Setting up flashes on uneven ground

Often times, I find myself off deep in the woods, needing to mount a flash from a high angle, or on rough uneven ground.  This is where traditional flash-stands fail.  Unless you have perfectly even ground they tip over.  All three legs are always the same length, and they are clearly designed for in-studio work, or on perfectly level pavement.  What's with that?  I get the idea that they are quicker to setup, but there are better ways.

When I'm shooting biking or skiing I know the ground will be uneven.  Here are the two solutions I've come up with to help in almost any situation:

Anatomy of an Image #5: Basketball Skiing?

Good photography helps make the image, but it's the content that will bring it to the next level.  Anyone can readily shoot basic subjects in studio or household settings.  But take something out of it's element and combine it with another sport, and you have a one of a kind image, the type that will bring your portfolio to the next level!  I'm not talking down studio or tabletop photography.  There is TONS of room to be creative with those, but it all relies on the subject matter of the image.  Here is how I captured the image below:

Creating soft and even lighting

In a perfect world, you would set your flash on it's stand, click the button, and soft even light would cover your subject in all it's glory.  No accessories needed.

We don't live in that world...

Image captured with no modification for a harsh, edgy look

Flash accessories will make your photography look more professional.  There are times when you don't necessarily need to use them, but most images could be drastically improved through the use of flash modification.

Balancing fill flash with ambient light

When it comes to balancing your flashes with the ambient light, there are some simple ideas and a few basic rules that will make the job MUCH easier.  One thing that has always helped me, is to remember that the amount of light from your flash is controlled mostly by the aperture.  This in turn, means that the amount of ambient light can be controlled by your shutter-speed and ISO settings.

Senior Portraits, Moving to a new place, running business, sales.... soo much to do so little time!

(Note: ALL IMAGES ARE UNEDITED AND NOT RETOUCHED AS OF NOW)

I Know that my posts have been lacking lately.... but I will tell myself right now that it is OK because I am so busy.   Saying that will at least let me sleep tonight (can't disappoint my fans!).  The last two nights I've been shooting a couple of senior portraits.  When I went out to capture these shots, I decided that I wanted some traditional, and some very unique shots.  My results are posted above.  Going out to shoot, there was no set location, and we drove to places I believed might be good at this time.  Normally, I like to have gone out and scouted everything in advance, but this is not a perfect world....  I used my Alienbees B1600 lights, a 32"x40" softbox, and some lastolite trigrip diffusers and reflectors.  If the sun was shining on the subjects face, I would place the softbox to the side that needed the largest boost.  This is known as fill light, and helps even the lighting and get rid of harsh shadows.  I would get more into the technical details, but I will save that until I have more time!  Look for more posts on this subject soon and enjoy these shots.  Any comments or feedback is greatly appreciated and can be posted by clicking the link at the bottom of this post.  Now it's time for me to get back to packing, and editing!