I cannot put it any more crystal clear than this: Buy this DVD set.You want to learn about light? This guy will teach you. His name is (was, sadly) Dean Collins, and he was one of my biggest influences early in my lighting days.
The subject is high-end lighting from the 80's and '90's. And truth be told, he is about as anti-Strobist as you can get, equipment-wise. But he knew his stuff better than anyone, and was one of the very best teachers I have ever studied - in any genre.
He studied with "the masters" in Europe (who only let him use one light until he could do an amazing amount of stuff with it.) He went on to become a master in his own right, and a very gifted teacher.
His use of humor and no-secrets style in the teaching process makes learning from him a fun and effortless experience. And he has so much to teach you. I owe much of my willing-to-try-anything attitude about lighting to this man.
He died last year after a brief fight with cancer. It was a great loss to the photo community.
And tonight I see where they have converted the highlights of his studio (and location) lighting tutorial series onto a six-hour DVD set.
The set will go for $179, but they are knocking $50 off of pre-orders before June here.
If you are interested in learning about light, there is nothing that I can recommend more that learning from this guy. In fact, if you have to choose, drop this site and learn from Dean.
The subjects range from large scale (as in, how to light a Porsche) to portraits (complete with dated '80's hair styles) and even macro stuff. The cameras were larger formats. The strobes were far more powerful than my SB's. But the theory is sound and very applicable to your daily grind. This is a base from which to build your own pyramid of lighting experimentation.
I am so glad they are bringing his work back for today's generation of photographers to see. If I can get ahold of an early copy, I will post a full review.
As he always said, learn the rules first. Then learn to break them.
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