Girl of Steel

on
A local photographer posted on Facebook that Bakersfield offers little variety for shooting. Initially I agreed with the comment, but as I looked back at at some of my images and others posted on FLICKR shot around our town, I realized that what we don't have is a metropolitan feel. "What We Don't Have". Another photographer posted that you just have to look for it.

There are plenty of alleys and buildings Downtown along with the Kern River, Lake Isabella, and open spaces that we do have. I moved here in 1994 and never really felt part of this town, but as I began scouting for locations the past two years, I've found comfort in the quaintness of Bakersfield.

This week, Brian, Rob, Tim and I decided to hold another impromptu shoot, Downtown for two reasons: 1) to scout locations for an upcoming Photo Throw-down, and 2) burn through some film. Luckily a new model posted on our Facebook group that she was available to shoot that same night.

I sent the new Model, Mary, a request for wardrobe based on a brushed metal facade I saw on a Downtown building. I also wanted to try-out a lighting configuration for the Throw-down. The configuration is a brolly on an extended Combi-boom arm and a SABER STRIP mounted vertically. By placing the boom 105 degrees from the focal plane, I was able to use the SABER STRIP as a rim light and use the extended brolly as a key light. This configuration is easy to carry, setup and breakdown.

The main drawback with this setup is that the Key light and Rim Light are on the same side of the subject, which means the opposite side of the subject can get blocked up. The "fix"? Shoot against a reflective surface that has at least two surfaces that will allow you to bounce the light. If the background looks familiar, it's because I photographed Sara against it during our Skater Shoot.

I also brought my RayFlash Ring light for my SB-900 and played around with it, figured I spent the money on it so I might as well use it. I'm not sure if I really like it since it looks very similar to on camera flash with the exception of soft shadows and a cool catchlights, you decide.

After I got the shot I wanted, we moved to the alleys of downtown and played around with "dragging the shutter." I switched from Pocket Wizards to Nikon CLS and re-experienced an issue with CLS. A brolly has a front diffusion panel, which blocks the Line of Site communications between the camera and remote flashes. So why did I switch from the consistent triggering of the Pocket Wizards? Because I was just being lazy.

What did I Learn?
  • Quit being lazy and use the Pocket Wizards, they are reliable and work consistently
  • Go to black and white when you have mixed lighting conditions (Kidding). With mixed lighting, you really need to look at what color the ambient light gives off and "gel" for that color.  I left my gels at home


Thanks for Reading!!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my Illusive iPad
Location:Bakersfield, CA

Comments

Post a Comment