent 50 plus years in the photo industry, and I guarantee that I ticked a few people off with reviews using words like "worthless, garbage, and crap".
Luckily I might have won a few accolades on the balance sheet. Just a few, because as I tried more things, I learned from them whether they failed or succeeded and why. With so much stuff on the market today it's like a Wal-Mart. Big store, all low end, off-shore and quality issues. There is a lot of that in this business. Just like a Wal-Mart about 85%.
And lastly I have no allegiances, not owning to any companies or manufacturers for freebies. No free passes. My entire philosophy revolves around the K.I.S.S. principle. I enjoy problem solving, I do go out of the box with constraints and I do love simple.
WEDDING WARNING - ARE YOU READY? - The dreaded Wedding Season. This means "working with patience". Weddings are work and you need "patience" before you swap the camera for a gun and make "patients" out of the Bride, basically most grooms, they really just want it over.
The feared TyrinoBridus Rex and her mate, Brewusasouras, decided to make it legal. Fourteen offspring do that to you. So lets get on the ball and get these packs updated, charged, tested and ready for the forthcoming slaughter. It could be you!
Remember, they just finished shooting season three of Bridezilla, so the "Girls of Summer" are just sharpening their claws after some strong "bootcamps" on the TV. Reality TV has not helped the industry about as much as FOX TV has helped partisanship go away.
So, already I am getting the eMails. "I went to hook up my pack after the winter and it's dead". My charger stays on green all the time and the battery is not charging, it appears dead". "My Tuxedo is dead, I didn't charge it this winter". My car is dead, I wish my xxxx was dead. Lots of dead things.
Maybe "Brain dead", you forgot. Congratulations, a small portion of you might of had a real problem, but the other 98.7% simply went brain dead. They now have free membership in the "I didn't read my instructions book club" and by not following instructions to leave it on the charger this winter which is repeated on this site twenty six times and in the instructions four times.
NOTE: This website and book has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and we make no claims it will cure any disease, or malady caused by shooting at Weddings or someone from the wedding shooting you. No Photographers were injured during the writing of this book and if you cannot afford an attorney, my nephew will be available at the usual attorney fees for malpractice cases.
TRIBUTE TO CHARLIE DANIELS
Reminder, this is a large site, with much valuable data hidden under those tabs. We just don't fiddle around!
I leave that to Charlie Daniels. I grabbed this shot at the "FREEDOM CONCERT". I call it "Chapeaus, Buckles, and Bows ".
It is purposely shortened by cropping only to bring the Hat, Fiddle and Buckle closer together. It's called compression. A few sliders for saturation, and I removed the middle tones leaving a thought.
He, his band and other great entertainers do a fabulous job supporting our troops through the USO tours. More shots from that show under stories.
Thank you Charlie for the work you unselfishly do for the troops.