Poor mans snoot

So want to play around with snoots so went down to my local Hardware Store. Found these rubber sink and drain pcs. A little small to fit over the Inon D2000 so made 4 small cuts in the skirt. This is a 3"x 1.5" pc. So you can go to plumbing and get any 1.5 reducer you want down to .5". Just insert in end and off you go. Fits very firmly, probably hard to take on or off underwater. Yet to get it in the water but for $7 what the heck.

Taken with the 1.5" - 1" reducer in place

Neat to see these being made. Thanks for sharing. I use a lighting snoot from BH but want to fine tune it yet to a smaller point.

Cheers

Todd

good stuff

Interestingly I did exactly the same :-) Here are my version :-)

Set up:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cadiver/4733085599/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cadiver/4733728318/

Test shot:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cadiver/4733727806/

Dive shots:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cadiver/4737297697/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cadiver/4737297549/

Lots of fun ...

Cheers !

Dominic

So want to play around with snoots so went down to my local Hardware Store. Found these rubber sink and drain pcs. A little small to fit over the Inon D2000 so made 4 small cuts in the skirt. This is a 3"x 1.5" pc. So you can go to plumbing and get any 1.5 reducer you want down to .5". Just insert in end and off you go. Fits very firmly, probably hard to take on or off underwater. Yet to get it in the water but for $7 what the heck.

Here is my version made of parts bought at Home Depot: a 4" to 3" rubber coupling, followed by a 3" to 3" one (just so that I can extend and then further tighten), a 3" to 2" coupling, a grey 2" to 1.25" and a white 6" long and 1.25" wide plastic pipe taped with black electrical tape. Worked decently for something I threw together literally on the way to the airport.

Great minds.... So my next question was/is are most just using one strobe for snoot macro? Any advantage of trying it on two strobes?

Great minds.... So my next question was/is are most just using one strobe for snoot macro? Any advantage of trying it on two strobes?

I was using 1 stobe only but I think I may try 2 stobes once I feel more comfortable using the snoot. Use the other one to just barely fill some lights/shadow, not snoot. Aiming 2 snoot properly might be too much tasks, might as well get a tripod first !

I agree with Dominic. I'm using one snooted strobe and the other to fill in the shadows. I guess it depends(doesn't it always) on what type of image you're trying to make.

Here is a Wetpixel regulation size practise duck shot with my 3 " rum drink bar straws snoot. I used the Tokina 10-17 and the Zen 100mm dome. See how harsh the shadows are. Shot this in my pool with the 7D and YS 250's.

Here is a shot with just a kiss of light from the right hand strobe to provide a touch of fill. I could use more and still get the look I'm after.

Lots of fun to play with.

Steve

I've also put together a little poor man's snoot kit in anticipation of my upcoming Indo trip. I read and re-read Keri Wilk's outstanding article (http://www.divephotoguide.com/underwater-p...ot-photography/) before my little shopping trip. It was fun to wander the plumbing aisle at Home Depot with my strobe and when the plumbing guy found out what I was up to, he was VERY helpful! I didn't want to start out with the hard rubber drain coupling because it's heavy. I found a plastic irrigation fitting (?) that seemed like it would work just as well. I had to chop off a bit at the end as well as make some slits so it would fit over my Inons (it'd probably slide right on Ikes or Sea&Sea's). I then found a pvc fitting that was close in diameter and wrapped it with a little foam pipe insulation so it'd fit snugly in the narrow end and viola!

Although unintentional, the foam gives the added advantage of being able to move the pvc around inside the cone and direct the beam without having to move the strobe itself. I still thought the beam might be too wide for little critters, so I made a second run and found another pvc fitting that connects to my original and mates to a standard 1/2" pvc pipe

Now I was really into it! I got a handful of black straws (generously donated by one of my local bars ) and cut them up to make some "grills" held together by black duct tape that slide into the the cone, pvc fittings and pipe. Now the complete kit:

I won't have a chance to experiment in the pool before I go, so this will all have to be "field" tested in a couple weeks. I figure I'll carry it underwater in a small mesh bag that I already had and hope to find a nice, cooperative, non-moving subject. I have no clue whether it'll work or not, but tons of fun for under $10!

Phil