In September of 2025, my work is generating the most income it ever has in my career. Yet, I'm being forced to shut down my successul operation, against my will, due to one cause alone: 95% of that revenue is being stolen by piracy and copyright infringement. I've lost more than $1 million to copyright infringement in the last 15 years, and it's finally brought an end to my professional storm chasing operation. Do not be misled by the lies of infringers, anti-copyright activists and organized piracy cartels. This page is a detailed, evidenced account of my battle I had to undertake to just barely stay in business, and eventually could not overcome. It's a problem faced by all of my colleagues and most other creators in the field.
Lowel Tota lights are known for being fairly powerful yet uncontrollable lights by themselves. However, adding a softbox to one of these lights actually yields results on par with a comparable setup using more expensive fixtures. So here's how this works. Attaching a softbox to a Tota is made possible with an adapter called a 'speed ring':
The softbox (this is a Photoflex medium silverdome) then sets up like a tent, with the support rods under considerable pressure to maintain the shape of the fabric. This makes softboxes somewhat difficult to set up and take down, as it takes a good amount of force to get the rods seated in the speed ring.
Hot-light softboxes are somewhat expensive, as their fabric is made of fire-resistant material. So despite the fabric being right next to the Tota's 750 watt bulb, it will not burn or melt.
Exactly what I was looking for! A Tota in a softbox. How did it turn out function/light wise?
Great post anyway.
Thanx. - Posted by Peter Wittinghoff from Sweden
Thanks Peter, I have been pretty happy with the results. The light output looks great, and the softbox stands up very well to the heat buildup. The only issue I have is that the speed ring makes the power cord connection difficult - a problem that I have heard others mention as well. Other than that I am happy with this, and glad to find a good everyday use for a Tota light. - Posted by Dan R. from Charleston, WV
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From Dan: Please Read
To my regular readers, I offer my apologies for this heavy-handed notice. Unfortunately it has become necessary, so please bear with me!
Please don't copy/upload this site's content to social media or other web sites. Those copies have been a critical problem for me, seriously harming this site and my photography/storm chasing operation by diverting traffic, viewers, engagement and income. "Credit" and "exposure" does not benefit this site or my operation, rather they threaten my ability to cover my operating expenses. Please read my full explanation for this notice here.
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