my jury rigged hair/background light

[AC_Photo]

I have a small octodome from Amvona with a "universal" speed ring that doesn't even fit their own halogen lighting system, along with 2 spare sunpak handle flashes that aren't getting much use right now.

I decided to see if I could modify the speed ring to let me use a 555 handle flash in it. Looks cludgy, but it seems to work! I have to do more experimenting to find the right output level since I don't have a flash meter, but early tests look good. I use a long PC extension to fire the flash, and let the Alien Bees work in slave mode. Thought you might get a kick out of this highly sophisticated example of workmanship. These are just snapshots with the built in flash, please forgive the humble quality. Oh, and here's a picture of our "studio". The dining room gets almost all furniture pushed out of the way, and I just have room to work in.