Playing with a new light

First I want to say Kathryn rarely makes an appearance here because she doesn't really stick around past the "first" stage of making a picture.  I make the 2 or 3 frames that show me where I want to be and she's ready to leave.  Before you think its because I am taking ages to do this, I'm not.  It takes me about 45 seconds.  This time I managed to get close to what I wanted at frame 2, then the whining started so I let her leave.  When it was Carly's turn she lasted a little longer, but she had to go rather quickly too.

So, what was doing?  I was playing with a "new" light.  No, not equipment, just a new way to use what I had.  I saw blog post discussing using two hard lights together in an approximation of hollywood lighting.  I like the look in those older photos, and thought I would try it "someday".  Like my models I didn't really feel like making a picture tonight, but... I remembered something I read that is attributed to Freeman Patterson, "If you only photograph when you feel like it... you'll never be totally successful as a photographer."   Ouch, that hurts-- and out came the camera.  

I would have liked to explore this idea a bit more, and I will.  I don't think I got the best poses for the light.  I'd like to see what it looks like with the lights a bit higher overhead.

The top picture is made with my Alien Bee flashes with the standard reflector, and a softbox lighting up the background.  The second picture is the same setup but using only the modeling lights on the flashes-- I adjusted the ISO and aperture to compensate for less light.  The second picture is closer to the look I am emulating.  It will be my starting point next time.  Maybe I'll get more than 5 minutes of shooting time.