David Hobby and light understand each other
David Hobby – founder of the Strobist blog – has singlehandedly created a monster. That monster is called off camera lighting, and in the realm of digital photography is one of the hottest topics around.
A few years ago, you could pick up a used SB-26 or SB-28 on ebay for less than a hundred bucks. And no one wanted them. What would we do with them? A few years ago, any photographer keen to use more lighting in their work lusted after a set of Alien Bees, or Elinchron or Bowens (insert your preferred product name here) and a studio in which to create their magic.
The problem with this approach is twofold. One, studio’s don’t move, so you have to bring everything to them. Secondly they, and the gear that goes in them, are expensive. Very expensive. David Hobby’s background as a newspaper photo-journalist had him working the opposite end of this paradigm. His work was based on portability and mobility, not to mention affordability. With a camera and a couple of speedlites, he developed a style of photography and a way of working which has influended a generation with its’ logic and results. And I’m not kidding. In the last year or so, the absolute explosion of strobist inspired websites and photography courses has gone through the roof.
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