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 Today
is Wednesday September 03, 2008
SPECIAL THANK YOU's to the GREAT USER GROUPS!
A couple of emails reminded me
this week to see thanks to all the staff and members of those groups
who support and recommend me and the individual customers who are
basically my advertising efforts and I an fortunate to call many of
them my friends. I usually abide by most forums regulations which in
a sense don't want you to use their space for your advertising.
I respect that. No bribes, no phony "pay for view" endorsements and
no shills needed or subsidized. I will however contribute
ideas and suggestions as a manner of interest in the photographic
industry. As one of the older shooters around and Dean
Emeritus of the No Smoke No Bullshit Academy (see our logo to the
left) I still maintain my right to contribute as an individual
once in a while.
Because of this policy of no free advertising, most repairs to my
products are free as long as I am alive, no charge for checkups and
no $100 fees for new batteries and boards like "the other guy
charges". That's one advantage of dealing direct. Questions
suggestions and problems are handled swiftly and expeditiously.
So on to the names and winners of my favorite groups....and look for
my products being given away as prizes for work done in the public
interest in lieu of payment for free advertising. More as we
develop the program. I thank you for your patronage and
support, we won't disappoint you. If I missed a group, please let me
know.
"HURRICANE
GUSTAV"
Our thoughts are with
the many customers, friends and fellow photographers I have in the
Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, area going through Hurricane
Gustav. Steve Gibson. Joe Walker and others please be careful as I
have first hand seen the power of this thing courtesy of the NOAA
folks based here in Tampa. Hopefully in a day aor so you can
return safely to that place you call home and it will still be
there.....
REPUBLICANS IMPROVE
TICKET (Satire)
Since
McCain selected Mrs. Sarah Palin as his Vice -Presidential running
mate, voters are applauding his choice and her qualifications.
As a member of the NRA, a Competitive Shooter AND IPSC Range Officer
I am proud to stand alongside the faith-based Gov. Sarah Palin.
I said stand alongside, perhaps I should of said "stand behind her", as our
present VP Dick Cheney wounded an attorney who was alongside him
while hunting. I'm sure with her qualifications the next
Republican VP nicked incident will be "One Shot, One kill" certified
and no more wounding mistakes.
(Continued)
Pan
Troglodytes Speak Out
BOTTOM LINE on Nikon FLIP FLOP
I congratulate Nikon for finally coming up with full frame cameras and
now rate them with Barrack Obama, and John McCain, in the flip-flop
integrity department. Ranking? between TV preacher and used car
salesman. To deny the full frame for so many years and then
slam two into the mix, only shows it's all about the dollars and
sense (cents), market share, and constant turnover which is good for
the bottom line. Add the screaming from the troops for a full frame
and "going to the dark side" and it was a no-brainer.
Here comes deals on those DX lenses.
Nikon has shipped the D700, the requisite new and expensive lenses,
and the new flash so naturally there is a rush to get these things
yesterday because all human nature follows patterns of
competitiveness and a quest for the best, newest, latest, greatest,
earth shattering technology, techno-babble, and most important of
all being "cool".
Cool is different from bragging. Bragging is
telling everyone what you got, cool is marking it on your "profile
on a forum". I love reading those profiles on some
websites that promote the equipment list and some jerk puts his
entire junk heap including his "Gorilla Pod" and genuine Nikon key
chain as his gear.
So far I am the only cool person I know because
my body temperature for some reason is usually around 96.5 degrees.
Medically my doctor says it's more common than you think.
Don't make me the Grinch, it's not envy,
I could buy twenty of them if I wanted to. Don't mis-interpret my
attitude. I'm happy to see it. I love the new toys and about
as excited as when fifty years ago, I found out something didn't
cause blindness. BUT I see a three good reasons I will hold off
right now and one strange benefit for all of us.
-
I hate being the guinea pig. I like the
other guy to be the test case. Go for it guys since no spare parts
are in the country...you go first. I was first on the block with the
D2H and found out the hard way leading the stink to Nikon over the
bad chips. I had 6500.00 dollars worth of two month old dead
cameras, took it to the PMA in Vegas with 75 letters from other dead
D2H owners and was told there were no problems with the D2H, from
LS, VB, half the booth and Canada tech support, Melville and L.A.
They changed their policy, got religion, and then make it public.
Kudos for that.
-
Besides the way things are changing,
being first means paying the most and getting the least return on
your dollar when you go through the cycle again because you set a
precedent for yourself. "I'm first" sometimes translates as "Leader
of the Lemmings" and here comes the rest looking for the accolades
of having the latest , greatest, and most-est.
- If more held off and the economy
may do just that, it will force them to drop prices sooner making a
better deal for all of us. This is obvious with some idiots ordering
them from three places to see which gets there first and then
selling the other two.... Are bragging rights that important?
-
The good side....this is great for the
aftermarket because there are a slew of D200's and 300's for sale
now with hardly any actuations. They are still great cameras, too
bad some of their owners never got a chance to see what they can do.
Lastly and this hurts, does the actual dollars you are earning from
Photography warrant the purchase at this time? That's what you
have to ask yourself. If sales are slow it will force the prices to
come down making it better for all. Instead, if you fan the
fire and the prices stay up.....DUH. Well the way things are I
guess if you are losing your house or car or job, it's totally
irrelevant. First on the block can have a whole new meaning
these days. You don't want the chopping block.
SB-900 information on Flash Cables Page.
Our New Double
Brackets Took Off Faster Than we had Imagined.
The NEW DOUBLE BRACKETS
For VIVITAR 285's w/ R616, Pocket Wizards, Radio Poppers, and Micro
Sync's, Etc. sold out in hours and All orders will
be honored by date. We are already into our fifth run. Sales
have been excellent. THE PRICE will be 29.95 plus 5.00
Priority Mail - While they last. Orders received before then will be
honored at the old price. I was notified of a price
increase of 5.00 on the next batch due to the usual shipping weights
and gas.
NOTE: Due to the incredible response, orders are presold and queries
don't count in the pecking order. Please save the "I think I want
one in March" and "tell me mores" for the guy who sells the
$200.00 version. Mine are $29.95 and $5.00 dollars priority
mail NOW, What they will be "then" is another story. Deposits
via PayPal do count, there is a date stamp on the PayPal and that
determines who's next on line. It's fair and square and no
favoritism. They establish who gets what.......WHEN.
HISTORY:
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). With double mounts you can work
off camera without dragging the Bees and all that heavy stuff to a
Wedding or Sports Shoot and those car batteries and so forth.
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. In addition the two
flashes can be angles off center for wide or extra tall shots.
Here's the good part these jewels are finished 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. AP&W our vendor
is one of the finest Custom Plater's in the US.
You can build this super strong, dynamic, incredible double flash
ensemble for the cost of the bracket as the VIVITAR replacement feet
shown are already threaded for 1/4 x20 VOILA! No tools, no
drilling, no brains needed, with the VIVITAR. See more on this
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. Even the cuts and hole
locations were perfectly in position so we could save you money. To
those selling overpriced and expensive brackets, sorry we have a
better idea.
NOTE:
The umbrella bracket and shoes for the VIVITAR 285's are not
included. In the photo you see it mated with the
excellent Photo Flex 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)
NIKON and CANON:
NOTE: They fit the NIKON SB and Canon SERIES with the added
benefit of their internal transceivers and the free factory foot.
It's slick, affordable and totally professional looking. You save on
hot shoes and transceivers. For you Nikonians, we have a
solution that really makes sense. Tag team two SB-600's as shown
below and use the SB-800 for the trigger and mains. You have the
small table foot that comes with these strobes so little else is
needed. Combined with the Nikons built in transceivers on the
600-800 series you have an easy job. CANON owners will have
their own small foot or use a small shoe to support the flashes.
SEASONAL 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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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, naturally playing hooky from school
scoping out the neat animals at the zoo. 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.
They
offered great incentives to the Chinese to do their battery business
for them since loosing a few people does not concern them too much in
China. Just the cost of doing business. Thus the battery part of
the En-EL3A from Nikon in Japan at outrageous
prices are probably made in Zhenfeng, China. It also means for every
one made for Nikon , twenty five are cloned and made for someone else.
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
"stinking 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 sacred 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.
Enough said, you know my
philosophy........
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 NEWBIE'S. 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 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 and they will ride you.
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
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 isn'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)
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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