Small Strobes, Big Results Workshops

The first Small Strobes, Big Results workshop was held this past weekend in Denver.  We had a wonderful workshop, I enjoyed meeting and getting to know all the participants.

I want to thank our models Enki and Oscar for their time.  We got some really nice photos of both of them throughout the day. We had no less than 7 or 8 demo set-ups that all the participants had an opportunity to shoot for themselves. 

We started the day in the studio talking about light, lighting and the use of grip equipment as well as a few lighting demos before lunch. This photo of Enki was lit using a single SB-800 strobe placed overhead and bounced into various panels.

After lunch we moved out of the studio and into the common space of the building that the studio occupies. We once again photographed Enki in her nursing outfit that she wares at work.

We lit Enki 3 different ways in order to compare the effects of each lighting set up.  This happens to be my favorite lighting for this particular shot.

This particular shot was lit by bouncing a SB-800 off the wall on camera right for a key light and the use of one additional SB-800 hand held from behind Enki camera right for the hair light.

Participants of the workshop wanted to see how to simulate sunlight coming through a window to light a scene. We used our model Oscar and my assistant Eric seated on a sofa looking over a set of blue prints for this photo.  We placed a single SB-800 strobe outside with a full CTO filter on it and fired it using a PocketWizard. The following photos uses the same lighting just shot with a longer lens, an 85 mm f1/4 lens.

We also did a bit more edgy image of Oscar.  We placed him near a yellow wall and lit him with 4 SB-800 strobes.  The key light was an SB-800 place in my DIY Beauty Dish, one strobe for the background snooted to contain the light and two as kickers on either side and from the rear of Oscar.

We also shot my intern Ian in the two shots shown below.  The first here was lit using the beauty dish on a boom over Ian and two SB-800 on the floor pointed at the brick wall.  The white balance was set to tungsten and the dish overhead was gelled with a full CTO filter and the two strobes on the ground had no gels on them which allowed them to shift their color cooler.

 

The last one photo of Ian was lit using an SB-800 with a grid on it.  The shutter was dragged to capture the ambient light in the room.

 

I had a wonderful time at the workshop and I'm looking forward to the next Small Strobes, Big Results workshop on August 23.  I have 2 more spaces available for this workshop, if your interested in attending please get a hold of me soon.  DT

Image of the Day

I'm on assignment today shooting on the western slope of Colorado.  I wanted to post an image from this past weekends Small Strobes, Big Results workshop in Denver.  I'll do a more in depth posting when I get back from this assignment.

This photo of our model Oscar was lit using 4 SB-800 strobes, one of which was a beauty dish fitted to an SB-800.  More to come.

Back From The Arctic

I'm back from the Arctic! I returned home on Thursday of last week and went straight to the doctors office. Got me some pills to help put this nagging cold to bed. 

This past weekend was the first Small Strobes, Big Results lighting workshop in Denver.
I had a wonderful time and the next post I will provide images and details regarding the workshop. DT

Second Day of Shooting

I'm tired!  This has been a fast and tiresome trip and I'm still sick after my PA trip.  I just can't shake this nagging cold.  Perhaps a little rest will finally put an end to it.

I wanted to show you a few more photos from yesterdays shooting.  My folder of photos from this assignment tell me that I've shot just over 900 images.  I can see more hard drives in my future if I keep this current pace of shooting for the remainder of the year.

You can tell when your getting close to a den of Arctic Foxes, the body parts of smaller animals increase.  Found this bird feather resting at the shoreline of a lake just a few yards from a den. 

The images below is one of perhaps two photos I shot using strobes on this assignment.  The first shows the placement of the strobe in the core sample shed and the second photo with it cropped out.  The strobe was placed on the plastic foot provide with the strobe with the omni dome attached.  The wall in front of the subjects was flat and I had to resort to placing it on the top row of samples at the right.  My first exposure told me that I need to flag off the light striking the core sample while still allowing the light to strike the subjects being photographed.

The next photo here is a shot of sample cataloging on the back deck of the core shed.  I noticed the repetitive design of the plastic bags and asked for a volunteer to pose for me.

I than notice a naturally occurring event I simply documented.  I used my a long lens, (80-40 VR) to compressing the scene for a more graphic effect.

I spent about an hour with 3 environmental engineers taking water sample and stream monitoring at various locations. I took lots of photos similar to these.

I also shot aerials of the property, drill rigs and other specific shots that dealt with more operational needs rather than artistic.  This was a wonderful trip which I would love to do again.  Perhaps as the project grows and production begins at this site, I'll once again be sent to create new images.  DT

First Day of Shooting

Yesterday I was able to get a few shot in the can.  When I arrived at camp, I had to go through the usual safety and regulation training regarded of all new camp arivials. Though out my career I have probably sat through about a hundred of these thing but I had never been told "not to get eaten by a bear" 

After my training was complete and they had my signature of about 20 forms, I started to looking at maps of the site to get oriented.  It was becoming clear to me that the camp had not made plans to provide an escort for my visit and it was going to be left up to me to find my way around.  I was given a radio and was sent on my way to do "what ever it is you do".  When ever I needed to go somewhere, I would radio Keith the helicopter pilot and he would take me there.  How cool is that!

Since this is an exploration camp, the only real activity up here is drilling and the associated activity that comes with it.  You have drillers, geologist, surveyor's, environmental personnel such as biologist's.  

I assembled a group of three individuals to photograph, a surveyor and a couple of biologist.  I radioed the pilot and had Keith toke us to some of the more scenic areas on the property.  We flew for about 10 minutes to a remote (it all remote up here) location that had some cliffs and nice relief.  I set placed a surveyor on a rock and used cliffs and water as backdrops for a photo. I also used this location to set up a biologist with a gaming scope to photograph.

Did I happen to mention how bad the mosquito are up here.  I've been provide a bug jacket like the one here being worn by this biologist checking out native flowers.

Another very important aspect to the work that is being done in the field in caring for the wildlife.  This is Michelle, she is a one of the lead biologist in charge of monitoring the animal movement and safety.  We have stopped here to look at some arctic fox dens and other areas that she monitors.  

I've actually just finished shooting my second day here in the north.  I'll be headed to Winnipeg tomorrow morning and spending the night. I'll post several other photos from todays shoot tomorrow.  DT

Rankin Inlet, Nunavut to Ferguson Lake

I spent last night at the CoOp hotel in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut.  Rankin Inlet is a very small community which got it's start back in 1957 with the discovery of Nickel.  The hotel had less quality than a motel 6 and yet it cost $235.00 a night!

Had a wonderful flight this morning out to Ferguson Lake in a Twin Otter aircraft.  I was the only passenger on board along with about 2500 or so pounds of drilling mud and pipe as well as some camp supplies.  The flight was about 1 hour and 15 minute northwest of Rankin Inlet.

Then landscape was spectacular, the closest way I can think of describing it is as follows:  Say you are looking at a surface of a completely soaked sponge.  The edges of the cells of the sponge would be the land mass and the cells are of course filled with water.  There was more water than land, bodies of water in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

In the winter months when the land and water are covered with ice and snow, Ice Truckers make the trek to the mining camp.  As a matter of fact, the Discovery program Ice Truckers has been filmed up here in the Rankin Inlet area.

Ferguson Lake is just beautiful, water is clear and the wide life is abundant.  No fishing is allowed while in camp, they have hugh lake trout and other I can't remember.  Here is a look at the lake from the airstrip we landed on.

After arriving, we unloaded the plane, and than rode a helicopter to the camp.  They use a helicopter around here for everything.  No roads out here, no trucks only Quad's and snowmobiles with they don't use this time of year.

I logged about 2 hours in the copter today and most likely another 2 or 3 tomorrow.  They have two rigs drilling close by and some really scenic areas for shooting some surveying and exploration shots using geologists as models.

I'll leave you with this one shot from today.  While out flying to a location to photograph a surveyor, we spotted these two guy's.  GIZZLY!  The start of this journey can be found HERE