Archive for the ‘publishing’ Category
Wednesday, February 4th, 2009
I covered some adventure races late last year, and I experimented with using ETTL infra-Red flashes. I wanted to get the main flash off-camera to give a deeper light affect on the subject.
Here’s an extreme example…..
The flash off to camera left is the main light source with the on-camera (on flash bracket – on-camera) flash is acting more as fill. This type of light gives the subject more depth and makes them look more natural.
So what’s the benefit of this in reality…… Well I found the greatest aid was speed in the field. You’re not shooting in a studio with a fixed subject and hours of time. you have 40 seconds to get your shot. With ETTL the remote flashes are already set.
All you need to do is place the remote flash, rotate the flash head so the IR sensor is pointing at the camera (to receive the ETTL Signals) and the head is pointing at the subject. The shoot away.
So Here are the settings :
Camera – I like to shoot in manual, so set your aperture, shutter and ISO to what you want. Remember that you can do ANY shutter speed as the ETTL will do High-Speed Sync. I generally try to shoot the ambient under exposed by 1-2 stops. This creates more depth to the image and brings the subject out of the shot.
Main Flash (On Camera)- you can have this flash on the camera’s hot shoe, but I like to have it on a flash bracket and use an OC-E3 ETTL cable. I’ll explain why later. I set this flash to Master and to channel A. Read the manual for how to do this bit. On the Main Flash you can set the ratios of A:B, i.e. A is 2 x as bright as B or vice-versa. The fact that you have this control on-camera (or on-flash) saves a load of time.
2nd/3rd flashes – I generally use 1, but you can use 2 or more to increase the flash intensity. Set these to Slave and to channel B. Make sure they are in the line-of-site of the IR transmitter of the Main Flash….more later.
So what are the problems; Basically to need to have the flashes in line-of-site of one another. If they can’t “see” each other, they can’t send ETTL flash info. This is why I use a flash bracket. This way I can move the MAIN flash around so the head is pointed at the subject and the IR transmitter is pointed to the remote flashes. It’s the same with the remote flashes. The IR receiver and the head may be pointing in different directions to work.
I have found this method fast, accurate and controllable when in the field. To have all the flash setting under your fingers is a great asset. Go and give it a go…..
Tags: 580, adventure, Bloke, Bracket, Canon, Challenge, ETTL, fill, Flash, photography, race, Ratio, remote, running, ST-E2, Tough
Posted in Adventure Race, Flash, Sport, commercial, publishing, remote | No Comments »
Friday, November 14th, 2008
It was a blast to spend the day with some of Australia’s best Triathletes. Normally I watch them wizz past me on the course!! The shoot was by FusePhotography and Christian Blanchard was directing the action. I was the #2 shooter getting different angles and candid shots.
The constant heavy showers made the day quite a bit harder. I’ve never been keen on letting my cameras get wet….perhaps I’m a big sook, but these stuff is not cheep so I look after it. Rain covers, plastic bags and the good-old postie elastic band kept everything dry.
I’m pretty happy with the results. I used the ST-E2 and a remote flash (Camera left). Next time I’ll use a 580-Master on the camera with a 580-Slave off-camera for fill. Many of the shots were not clearly lit and given the brand is all important, basic front lighting is kinda important. Everything fixed up ok in post processing, but I’d prefer to get it right on-camera where possible. Given the gloomy day we used 1/2 CTO warming gels on the flashes and set the WB to cloudy. This warmed up the “models” nicely.
I’m looking forward to see the final results. I’ll start stalking Scody shops to see if my shots made the swing-tags etc… Sad I know.
Tags: Blanchard, Christian, clothing, commercial, CTO, Flash, Fuse, Half, Ironman, models, photography, rain, Sport, ST-E2, triathlete, Triathlon
Posted in Flash, Half Ironman, Multisport, Sport, Triathlon, commercial, product, publishing | No Comments »
Monday, August 18th, 2008
Saturday 16th August saw the 4th running of MaxAdventures Go Natural Multisport. I was working for Aus Triathlete Mag and also to produce some marketing shots for the race organiser. My plan was to have shots look more commercial than normal event photography. Here is the final result.
I wanted to light the subject with the Sun as the main light and 2 x 580EX as balance. Here is the lighting plan in minute to-scale detail (NOT!!)
The sun is the main light as front 3/4 to the camera right, so to balance that out I used 1 x 580 as front 3/4 to camera left. For fill I used a second 580 at 180deg to the sun. To have full control over the flashes I wanted to use ETTL from the ST-E2. I have not used this unit nearly enough, and in this application, it was just perfect. I needed to be able to change camera settings without having to run around changing flash power. Bike riders are hardly going to wait for me!!!
Notice that the IR modules on the front of the 580s are pointed to where I was standing and the heads are pointed to the subject. This is to the IR receivers can “see” the ST-E2. The IR signal is line of sight so if they can’t “see” each other, then it just doesn’t work. The 580s are both set to SLAVE and one is A and the other is B. I have a ratio set on the flashes of A:B=2:1. With the ST-E2 I have full control over the flashes from the camera; Exposure, High speed sync, ratios etc…all from where I’m standing.
So what’s the down-side? These units MUST have line of site. If the flashes were in different locations, I might not be able to use this set-up. I have seen shots where flashes are hidden behind trees….not possible with the ST-E2s. However for this sort of thing….Brilliant!!!
Tags: 580, adventure, Canon, commercial, Flash, GoNatural, Multisport, pocket, pocketwizard, race, remote, Set-up, setup, Sport, ST-E2, wizard
Posted in Adventure Race, Flash, Multisport, Sport, commercial, publishing, remote | No Comments »
Thursday, April 17th, 2008
The shot published in Australian Triathlete in January has been used again in the Ironman program. The article was for the Port Half Ironman.
Click on the thumbnail for a larger view
Tags: Half, Ironman, publishing, Sport, Triathlon
Posted in Half Ironman, Sport, Triathlon, publishing | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 1st, 2008
I’ve just had my 3rd article and photo published with Australian Triathlete. Quite some time after the event, but still great to get my image and words out. Check it out in Issue 15.5 Page 63
Tags: adventure, article, Australian, magazine, photos, published, race, Sport, triathlete
Posted in Adventure Race, Sport, publishing | No Comments »
