Strobist Fun - Part 2

I got interested in off-camera flash photography about three years ago and over the years I've slowly accumulated the bits and pieces of my strobist gear...but I honestly don't consider myself a true "strobist" because I really don't use this equipment very often. So the other week I decided that it was time to dust off the strobist gear and have some off-camera flash fun (and to see if the gear still worked).

At first I just played around with the different light modifiers without any real thought to how I was lighting the subject...I was mainly trying to see if I remembered how the pieces all went together and that everything still worked okay. The above image shows my two 430EX Speedlites with Stofen diffusers and my 580EX II with a white umbrella. The speedlites were all set to 1/8th power and the exposure settings were ISO 100, f/4.5 and 1/100.

The above image is a shot of my three softboxes...a Lastolite Ezybox Speed-Lite, a 16" Cheetah Q-Box with grid and a 24" Lastolite Ezybox. I had the flashes set to 1/16 power and the camera exposure settings were ISO 100, f/4.0 and 1/100. I wanted to see the spill control of the softboxes...and yep, they really do control the light spread pretty well, especially when a grid is used.

This images shows you how much light spill you get when you use umbrellas...that's when the light goes all over the place in a fairly uncontrolled manner. Some of the light from the flash will go through the white material to hit the subject, but some of the light also bounces back towards the flash and then bounces off the walls and ceiling. The flashes were set to 1/16 power and exposure settings were ISO 100, f/3.5 and 1/100.

This final image was taken with the flash bounced off the ceiling, which produces a very soft light since the ceiling provides a very large surface area to scatter the light from. It's a good way to illuminate a large area, but not a good choice if you're trying to do an intimate type shot. This was shot using my 580EX II with the CP-E4 battery pack, flash was set to 1/4 power and exposure settings were ISO 100, f/3.5 and 1/100. 

Okay...I've had my fun just playing around with the strobist gear. Now it was time to start learning something about light and shadows. I'll continue that in the next blog entry.

Strobist Fun - Part 1

For the past few weeks I've been playing with my strobist gear again. It's been a long time since I did any off-camera flash shooting and I recently got the bug to shoot with off-camera flash again. I revisited a bunch of strobist type web sites and skimmed through a few of my off-camera flash books and eBooks to help refresh my memory on the many principles and techniques involved. I was glad to find out that all my strobist gear still worked and that I still remembered most of what I learned about off-camera flash shooting.

One thing that did change though was I finally learned how to use my Sekonic L-358 FlashMaster light meter the right way. Previously when I took a light reading I noticed that my shots were coming out slightly underexposed and I eventually stopped using the light meter altogether. But I recently did a search for instructions on how to properly use a light meter for flash photography and found out I wasn't doing things correctly...I wasn't facing the lumisphere in the right direction or holding it at the proper height. In the past I would just place the light meter somewhere near the subject I was about to shoot...I didn't consider the direction the lumisphere was facing or the placement of the meter itself in relation to the subject.

So after reading a few light meter "how-to" articles on the web, I found out that the lumisphere should be facing the light source (although some articles said to face it towards the camera...I'm still experimenting between the two to find out which works best) and it should be at the same height as the main focal point of your subject (usually the eyes). I took my light meter and held it up as recommended, took a light reading, adjusted my camera exposure settings and took a few test shots. The shots looked okay on the camera LCD but the real test would be viewing them on the computer monitor. I opened the RAW files in LR3 and as the images began showing up in LR3 I could see that the exposure for each shoot looked spot on or real close. Geez, I guess it pays to learn how to use something the right way.

So now that I felt better about using the light meter I decided to take more test shots using different light modifiers to see how each affected the light from my flash. I started with a standard 43" optical white shoot-through umbrella, then I put the black cover back and used it as a reflective umbrella. Then I used a Lastolite Ezybox Speed-Lite and finally a 16" Cheetahstand Q-Box with and without the grid. I also tried bouncing the lightstand mounted 580EX II off the ceiling just to see how the light compared to the other light modifiers. The only light modifier I didn't use was my 24" Lastolite Ezybox...I was a little too lazy to set that one up. But it was nice to finally feel confident about using the Sekonic L-358 to set the camera exposure settings and not have to take multiple shots and hope one of them came out properly exposed.



To be continued...

Waiahole Sunrise

This week's sunrise with Da Crazies was a return to Waiahole Beach Park where I hoped to get a chance to shoot Kenway's tree. Reid couldn't make it this week so it was just Kenway, Janet and myself. I met Kenway at 4:45am at the Temple Valley Shopping Center parking lot and then we headed on over to Waiahole Beach Park.

The weather was fairly nice when Kenway and I got to the park and the sky was starting to lighten up a bit. There were some clouds on the horizon but they weren't too big. A touch of orange was showing by the time we got our tripods set up. There was a quarter moon in the sky, which was a nice bonus that added some character to the images.

We noticed it was low tide and went down to the shoreline to see if we could get some interesting reflections. I noticed Kenway was doing some long exposure and was just standing still in one spot as he kept track of the time.

Janet arrived (without Tashi in tow) just as the sun started to rise above the horizon, and this time she brought along one of her tripods (something she isn't able to do if Tashi is with her). She joined us on the sand and started shooting.



This shot was taken a  few seconds after the above shot and processed a little differently...that's Kenway shooting towards the Koolaus...

Some time ago, Kenway took a picture of a tree that's right on the waters edge and the image was amazing. I tried to take a picture of it, but failed miserably. This shot is of another tree, but Kenway's tree is behind it.

I brought some of my strobist gear with me this time and was going to try lighting this tree up, but I forgot to pack the cold shoe mount. It was a good learning experience though...next time I'll remember to double check everything before I leave the house.

Another reason I brought the strobist gear was to get used to using it while I'm out shooting...with a cosplay photo meet coming up next weekend I wanted to practice a bit with Kenway and Janet as models...I was thinking of taking portraits of them with the blue hour sky or the sunrise in the background.

Looking forward to the cosplay photo meet...that should be fun.

Kahana Bay Sunrise

Last Saturday Da Crazies decided to shoot the sunrise from Kahana Bay Beach Park. Kenway wanted to catch the Blue Hour colors so that meant I had to meet Kenway and Reid at 4:30am (again). It was a little drizzly in the morning but as we drove out along Kamehameha Hwy the roads were pretty dry and it looked like the horizon wouldn't be covered by too many clouds.

As we were driving along we noticed the roads were fairly dry in Kahaluu, but when we reached Kaaawa we noticed that the roads were very wet and that it was storming pretty heavily out over the ocean. We hoped that the rains were heading up along the coast and not coming back down towards us.

When we arrived at Kahana Bay, the roads were dry and it wasn't raining. We grabbed our gear and headed toward the beach to set up. The sky was beginning to lighten but there was still a lot of clouds by the horizon. We setup our tripods and tried some long exposure shots.

I checked with Kenway to see if his friend was coming and he said that the friend had called and said that he was having a hard time starting the Harley up. He eventually got it started and was heading down the highway towards us when the Harley suddenly died and wouldn't restart so he decided to head back home.

Janet arrived about this time with Tashi. The sun was starting to rise and she said we should move to another spot on the beach in order to get a better vantage point. Janet also mentioned that some friends of hers were camping in the area and would be para-gliding off the cliff later that morning.

Our new vantage point was right in front of Janet's friends. They came out to see us and brought their dog with them. Tashi had a blast playing with the other dog.

Kenway said his friend Glen had a shoot at Kahana Bay later that morning with several models and that we were all invited. We went to have breakfast at Hukilau Cafe (where part of the Adam Sandler movie "50 First Dates" was filmed) and then went to BYU to meet up with Glen.

We returned to Kahana Bay and waited a short while for the models to show up. Glen, Kenway and Reid got busy shooting the models while I helped to keep Kenway's lightstands and strobes from falling over in the wind. I didn't feel like shooting models that day...not sure why. Instead, I took a few candid shots of Kenway and Glen as they photographed the models.

I was watching Kenway shoot while behind this small rock wall and decided to do some sniping of my own.

Then Glen came by and it looked like a sniper and his spotter were working together to watch a target.

And then I got this shot of them both shooting at the same time (double head shot?).



I should have spent some time shooting the models and getting used to shooting with lighting again...we have a cosplay photo meet coming up later this month and I've been trying to get mentally ready for that. Ever since the Kawaii Kon earlier this year I've been getting more and more interested in cosplay photography. Being able to shoot someone dressed up in costume and acting out their fantasy seems like it would be a lot of fun and very enjoyable.

I just need to start getting used to shooting people who are aware they're being photographed.



Saturday Sunrises with Da Crazies

Been falling behind on this blog...too many things going on at once and too many not-too-fun issues to deal with at work...but enough with the excuses...I'll just post a bunch of pictures from the Saturday Sunrise with Da Crazies and make a few comments where necessary.

The first three images were taken on May 12 at Laenani Neighborhood Park. I was shooting with my XTi and 18-55mm kit lens because I wanted to go back to basics in an attempt to curb my gear lust...I found myself thinking too much about buying new gear and not about creating good images. 

I was trying a few different things with my post processing. I'm not real happy with how the first image turned out, but I do like the other 2 images.

The next 4 images were taken on May 19 at Waimanalo Beach Park. I was using my XTi and 18-55mm kit lens again and trying harder to create nice images. I did spend more time looking for good vantage points than I normally do and I tried to think about what I wanted the images to look like.

For post processing I started out by pushing the colors the way Kenway does, but I came to realize that it's not how I want my images to look. So I went in the other direction and made the colors a little more subtle and I'm happier with this look. 

I also learned how to finally add a watermark to my images.

The next 4 images were taken on June 2 at Kualoa Regional Park. I shot with my XTi and 18-55mm kit lens again. I tried to change my point-of-view a bit so that my images wouldn't always look the same. I'm trying to make an effort to think more about the shot before I hit the shutter button. I've been thinking about improving my photography lately and feel like I really need to do more soul searching. 

They may not look it, but the next 4 images have had a lot more manipulation done to them than I normally do. I tried to use selections and masks and even tried to do some very simple exposure blending. I guess I'm still trying to find my post processing style.

 

The last 3 images for this post were taken on June 3 at this little spot that Kenway knew of. I'm not sure if it's called anything, but it was a really interesting place to shoot from. It was low tide when we got there and the tide was still going out. This time I had my 5D with 24-70mm lens and my Lee Filters to play with.

The location was really interesting with the stranded boats all waiting for the tide to come back in. We were able to shoot from sea level until the rains came. For sunrises I really need to invest in some reverse GNDs...the regular GNDs really weren't the right filters to use for these conditions.

While post processing these images I again used selections and masks as well as my usual techniques to help pull more details out. The GNDs really help a lot, but I do need to more planning and thinking before I hit the shutter button.

I am beginning to realize that I tend to prefer my images when the colors aren't so bold and bright. I really enjoy seeing subtle details play against subtle light and colors. Although I do enjoy seeing the bright colors that Kenway gets from his images, I seem to prefer to make my own images a little more subdued...a little softer...a little quieter. Maybe I'm finally figuring out what my own style will eventually become.

Lately I've been spending a lot of time looking at images over at 500px as well as other images I come across as I visit various photography related web sites. I find myself analyzing the images a lot more than before and really appreciate the thought and effort that went into creating those images.

I've had this "thing" gnawing at the back of my mind...a urge or desire to create better images...much better images than I have been. Problem is I haven't been shooting near enough lately and that's something I'm going to have to work on because I know I can't improve if I'm not shooting. I'm not quite ready to do a 365 project yet, but I do know I need to start shooting more.

Sunrise at Lanikai

I went to shoot the sunrise at Lanikai with Da Crazies 2 weeks ago. Kenway picked me up at 5:00am and we headed over to Lanikai to meet up with Reid. It was slightly drizzly by my house and we were hoping the rain wouldn't be waiting for us when we got to Lanikai. We got to Lanikai around 5:20am and the ground was dry. We headed over to the beach and saw Reid doing some long exposure shots of the lights in Kailua. The sky was pretty cloudy and the horizon wasn't very clear...it didn't look very promising.

Since it was so cloudy there wasn't much chance of catching any of the normal morning colors. To keep myself entertained I decided to do some long exposure shots of Kenway and Reid, just to see what I'd get. The sun hadn't come up yet so the light was still pretty low. This first shot was taken with a 5D, 24-70mm lens, ISO 100, aperture was f/4.0 and shutter speed was 5 seconds.

The sky was starting to lighten up some so this next shot was only a 2 second exposure. The other settings were the same. I think Kenway was having trouble with one of his tripod legs.

Once the sky had gotten light enough, I turned my camera towards the horizon to see if there was anything worth shooting. The clouds were still thick and gray over the horizon and it didn't look like it would clear up anytime soon. In fact, we could see it was raining pretty heavily out over the ocean.

There was a lot of movement in the clouds and the horizon started to clear a bit and the sun finally broke through. I put my Lee Filter holder on my 5D and stacked all 3 ND filters I had and took a few shots of the sunrise just as the rain started falling on us. Yeah, it was that kind of morning.

We found shelter next to a fence and waited for the rain to stop. After about 5 minutes the rain let up and we went back to the beach to see if there was anything worth shooting. Kenway and Reid starting taking a few pictures when it started to rain again. We ran back to the fence and waited again. When the rain let up we went back to the cars and then we headed to Boots and Kimo in Kailua for a nice breakfast.

Lately I've found myself thinking too much about getting more gear and not thinking about making better pictures. So I've decided to go back to basics (again) and will be shooting with my XTi and the kit lens for the next few weeks. I also plan to read some eBooks by David du Chemin to get some inspiration and eBooks by Mitchell Kanashkevich and Guy Tal to help me improve my post processing.

Waihole Sunrise

A few weeks ago I got my Lee Filters graduated neutral density (GND) filter sets and was eagerly looking forward to using them at the next sunrise shoot. To prepare myself, I read a few web pages with tips for using GNDs and took a few practice shots from my backyard to get used to setting them up and figuring out what exposure settings to use. Then I contacted Kenway and asked him where we would be shooting the next sunrise from. He said he wanted to go back to Waihole again...that worked for me.

First shot of the morning.

I met up with Kenway and Reid at the Temple Valley Shopping Center parking lot...at 5:30 in the morning! No wonder our other photography friends call us "Da Crazies". Reid and I jumped into Kenway's car and we all headed out to Waihole. The sky was already starting to lighten up as we drove down Kamehameha Hwy towards the beach park. There was some vog that morning and we were hoping it would lead to some nice colors as the sun rose.

Adjusted the white balance to create a cooler image.

Once we arrived at the beach park we quickly found our spots and got our tripods set up. There was some color showing on the horizon along with some clouds, but at least it wasn't raining. I only brought my 24-70mm that morning (felt like keeping it simple this time) and attached the Lee filter holder to it. I put on a 2 stop hard GND and starting shooting the pre-dawn sky.

Adjusted the white balance to get this bluish/green image.

I really didn't know what I was doing with the GNDs and I was mostly just experimenting with the exposure settings. I also tried stacking the GND and ND filters to see what that would do to my images. I was mostly in learning mode and wasn't concentrating too much on the final images...playing around with the GNDs while shooting helped me get comfortable with them and I'm sure I'll be concentrating on creating better images next time around.

Adjusted the white balance to get this greenish/blue image.

After I got home I went on the computer and went through the morning images to see what I got. I had many similar images because I was shooting the same scenes at several different exposure settings. Kinda boring, but it was nice to see that the GND filters kept the sky from blowing out like in some of my images from previous sunrise shoots. Sorting through the shots didn't take very long.

Adjusted the white balance to get this greenish/yellow image.

I haven't been very satisfied with my post-processing results lately and been feeling like I need to push myself a little more in order to keep growing as a photographer. I told myself to be less conservative during this post-processing session and tried to have a little more fun. I kept thinking about how much color Kenway gets out of his images and that inspired me to go for it. 

Adjusted the white balance to get this reddish/orange image.

I've been reading about how other photographers analyze their photos and how they go about post-processing them. I have several eBooks by Mitchell Kanashkevich and I like how he explains why he processes his images the way he does. Every adjustment is done to clarify or improve the message or story he is trying to say with his photos. That's something I definitely need to work on.

Adjusted the white balance to get this cotton candy image.

I still can't get my images to be as colorful as Kenway's, but I shouldn't be trying to imitate him anyway. I really should be trying to process the images in my own way...my own style. My colors tend to be less bold than Kenway's and maybe that's just how it's supposed to be. After all, I'm not Kenway and I don't think, see or feel the way he does. Still trying to find myself photographically.

Lanikai Sunrise Shoot

The other weekend I went with Kenway to Lanikai where we met up with Reid for another early morning sunrise shoot. Kenway said he would be picking me up at 5:00am and we would meet up with Reid at 5:30am...they were trying to beat the sunrise since the sun comes up so early now.

When we arrived at Lanikai we saw Reid's car parked on the side of the road, but Reid wasn't in it. We walked to the beach and saw Reid had already setup his tripod and was shooting the stars. It was still pretty dark so I decided to try a few long exposure shots of the lights shining in Kailua.

The sky started to lighten so we moved our tripods into position. The first time I was here with Kenway the beach was full of people waiting for the sunrise...this time it was just us and the crabs. After a few minutes the colors started to show and I got down to business. The early morning sky lit up with some nice subtle pinks, light orange and pale blues.

There wasn't much wind this time and the ocean was fairly calm and gave us some nice reflections on the water. A few minutes later we saw a paddleboarder enter the water up the beach and watched as he slowly made his way along the coast. When he got to where we were we started firing off shot after to shot to capture his progress.



After the paddleboarder passed, the sun popped up over the horizon and gave us a really nice light and color show. The lack of wind made the ocean remain fairly calm and we were able to get some pretty nice shots of the sunrise. To give this image a little more "pop" I used a Lightroom preset to help bright out the colors and then used Photokit Color 2 in PS5 to pop the colors a little more.

A few minutes later we saw the paddleboarder coming back down the coast and we all got busy shooting him as he slowly paddled by. I processed this image similar to the previous one and I'm pretty happy with it, but I think I'm going to re-edit it to try and change the mood a little more.

Once the sun is over the horizon I put my tripod away and will take candids of my fellow photographers...I really enjoy shooting other photographers as they're doing their thing. I managed to get these images that morning...

Kenway and Reid sharing a lighter moment...these two always have a good time when they get together...

A serious Kenway going over one of his shots...

Kenway and Reid enjoying the early morning light...

Reid framing a shot of Kenway...



It was another great early morning sunrise shoot with Da Crazies. After the shoot we went to Boots and Kimo's for breakfast...going there at 7:00am meant no waiting to be seated. 

After breakfast I was still kinda amped up because my Lee GND filter sets were scheduled for delivery later that day. Couldn't wait to try them out.