Zen and the art of folding a Hilite

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I’ve mentioned losing the rods for a Lastolite Hilite pop-up background (not an uncommon experience, unless you fasten the rods to the Hilite itself, using the ties provided), but one activity that can cause a headache is folding the Hilite after use. It can be a real wrestling match – and the Hilite wins! It’s a bit like grappling with a fish twice your size that’s just been landed and is flapping around madly. A quick slap of the fin, a vigorous flick of the tail, and it’s out of your hands again. The flexible steel rims inside the Hilite (pictured here before being taken down) can twist over, meaning that a corner won’t lay flat. You need to ease it back into position. But be careful. The beast can awaken and give you a forceful thump! Videos on Youtube show both the difficulties – and the successes – of folding the Hilite. See How not to fold a Lastolite or, for the expert approach, Mark Cleghorn. But wait! Forget the wrestling. Take a few deep breaths, pause for a moment, then ‘go with the flow;’ the pop-up becomes your friend, and gently collapses into a calm circle, ready to be slipped into the bag. A no-fuss way of folding it is to rest a corner of the Hilite against your stomach, then reach down the sides (creating, as Cleghorn describes it, a ‘Pringle shape’) and pull them together in an upwards motion, as if closing a book (rather than folding a fish!). You can still feel the power of the thing, but a smooth and gentle movement results in the Hilite collapsing into itself. The corner furthest away from you eases its way in to form one side of the flattened pop-up. Zen-like calm persuasion succeeds over brute force. The videos illustrate the technique better than words alone can do. Once you’ve got the hang of it, though, it only takes seconds to fold the Hilite. The bonus is you avoid looking like a demented angler trying to grapple with the one that definitely gets away!