David Hobby and light understand each other

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.

Not that David invented working this way at all. Many, many photographers  – like Joe McNally to name one pro (a photographer David greatly admires) have been working this way for a long time. But no one went to the effort of popularising this way of thinking until David Hobby set up strobist. It’s that simple, generous sharing of information that started all this.

And what have we got now? SB-26s or 28s are hard to find on ebay, and go for a premium. It’s not uncommon now that in a class of 20 photography students in any educational setting, that 3 or 4 of them already have cheap ebay radio triggers and multiple flashes. Now we have many other photographers promoting this same way of working with small flashes, and courses and dvds are popping up everywhere.

I take my hat off to David Hobby for his website. I have learned more about lighting in the last three months than I did in two years doing a Diploma of Photography. You might think that’s a slur on my education, but in reality, it’s just a seismic shift that David has caused, and the world has moved on. I now teach at that same institution I got my Diploma, and I can guarantee that the strobist approach is on the agenda from the start.

So thanks David. If you ever want to do some workshops in Australia, I can guarantee you full classes. 🙂

PS. Even Joe McNally is singing his praises in terms hard to misinterprate. Check out his coments at his blog:

Q: What’s with small flash? Why is it a topic of interest?

A: David Hobby.

Q: Now hold on, here. You mean to say one guy started this whole thing? This planet wide fervor over all things strobist?

A: Yep. David, from what I know, started teaching flash informally a few years back to get some friends and fellow shooters on track with it. He began blogging, called it Strobist, and the rest is history. He has built a worldwide community of learning, sharing and participation around the phenomenon of small, portable flashes. Pretty incredible.