Scott Kelby’s 2007 Gonzo Holiday Gear Guide
What the Duck, Rule of Nerds Book
What the Duck is a hilarious comic strip for photographers and Photoshop users, and artist/creator Aaron Johnson has put his first year of strips into a wonderful book that makes a perfect holiday gift. You’ll absolutely laugh out loud! It’s $32 and you can buy it at www.whattheduck.net.
www.whattheduck.net
Westcott Spiderlite TD5
If you want studio-quality light without the hassles of studio strobes, then you’re going to lose your mind over the Westcott Spiderlite TD5s. These aren’t strobes; they’re daylight-balanced continuous lights with a softbox that produce soft, beautiful light. The lights are fluorescent so they always stay cool, and because they’re always on, what you see through your viewfinder is what you get. Ask anyone who’s seen me use these on my “Lightroom Live Tour.” They rock!
The TD5 Large 1 Light Kit (comes with the Spiderlite TD5, a large softbox, tilt bracket, and stand) sells for $603.20, but you’ll also need to order the fluorescent bulbs to go with it. You can also get the exact same two-light softbox portrait setup I use on tour called “The Scott Kelby Studio Kit” from B&H Photo, which even includes a portable pop-up background and stand, for $1,098.95 (I don’t get any royalties on sales; B&H Photo put this together as a courtesy to my students).
www.fjwestcott.com
Elinchrom Octabank Softbox with Ranger Kit
When I saw Joe McNally use this in a portrait shoot, I knew two things right then: (1) This was hands-down the single most beautiful studio light I had ever seen (the quality and wraparound of this light is nothing short of magical), and (2) I knew I had to have one. Best of all, the Ranger battery kit lets you take this amazing show on the road for environmental portraits anywhere. I use this in my own studio (and outside it), and everyone who sees it is just in awe of it. If you want to blow someone away this holiday season; get ‘em an Octabank and a Ranger. They’ll be your friend for life. The Elinchrom RX 1100 Ranger Kit (the strobe and battery unit, plus needed accessories and a hard case), goes for $2,089. You’ll also need the 74″ Elinchrom Octabank Softbox (which goes for $1,109), along with a lightstand to support it. Together, they’re $3,198. If it seems like a lot of money, it is, but it’s the very best portrait light, and to me, that makes it worth every penny.
www.elinchrom.com
Drobo
This is the ideal gift for the paranoid photographer in your life, because it ensures the health and safety of their images (which is something photographers literally lose sleep over) using a very clever, fully automated robotic system of monitoring and managing a bank of hard drives where photos are stored. It’s a very clever, amazing, and slick system and if you take a minute to watch their demo video, you won’t be able to sleep until you have one. I’d get the 4-bay, 2-terabyte Drobo for $989.95.
www.drobo.com
Newer Technology Dual MacBook Pro External Battery Charger/Conditioner
Macs are very popular with photographers, and MacBook Pros (Apple’s laptops) are particularly popular. If this sounds like you, then you’ll love Newer Technology’s Intelligent Battery Charging Station that lets you externally charge two MacBook Pro batteries at the same time. I travel a lot and take two back-up batteries everywhere I go. I now can’t live without this charger. It’s sad. I know. Get yours for $149.95 from Other World Computing (www.macsales.com).
www.newertech.com
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Featured Partner 
- Dragging an Object Between Documents
- TV Scanline Effect
- Trick to the Glossy Effect
- 3D Text
- Changing Type on a Path
