Really Right Stuff Hacking

Really Right Stuff Hacking 1-4
Originally uploaded by Dalantech.

This past summer I did a lot of experimenting with the MT-24EX flash heads and placing them in different positions to see what effect it would have on the lighting. I finally settled on one flash head centered above the lens and pointed directly at the subject to bring out the details in it (it works really well especially in the shadows) and the other flash head next to it, but up above the subject to illuminated the area around it. I can also point the second flash head toward the background if I want to light that area.

It worked out really well, but I was using a small Novoflex ball head to get the second flash head where I wanted it, and it was a pain having to adjust it every time I put the rig together. I also didn’t need the kind of fine control that the ball head offered, so I went looking for a better way to position that second flash head.

Fortunately I have a friend who can weld aluminum and he cut one of my Really Right flash extenders in half and welded it back together for me. Here are some images of it next to a non modified extender.

Both extenders closed:



Hacked extender open:



Both extenders open:



Here is an example of the kind of lighting I can get with the flash heads positioned like the image at the top of this post. Notice the detail in the dragonfly, and how well the area around it is lit: