Nikon R1C1 unit

02.15.10

This is simply just the coolest tool, flash I’ve ever used. I just wish I had a reason to use it more often. It comes out perhaps a half dozen times a year when i have small critters, subjects to photograph. You can use the SB-200 flash units anytime, anywhere TTL but I just use it for macro work. It attaches right to the front of the lens with the units rotating on the ring whereever you need to place them. They are fired with the SU-800 which is a great unit. I have a couple of them which get used as part of the R1C1 kit or to fire off SB-900s in other setups. You’ll notice I have diffuser material in place in the flash units. It’s always there to soften the light even more.

Testing for a project – The Nikon R1C1

By the time this blog is posted, I’ll have been on the road for four hours driving to the project site (an undisclosed site that will never be made public).

It’s Sunday the 1st, 19:42 when the phone rings. From the other end, a craggy voice tells me it’s time, they’re flying. The last time I’d received this call was 1988. Yeah, it’s an endangered species, very endangered (though politically it’s been kept listed as only threatened).

Well, since the last time I went to photograph these little guys (skunked last time, didn’t see a one), there’s been a slight change in camera technology. Even though the D3, 105VR and R1C1 are by no means new to me, there is no reshoot possibility with this species. Like with every project, the gear is taken out and problems figured out and to my best ability, solved before I’m face to face with the subject. Here’s a typical test session.