Sound of One EGO Flying

Up in the air with one Ego and all Lowel grip bits-

Details to follow

Getting the selfstanding EGO to fly

comments to follow shortly.

The Booming LowelEgo

EGO bloomn' booming - Two EGOS (#1 & 2) joined by clamps and by a simple homemade bracket (that I would make up for anyone interested.) The boom is made from Lowel componates and counterweights. This creates a simple relatively inexpensive interview light for a two person interview. Then always, open up your background with a light positioned behind your subject, here with a third EGO set on the floor (#3)

EGO Portraits for Summer Theater 2008

Click on photos to enlarge - Now here, our psychopompous Master of Ceremonies (no comment on the candy filled Willy Wonka cane). Again, two EGOS (#1 & 2), but this time enlarged for our actor portraits by being doubled - side-by-side - joined with multiple clamps (#5s) available from Lowel or similar from do-it-yourself stores such as Home Depot (USA). This doubles not only the size of the working EGOs, but the light output (intensity). The panel (#4) provides a white surface - so acts as our full length reflector card to open up the shadow side of the portraits. One note the card material placed at the end of the joined EGOS (#3): always block any light from your light source from reaching the camera lens to avoid flare from degrading your image - this could have been achieved with a lens shade, a "flag" or "gobo" or here a piece of cardboard cut to size.

EGO Portraits for Summer Theater 2007

Click on photos to enlarge - Here, our German professor with a very convincing bald cap. Two EGOS - Ego No. 1 illuminates both the background and is turned just enough to create a rim light on the shadow side of the actors' faces. Ego No. 2 provides the "main" light and is functionally enlarged for the 3/4 portraits with a simple piece of tracing paper (#3 above) that spreads the useful diffusion surface to become similar to the coverage needed to show off some of the costuming of the thesbians. The background material is a very inexpensive lightweight non-woven paper measuring 12 x 24 feet purchased for $30 during the Photo Marketing Association show from a Chinese company - I am trying to track them down to learn their American selling agent. As to getting the EGO up on a studio lightstands, see details in a subsequent blog entry.

EGO, the light for Video Blogging

Tired of looking twenty years older than Noah while spouting the wisdom of the ages? Yes, it is true that video cameras are now so sensitive you can light your face from the monitor - that's cool, really cool! as the monitors have a native white point somewhere in the very blue 7000 or 9000 degrees Kelvin. And your light source is ghoulishly coming from below your camera position. Look at some of these faces on bloggingheads.

Better to compliment yourself and your viewers with a 5000K high color (92 CRI) wide spectrum beauty light - the Lowel EGO was designed to make photographs of products even better than life and you are your own best product, so....follows.. and it's much cheaper than surgery.

Ingredients needed:
1 Lowel EGO with 5500K high color lamps, 120Vac USA, Japan (240Vac version available)
Option - adjustable table top tripod

EGO, the light for SAD (Winter Blues) Interventions

My design work for the Columbia University's Clinical Chronobiology and Winter Depression Programs under Dr. Michael Terman led to the development of light diffusion systems for Dawn and Dusk Simulation over sleeping and waking subject and then to lightboxes for suppression of melatonin as it seems to relate to winter blues by improvement of sleep and mood especially due to lack of light in the short winter days. Dr. Terman's group formed the Center for Environmental Therapeutics (CET.org) as a research foundation educating individuals and corporations to change lighting in the home and work space to improve productivity, mood and subsequent sleep.

An even larger problem than seasonal lack of light is the lack of light due to the corporate light deprivation in most workspace cubicles - efficent illumination of a work space is NOT accomplished from the ceiling area - if the window office is still a day or two off in your corporate like consider taking action into your own eyes.

This version of EGO is re-marketed with two special high output 32 Watt 4100K lamps at SphereOne.com, owned by the CET group - so a portion of sales goes back into research.


Ingredients needed:
1 Lowel EGO with 4100K high lux lamps, 120Vac USA, Japan (240Vac version available)
1 Adjustable table top tripod to bring the lower edge of the EGO to slightly below eye level - that is, to mimic the position of the sky if you were outofdoors.