Flashy photography
We started the flash photography course last Friday, and so far it's fantastic. It's pretty much Strobism, but with über-credentialed lighting experts right there and available for questioning. The first half is on digital SLR - finally - and after that it's onto medium-format transparency film, which is quite frankly evil, as transparencies give you zero room for error: if your multiple-flashgun exposures are even slightly out, they'll look awful. But they make up for evilness by being beautiful1: medium format film is 5 inches wide, and as transparencies are positive images - think slides, but three times bigger - you get wonderful little high-definition images without printing anything. I've never tried anything medium format before, so I'm looking forward to this.
Our homework for this week is to take one photo using direct / bounce flash, but to make it good. This is also vindictive in the extreme. Sure, one photo sounds easy, but in practice nothing's ever quite right. The very fact that it's not much work means it's a lot of work, if you see what I mean.
My traditional reaction to these projects is to start off planning something wildly ambitious, then realise it's unworkable and so come up with something waaayy simple, then decide it's too boring and quickly figure out something inbetween as the deadline approaches. I had an idea this evening that seemed about right, and it ended up taking two hours of crawling around in loft insulation. I now itch like hell. I've also lost all perspective on the resulting image - hopefully it'll seem ok in the morning...if it does, I'll blog it and see what other people think.
- can't see anything wrong with this philosophy [↩]
Back to uni soon
It's back to uni this Friday, and I'm looking forward to it. We go straight into a studio photography module that focuses on flash lighting, which should be great. I'm a big fan of available light photography, where available light is defined as any goddamn light that's available1 - I've been interested in flashes since long before uni, and have been playing about with2 the strobist methodology for over a year, so that'll hopefully help. We start with digital SLRs, then move onto medium format film. I've never used anything larger than 35mm, and it'll be interesting to see the quality differences.
My tutor's introductory email said:
the first session will involve shooting film stills - so please consider the genre you might aim to emulate and dress, and bring props, accordingly
My first thought was obviously 'superheroes'. I'm sure I can talk everyone else into it.
As regular readers may have gathered, I've been a bit introspective and whiny lately, so I'm looking forward to having proper things to think about. It'll also be good to get some new project shots going. I love my little niece, but she's completely taken over my Flickr stream this summer, and baby shots are only so interesting if you're not a relative 
This term is also the first time anything counts toward my degree - everything last year was just practice. But this week saw the first person drop out of the course, which is a shame. There were 20 of us, but we once spoke to a 3rd year student whose class had dwindled to 6. Eek. Hopefully this doesn't mean it's about to get much tougher.
- this comment ripped straight from Joe McNally's The Moment It Clicks [↩]
- I was recently told that 'playing' is not an appropriately professional word, to which I say: pretentious businesswank bullshit. Nobody ever learnt anything without playing around. I'm sorry that 'business' despises anything indicating people are anything more than ultra-efficient money-making automatons, but this is how things are, and I can't be arsed figuring out nonsense concepts of pseudoreality for the sake of don't-make-me-think 'professionalism'. The advisers were trying to be helpful, which was nice, and I don't have anything against them, but I'm not currently not in a position that I need to play such stupid games, so I won't. Ah, I feel better now. [↩]
Learning from a dancing photographer
I headed to a local Ball last Saturday. It was a reasonably posh affair arranged by the Midland Amateur Dancers club, and in a large octagonal hall that I remember being daunting for beginners (right angles are the norm). I was on my own, and unfortunately didn't know anybody other than my dance teachers. I was probably the youngest attendee - the average age was likely late 50s - which makes it slightly awkward to find a partner. Having said that, it wasn't really the kind of night for asking strangers to dance anyway1. I ended up having just the one cha-cha, with my teacher.
It wasn't a total loss, though. When taken to my seat I immediately noticed two enormous Nikons on the table, and the guy next to me turned out to be official photographer for the World Championships(!). I introduced myself and we got chatting. I asked for advice on photographing dances, as I've been churning out mediocre results for years. His primary tip was to know the subject - he was a competitive dancer for 40 years, so could anticipate routines and their best photographic moments. He was photographing the night's competition, and generously made a point of showing me how to handle the situation. It's actually ok to physically move people into good positions - apparently people's desire to look good in photos outweighs usual social norms (which sounds vain, but isn't really).
It also helps if you have a stupidly powerful flash. Dance venues are often enormous and it can be tricky to balance light across the photo. Unfortunately this size offers few opportunities to soften light by bouncing it, so blasting across the floor is the only option. I don't like direct flash much, and full-frontal light doesn't do dancers any favours imho - I might work on some wireless off-camera setups, maybe work it into an appropriate uni project at some point.
I was then abruptly asked if I'd be stand-in photographer at a competition in May! Yikes. I agreed as it'll be great experience, but I'm nervous already. I practiced a little on the night:
Most of my shots came out underexposed, which was deliberate - I'd rather have a sharp, darker image than a properly-exposed shot in which the dancers are blurred. I brought back much of the detail in Lightroom, and my newly-arrived copy of Photoshop got a workout too. Colours are a nightmare, however.
I hadn't been looking forward to going alone, but it turned out to be a surprisingly interesting and productive evening. I learnt a lot, and I'm very grateful to the Proper Photographer for putting up with my annoying questions.
- possibly a rationalisation, but my teachers are normally good at pointing out suitable candidates, and even they were at a loss [↩]
Initial Monsterpodding
The Monsterpod is a camera mount with a base of weird orange goop that can stick rigidly to most non-fabric surfaces. I was given one for my birthday, but it's been sitting in a corner for a couple of months as my DSLR is unfortunately too heavy for it. I realised today that my new flash is not, so figured I'd give it a try:
I'm sure this will come in handy at some point Sticking it to the door and running across the room to grab my camera was one scary, scary moment, mind.
Attached to the base is an el-cheapo Gadget Infinity wireless trigger V2, which arrived this morning. Initial indications are that it works very well. I'm hoping to have more time to play with it over the next few days; I want to write a proper review, as the 430ex flashgun caused particular problems with the V1s and plenty have been asking about the new version.
Figuring out a new flashgun
I was a bit extravagant on Friday. After much umming and aahing, I treated myself to a new flashgun, and have been playing with it ever since. I have a whole list of justifications for this purchase, which I could only just afford, but nevertheless feel a little guilty about it. Things are still a little up in the air part-time-job-wise, but I'm hoping to have that sorted soon.
Obviously I'm going to experiment and learn how to use it well, but after such an expense I think it's doubly a duty to know it inside out. I'm keen to get an understanding of its Manual mode, but as it can interface with the camera's exposure system I'd obviously like to figure that out too - fast-moving events and I'm not going to have time to manually set the power and zoom level. I know what the camera and flash can theoretically do together, but needed specifics.
Unfortunately, the instruction manual is dreadful. It tells me what all the buttons do, but has little information on how the flash deals with the various priority modes on the camera. It's basic message is: "we'll handle all the exposure stuff, don't worry about it". Which is no good. It continually refers to 'foreground' and 'background' without giving any indication of how the camera decides which is which. 'Fill-in flash' is mentioned as a possibility (and one of the features I most want to use), but how do I ensure the camera is in this mode? What happens when the camera is in aperture priority? This made me realise that I never really understood the small built-in flash as well as I should have, which in turn made me even more determined to make proper use of one that can bounce / swivel / zoom etc.. In search of help, I googled for a site I vaguely remembered.
The Photonotes.org three-part Canon EOS Flash guide turned out to be fantastic. It's a comprehensive explanation of the various exposure systems, and has answered my every question. For example, the 'foreground' is the area around the active focus point, and the background everything else. Perfect.
The only remaining thing is to get it off the camera as I want to work through the Strobist lighting course, which requires an off-camera flash. I'd assumed a hotshoe extension cable would be cheap and easy to find, but I should have researched that more. Options are:
Cable - Canon's TTL sync cord. Means I can still use the camera's exposure system. But £45. For a 60cm cable. So: rubbish.- Cable - Jessops TTL sync cord. Again I can still get easy exposures. £35, and 1.2m long. Maybe.
- Cable - make your own PC connection. No exposure data so I'd have to do everything on manual, but that'd be good fun. I'd need two hotshoe adapters at £10 each but could then use any length PC cable I want. 5m would do it. Probably come to about £30. Definite possibility.
- Wireless - Canon's wireless-TTL setup. Transfers exposure data. Needs a £90 trigger and, I think, line of sight. Can't justify that.
- Wireless - "Pocket Wizards" - beloved of professional photographers, radio rather than optical, apparently 100% reliable, and £300. No exposure data. No chance.
- Wireless - eBay radio triggers memorably described as 'modified garage door openers'. Not completely reliable, but the new 'V2's are apparently Not Bad. No exposure data. But about £20. Possible.
I think I'll go with the make-your-own connection. I'd want a good few metres, and there's no way to do that including exposure data, which I can easily live without. The eBay triggers I may upgrade to at some point, once I've got some understanding of how off-camera flash works.
As it happened, some extra work unexpectedly turned up and took the edge off the expense. Still going to work hard, though. On the right is one of the first shots I took, of (my sister) Jane, (not actually being tortured) Meg and (due in 4 weeks but apparently already in position) vaguely-baby Guybrush/Bellatrix.
Don’t use old flashes with modern digital cameras!
I recently mentioned that I hooked up an old Suntax flash to my Canon 300D. Although completely manual, I was very happy with the results. I was interested in getting an adapter cable to use the flash off-camera, and while digging around came across warnings regarding using old flashes with new digital cameras. The voltages needed to fire the flashes are far higher than modern devices can support, and you're in danger of frying your camera. I knew my 300D supports up to 6V, and some googling turned up the voltage of my Suntax 9800A: 68V. I thought this was maybe a typo and meant 6.8, since my camera hadn't exploded. Then I saw this:
You also need to remember that the Canon Hot Shoe - PC circuit is limited to 6volts. Many third party flashes are much higher then this and require voltage protection, like a Wein Safe Sync. High voltage will fry your shutter over time. The excess voltage is converted to heat.
Bugger. I've used the flash a fair bit, and have been rather lucky, it seems. Hopefully there's no internal damage; it seems to be working fine at the moment, thankfully. I might ask for something compatible for my birthday, though - I like the results too much!
Researching photographers, and 24 Hours of Flickr
I'm trying to get an overview of contemporary photographers in (hopeful - I haven't heard anything yet) preparation for the degree interview. It's slow going as I'm easily distracted by the beauty of people's online portfolios. I think I might have mentioned George Lange before, but it's worth repeating: his 2006 flipbook has had me poring over portrait photography articles all year. Then there's Dave Hill, whose stylish and immediately recognisable images twist the definition of 'photograph'. The always cool Annie Liebovitz recently photographed the Queen, and the resulting image was unveiled today. It's oddly rare to find a photo going for grandeur rather than 'the real person behind the throne'.
It's only a couple of days until 24 Hours of Flickr:
On May 5, 2007, grab your camera and whatever else you need, and chronicle your day in pictures. The group's photos will be featured at Flickr events around the world this summer and in a companion book, which will contain a selection of photographs chosen from the group
Sounds like fun! I'll be taking part. Thankfully Friday should be slightly more visually interesting than normal, as I'll be heading down to London in the evening.1. On Saturday I'll be at the Cavalcade boat show at Little Venice, which has been promoted using some photos I took at last year's event. I'm promised that this year will be completely Scientology-free, after I and apparently many others complained bitterly. They're all busy, anyway. Vultures.
Finally, Damien has some excellent link fodder and great wedding photography tips over at the always interesting Wedding Photography Blog. The 'get in close' advice is particularly relevant to me: I find myself cropping almost every photo I take, but forcing myself to close in while 'in the field' is surprisingly difficult.
- edited due to muppetry [↩]
Rediscovering an old Suntax flash
A few years ago my grandfather presented me with a 'Suntax 9800A' flash for my old Canon film camera. It was fairly old and required manually setting the shutter-speed/aperture via the use of a chart on the back, but was nevertheless a massive upgrade from the on-camera flash and a generous gift. Unfortunately the time delay between taking and viewing film images meant I never fully got to grips with the unit, and it lay in a drawer for a few years.
I recently happened upon it while digging out A-Level certificates for my photography degree application, and took another look. I immediately spotted something I'd completely forgotten: it has an adjustable head. This means I can angle the flash upwards and bounce it off the ceiling, resulting in a completely different effect from the usual chav-in-the-headlights look of the on-camera flash. With a digital SLR I could see the results instantly, and after a few dozen experimental pictures I quickly realised what an excellent tool it is. I'm hoping it will improve images from parties, which usually turn out something like this:
Which is passable for your average snap (even if the composition needs work), but I want more, dammit. People's faces are flat and blasted with light, and it quickly falls into darkness at the back of the picture. A couple of weeks ago I took the Suntax along to a birthday party:
These aren't posted as particularly great photos, but I think the lighting is softer and much more pleasing than before. I'm itching to try it out at a dance, although the ceilings tend to be high and the bounce technique may not work so well. I'll have to pick up some kind of diffuser.
Unfortunately I've now lost the flash's accompanying booklet, and am unable to remember what the white/blue/red setting on the front means. I'll have to join a forum at some point and ask. I must also properly and belatedly thank my grandfather for the excellent gift!
Hello!
Hey, thanks for coming! I'm Andrew, and this is where my headthinks come to breed. They often meander around humanism and photography, but they're flighty and you can't trust them, so anything is possible.
Do feel free to email me - I get lonely:
Your hair looks swish, by the way - have you done something new?
Recent Comments
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on Climbing Snowdon. - vicky: what, how can u live in the 21 c and say that, probably a sexist thing
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on Climbing Snowdon. - Andrew: Did a few quick test shots to check the light levels, then balanced the camera on the arm of a bench, set it for a 20s exposure and hoped for the best
on ISS. - lynsey: Wow, how did you take that photograph?
on ISS.
