The first images are of a cactus flower found on the shaded forest floor in the Arizona high country pines.
Below are two images of this flower made with a handheld camera and a remote flash mounted to camera right, from slightly above the flower.
The first image (below) is using a straight flash, making the image of the shaded flower look like it was shot in normal daylight.
The second image (below) I made with the flash filtered by a full cut of CTO gel to create the effect of early morning or late afternoon light, giving the image more of a warm color.
I also made an image of folks sitting aroung the campfire. I used a remote flash on camera left mounted about 5 feet above the ground, filtered with one and half CTO gel. The camera was handheld. The shutter speed was 1/2 second (at f8.0) to allow time to pick-up the natural glow of the campfire, the CTO gel'd flash added extra pop to light up the people and freeze any movement, without losing the effect of the fire glow on them.
To have taken the image without the gel'd flash, would have required slowing down the shutter speed even more, resulting in blurred movement of the people due to their movement and camera movement as well as turning the fire into a large blown-out light detracting from the natural ambiance of the flames. I would have liked to have spent more time with this image concept, but the flash going-off all the time would have detracted from the relaxed ambiance for everyone.
Well, I hope this is of interest to folks, and meets the spirit of our May assignment, and I welcome any suggestions and comments.
Equipment used: Canon 1Ds M3, Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS Zoom (for flower), Canon 24-105mm f4 IS Zoom (campfire), Canon Speedlite 580 EXII, Canon Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2, RadioPopper PX Remote Trigger, Lumiquest FXtra Gel holder.
enjoy life,
David Gralian
Nice work, David!! Gels can really make a difference in ways that one might not immediately consider. I think it turned the flower shot from just a nice flower shot to a picture that holds the eye longer. Best, though, is the last one. I love the way you were able to capture the fire and the group of folks sitting around it. Looks like the fire was the only light source. Not a hint of flash. Bravo!!
ReplyDeleteDave - I'm really liking the campfire shot. I agree with Virginia that the crowd around the fire looks like they are lit from the fire. Nice job.
ReplyDeleteBTW - I got my new PocketWizards yesterday. I'm planning to try them out next week for a portrait shoot. I'll keep you posted.