Sometimes photographing another photographer can be intimidating. …sometimes it can be annoying. But I felt neither emotion when I got to photograph David Hobby last week.

It was fun! It helped that we already knew each other.

(20 cool points to whoever can guess what David’s drinking.)

So, why was I photographing Mr. Hobby? Time Magazine named his blog, The Strobist, one of the top 35 of 2010 and The Howard County Times (where I work, and where David used to work before the Sun) is profiling him. I’m not sure the rank is in any significant numerical order, but he’s #18 on the list.

My original idea was to make a wall o’ lights. Like, bring out all of his strobes. Then I saw his backyard and realized it was too hilly. But I’m not saying I don’t want to try it at some other time — hint hint, David.

Here’s an extended caption: This image of David Hobby, made in his Dorsey Search backyard, Friday, July 9, 2010, was made with a Nikon D700, a Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 DX lens, and shot wide open with an aperture of f/1.8, with a 1/25th shutter speed and an exposure speed of 200 ISO. A neutral density filter (which belonged to David) was used over the lens. Five lights were used: three Alien Bee 1600′s — two off camera, one, on my right, modified with a beauty dish at 1/4 power, one to the far left, modified with a magnum reflector, at full power, and the one seen in the background, bare-bulb at full power — one Alien Bee 800, at his feet, at 1/16th power, and one Nikon sb-800 speedlight, on the right, for a little rim light, but mostly for show. The set up (except for the sb-800) was powered by two Paul C. Buff Vagabond II’s and the lights were triggered by a combination of Pocket Wizard II’s and utilizing the lights’ optical slaves. This info might seem like gobbledygook to most, but the followers of Hobby’s “The Strobist” blog know it as “Strobist Info.”  Former Patuxent Publishing Co. and Baltimore Sun staff photographer David Hobby’s blog was named by Time Magazine as one of the top 25 blogs of 2010. The Strobist blog demystifies off-camera lighting while maintaining a budget-minded populist ethos for the non-professionals who just want to make their photos better.

And since I love outtakes…

photo by David Hobby

we were having problems with his new Einstein strobe, seen right behind me. Notice how it’s not going off?

Flippantly testing the pocket wizards.

Here’s the final product/what I turned in.

and here are my CYA shots.

and here’s one he shot of me!

Monica Lopossay, in early morning fog, while arriving at the Eddie Adams Workshop Barn in Jeffersonville, NY, for the Black Team pre-workshop clean up.

For all you newcomers to the professional photo biz, The Eddie Adams Workshop is now accepting applications. May 28th is the application deadline.

Stay posted for more images from my time as a student and as a Black Team member.

Here’s part one. No no no. that’s not blood. Nick bleeds Powerade!!!

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Charlie Shoemaker is leaving for Africa later this week. So, he threw a party — and, possibly drank 13 beers. This is him the following morning.

The impressive thing about his trip is that he’s actually going. There are a ton of photographers out there who say they want to go to Africa, but he actually followed through. Good stuff, bud. Good stuff.

Below are more photos from the night. Enjoy!

I borrowed Nick Kirkpatrick’s glasses. That’s him in the background.

Drew Anthony Smith brought the beats and a basement dance party ensued.

Brunch at Rockets to Venus the following morning.

Drew Anthony Smith, as he’s known on the internet, ditched Baltimore for Brooklyn.

So…. Jess, Monica, and I sent him off after a hangout night at Frazier’s.

He finally cleaned his car …to sell it.

His trunk is now escapable. …proving this point to Monica.

Monica Lopossay.

Jess.

Huh. I sure did make Drew look like an angry fella in this post.

(L-R) Marty Day, Nick Borkowicz, and (cough cough) Me. This was shot this back in May, 2006.

We got a wild hair up our asses one night. cheap sunglasses, headbands, and novelty gold medals… boom!

Believe it or not, the structure behind us is — check this out — made of styrofoam!!!!! Marty’s step dad does some styrofoam set building on the side.

I set the camera’s intervalometer to take a photo every 5 seconds. I pocket-wizard’d three Alien Bees to light up the situation, too. The lesson I learned is that a five count is an abnormal rhythm. We were off on most of these photos. So, if I ever do something like this again, I’m setting the camera to take a photo every four seconds.

Jess is 27 today. Happy birthday gorgeous!

Jess. eating a snowball. making her cold. Monday, August 24, 2009.

Jess by a sunset in the kitchen at the Remington House.

APAD Queen Mum Supreme, Melissa Lyttle, that’s her finger, held a Thursday night, Pre-Geekfest cookout at her St. Petersburg home Thursday, September 10, 2009. Her Wiemaraner, Em, stole some kitchen floor space and a lot of affection. Those are Keri Wiginton‘s toes and my shoe, below.

As some of you might know, I’m a sucker for sunflares. Downtown St. Petersburg during Geekfest in St. Petersburg, Florida Friday, September 11, 2009.

Corey Perrine letting the sexy window light from the Ponce de Leon’s front door fall on his face for someone else’s cell phone avatar image. later we would BUMP. Geekfest in St. Petersburg, Florida Friday, September 11, 2009.

Megan Miller bought G.J. McCarthy’s lomo ringflash and brought it to Geekfest 2009! During a drink and eat at Chappy’s in St. Petersburg, Florida Friday, September 11, 2009, I borrowed her toy flash and shot Corey Perrine with my D300s. Who else is getting nerdy over those tiny-tiny catch lights? No one? just me?

I turned Megan Miller’s LOMO Ringflash on her. I used my D300s to see what I could get with that fun little toy. I kinda want one now.

I kept on borrowing Megan Miller’s stuff at Chappy’s This shot of Nick Pironio, basking in some window light was shot with her 50 f/1.8.

Sol Neelman chats up St. Pete Times photog Julia Drapkin.

uh huh…..

(L-R) Brandon Kruse, Luanne Dietz, Julia Robinson, and… uh, I don’t know who that guy on the right is.

Drunk goggles? Bob Croslin and John L. White, right.

Nick Pironio, wide eyed, and Megan Miller, far left, surrounded by drunkies.

Jess’s huge immediate family celebrate birthdays in chunks. I’m an August birthday, and so are several other family members.

Here are some shots from the day.

Jess bought party hats.

Did I mention it was a pool party?

Everyone loves John, but poor fella, whenever he comes to a gathering without Milo, he’s met with disappointment.

Doesn’t Lauren know the more she fights it, the more I’m gonna take pictures of her?

Deep Creek vacation, August ’09.

If you wanna check them out, there are more photos below the jump.