Your compact travel lighting set up is only as compact and travel-y as your longest tool.

So what happens when you decide you want to add some bounce light to your photograph, but you got nothing to hold your bounce card/lightdisk/XX-tighty whiteys?

Well, you could get one of these Avenger Collapsible Reflector Holders. This is the smallest one I’ve found and it’s okay. It’s totally pro looking, so if that matters to you, swoop it up. Folded up as small as it’ll go it’s maybe an inch or three longer than your smallest usable light stand (if you’re rockin’ the Strobist 101 recommendation). But this isn’t about how to drop $50 on a piece of pro gear, it’s how to make it yourself. Is it as good as the pro equipment? In some ways no, in some ways it’s better. Does it work? Totally! And it only costs one trip to the hardware store and about $5 if you already own safety goggles.

 

What you’ll need:

• 1 of 48″ x 1/2″ sch80 or similar PVC pipe - you can go thicker if you want, just make sure to adjust all the parts to that thicker diameter.
• 3 of 1/2″ emt conduit clamps (usually come in a package of 5).
• 2 1/2″ pvc couplers
• 2 1/2″ pvc caps
• 1 18″ (or about) bungee (you’ll need to find the right thickness that it will stretch to just over 48″, safely, but with enough tension).
• 4′ of strong cord that won’t easily break (you’ll see why below).
• Some gaffer or electrical tape.
• 1 of those brass looking threaded bolt thing that came with your umbrella holder (you have those, right?)
• 2 of 5/8″ binder clips (those black things they sell to hold large stacks of paper together) or equivalent.
• 8 of 1/4″ locking washers
• 2 of 1/2″ long by 1/4″ diameter bolts
• 2 of 1/4″ diameter nuts.
• SAFETY GOGGLES!!!

Do NOT follow these instructions. Any kind of DIY can be dangerous. If you read the instructions you are a dare devil and must want to lose an eye! I’m telling you, don’t do it.

Here’s what I did (don’t you do it!):

First I put on my SAFETY GOGGLES.
I took the PVC pipe and cut it into roughly 3 equal lengths around 16 inches each.
Then I drilled a 3/8th of an inch hole in each of the caps.
I took off one of the little metal clip thing that was on both ends of the bungee (if yours doesn’t have it, you’ll have to make one - it’s like a thick paper clip sort of) and fed it through one of the caps.
I tied the bungee to the strong cord and feed the cord through one of the PVC pipes, then a pvc coupler, then the next pipe, coupler, the last pipe, and finally the other cap.
Tape the cord to the bungy so it will slide through the hole you drilled in the cap.
This part is a bit tricky and I probably should have asked for some help. I pulled the cord, stretching the bungee until it came out the cap several inches. Then I clamped it with a pair of locking pliers so it wouldn’t snap back. I thought for sure I was going to get slammed in the crotch. Next time I’d wear a cup, just in case.
fold the end of the bungee over and clamp the metal clip thing onto it. That should stop it from squeezing back through the hole in the cap.
I checked to make sure it would pull apart and fold up.

Success!

Then I made the clamps that would hold the reflector:

I drilled a hole in the top of the clamp.
I fed the bolt through 2 locking washers with the end of the binder clip arm between them then through the hole in the top of the clamp and bolted it down. I made 2 of those and then used the third one and bolted the brass looking threaded bolt thing to that.
I stuck the clamps on the conduit and locked them down. I used a wing nut to hold them on there in case I need to adjust them in the field.

Other folks have described how to make the clamps in similar ways. Some may prefer the way they make them. Just google it.

 

To show it in action I set it up as a flash boom. HOWEVER I was nervous as hell that my flash (even though it was my cheepy one) would come crashing down. This makes a much better disk holder than a boom arm. I would only use it as a boom in a lighting emergency!The coolest part for me is it folds up in 2 seconds and unfolds in even less. And it’s small enough to fit in the bag with my light stand.

Ta-Da! Oh, yeah! That’s right! You can also use it as a magician’s wand. Nice!

 

Del.icio.us | Technorati | Stumble it! | Digg