Jon Sienkiewicz

Ever wish you could make the sky more blue without changing the foreground color and without tweaking the image with software? Or maybe give a daytime shot that sunset look? Welcome to the world of square graduated filters. Welcome to the world of Cokin.

Raise your hand if you’ve ever taken a flash photo and wished a) it wasn’t so washed out, b) it didn’t have those harsh, black shadows behind the subject, c) it wasn’t so bluish all over, or d) it were possible to do it all over again because the results just plain sucked. Does this picture sound familiar? You need a flash modifier. In fact, you may need a BounceLite.

Before you get any ideas about drafting a posse and coming after me with tar and feathers because of my computer platform preferences, let me explain—please. Because I write about digital photography I must use both PCs and Macs so that I can deliver balanced stories and explain computer functions to our entire audience, not just one group or the other.

It’s already been a busy summer for new bags, and more are on the way. Bags of all sizes, shapes and colors make a formidable pile on my office floor. One bag, however, has scaled the mountain of ballistic nylon, crossed the river of Cordura and bravely navigated the toothy crevices of YKK self-healing zippers to emerge as the frontrunner. Read on to find out what’s so hot about the new Tenba Packlite Travel Bag and BYOB system.