Freeze Frame: Lighting Night Snowboarding
Winter weather has been total crap here in Maryland. I dunno if it is global warming or what, but I had to hop in the Hummer and drive 200 miles -- that's 17 gallons of gas at $3.25 per gallon -- just to find some good snow last week. Sheesh.
No so in the northern UK, where the guys from the Edinburgh University Ski and Snowboard Club Shoot took their speedlights out to the slopes -- and the jumps -- for a little fun.
What works:
Nice cross lighting - including some good angle light courtesy what appears to be a very tall stand. Also, they have the ambient balance thing down pretty well, too. The sodium vapors actually add some good color when underexposed by a couple of stops. Which, it appears, is exactly what they did.
As a bonus, the slower shutter speeds (to get the balance) gave them the opportunity for some flash panning for another layer to some of the photos.
And when it starts to snow, well, those backlit flakes are definitely working. I am jealous of that weather.
I'd Consider Changing:
Speaking of the snow, I cringed when I saw that SB-800 and PW covered in ice and snow at the end of the shoot. Big flash capacitors and melting snow do not play nice. Especially if you decide to give your strobe a tongue bath on the way home. No that I do. As far as you know.
For next time: Slip a clear freezer bag over the flash and PW. it can even stay open on the bottom. Just a cheap little SB-800/PW raincoat to maybe save you $500.00 on the combo, just in case.
Actually, in the UK, it'll save you closer to double that...
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by David, at 12:00 AM.
47 Comments:
Wouldn't the freezer bag melt with the strobe's heat after repeat firing?
I second Dave's thoughts. Freezer bags work great and I have never had a melting problem... works for placing strobes near pools for swim meets and water polo matches, too.
You can microwave those bags, I think they're safe over a flash, especially in freezing cold weather.
Seems like David went a bit soft on the constructive criticism this time.
@Peter: Maybe the 25-fahrenheit temperature would be able to keep it from melting. But then again, the sb-800 is pretty powerful!
@David: I like seeing these "in-the-field" things. Because what you've done a nice job of around here is inspiring people to use the flash off-camera. After reading all your posts on acheiving soft light and all that, it is inspiring. But sometimes what is forgotten about is the subject matter.
For example, I know strobist.com is a site based on off-camera flash and creativity, but doesn't all of that and subject matter go hand in hand? I think so, but everybody's opinion may differ on that.
Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that I like this post because it DOES show subject matter and people working with the models (or, in this case, snowboarders).
I may have great equipment and a great eye for certain types of light, but if I don't know how to work with subjects or models, all that knowledge is useless.
And I think there may be a lot of strobist readers who are like me.
Good post, keep it up!
Peter, it's snowing and probably 25 degrees F. (?) How many times (and how quickly) would a flash have to fire to overcome ambient conditions and melt the bag? Probably a safe bet that it would not happen.
i think you'd melt the plastic on the flash before you melt the bag, the flash is right by the bulb and the bag would have an air gap
It'd probably be fine since there's plenty of snow and ice to cool the plastic back down. It's like how you can boil water in a plastic bottle over a fire. The PET won't melt until the water boils away.
Peter -
Nope, i've done it a few times in light rain / snow to protect the unit and it seems to work really well. The plastic is so thin it doesn't take long to immediately cool down in the cold weather. Heat buildup is a non-issue.
It was glorious sunshine all day that day until we got to the ski-slopes. The irony only started falling once we were up there!
I don't think the flash would melt thru a freezer bag, it was pretty cold and windy and the snowboarders had to walk back up after each jump so the flashes were running cool. You'd have to tape the sucker down though.
The thing that impressed me most was how little the flare bugged me in action shots. The folks at Flashflavor are always including the backlight in the picture and I like the drama it adds. Plus I got stuck with my wide lens on cos of the snow.
not when it's 25 degrees out!
Water + Electronics = Broken
Hummer? Is there space to park that next to Mrs. Strobist's Lotus?
$3.25 a Gallon! Here in the UK you'll be lucky to get 2 Litres of fuel for that kinda cash! In fact, there's no way you'd get 2 litres... (£1.08/Litre here!)
Chilly
Thanks for this. Hope I can find some snow in the near future.
Oh, and $ 3.25 per gallon... To us Europeans that's 1978-prices (€ 1.47 per liter = $ 8.20 per gallon).
I got pretty worried too when I saw the entire setup getting covered up in snow but wouldn't the entire freezer bag light up if it's put over the SB800?
Awesome. Try that in -42 weather ;)
DAVID,
After reading your blog, I was inspired to get a speedlight (SB600). I put together a quick flickr set for anyone who isn't convinced yet:
http://flickr.com/photos/robl/sets/72157604185534101/
Hope you like,
- rob
I was using a metz flash in the rain, next thing i know i was on the floor with what felt like a I had a broken arm. Those high powered capacitors are the same as the ones used in stun guns. So water and flash units do not mix good advice indeed. Spending a night in casualtly hooked up to a heart rate monitor is not much fun.
@ Peter
I highly doubt it would given the ambient temperature and the time between shots. You'd have to be really hammering the frames to get the bag to melt on a cold Edinburgh night like that.
My thoughts?
I like the colours on the boards and clothing, but I'm not overly struck on the composition. Many shots including the light stands and other photographers in the background.
From my experience of shooting mountain bikes, it's always more pleasing when a shot has some sort of reference point for the viewer to get an idea how high, far, quick etc. the rider is travelling.
I would probably have stuck on the 10-20mm, cross lit the riders with a fairly tight throw on the strobes and then played with coloured gels to bring out some detail in the snow or jumps.
I'm picturing a head on shot with the rider doing a method air, cross lit and then a red gelled strobe lay on the floor just before the take off (out of sight) but throwing a wide spill of red light over the lip of the jump, maybe acting as a rim light on the rider....
Adam.
Oh wow, petrol is cheap for you guys! On Thursday we hit US$5.20/Gal in some places in Australia.
Some of those photos are great, I especially like the longer ones which catch a second set of flashes. Excellent work,
In some cases, using a flash frequently in a plastic bag _could_ melt it. In cold weather, I'd expect it to keep the flash cold enough that this would be unlikely. However, just to be safe, you could use a "browning bag" which is designed to go into the oven. It certainly won't melt. Most of the heat buldup is internal to the flash (inside the batteries and capacitor) and the case acts as a bit of an insulator. I have melted gels in front of a flash tube, but you can put a short snoot on the end and tape the bag to it. Don't put the bag over the front of the flash tube.
I don't know about snow in Maryland, but let me assure you, you are snowed in, there is so much snow all around you, it will take until July to get you out of there. :) Looking at it from where I am, in Maine, there is no way that our two weeks of summer can melt all the snow we have here, so I probably will be shoveling until next year :)
wow! this is so ironic that you talk about the effects of global warming and that you say you are using a Hummer...
don't want to start any war here, it just popped so much in the post :)
nice lightning by the way
think that video got taken down fast enough ? and i was excited to watch it too :<
I have never had one overheat or heat anything up that much, and I do shoot lots in damp places, I put nylon/ziploc bags on all the time, or a few when I forget the diffuser
Kidding on the Hummer, folks. I drive a dinky li'l Scion XA - gets high 30's MPG...
nice David, I knew you were a nice guy :P
haha, snow? in edinburgh? :D im not much to south of Edinburgh ( Newcastle ) and theres not a bit of snow here. in fact, i just drove past the skiing slopes they have and they indeed had some snow... but thats the only place. that was a couple of weeks ago though :)
Even in a 30mpg box, $3.25 a gallon? I'm jelous (~$.40 more in the wild wild West)
Phew! I'm much relieved to hear the Strobist doesn't actually roll in a Hummer (more gear, less bra- well I better be careful I suppose!).
Very cool little vid today.
Dave, its time you get a more fuel efficient car. Great article and thanks for sharing; ice on those speedlights made me cringe too! ;)
Did ya really think the guy who teaches how to shoot with small strobes would be driving a Hummer???? Really???
I knew he was joking.
Speedlights aren't much of a threat to your health unless you take them apart. Notwithstanding Rockhammers comment. Speedlites do use the same technology as the heart shockers. But getting part of your body across the proper terminals would usually require disassembly!
If you require slightly difuse light you might want to try some of the clear tupperwear type containers available at the market. Hummer. heheheheheh I bet the Euro guys who hang here think we all drive them. Remember the guy who made them popular came from Europe!
I wouldn't be too jealous of the weather here in the UK since they were on a dry slope. The actual Scottish ski season doesn't last very long at all. Better to go to the Alps or Rockies unless you live there.
I love the discrimination between the light sources that the NaVapors provide. Isolates the boarder in a very 2d way. Look at the others and the backgrounds lit by the fall off of the speed-lights are distracting. Glad you don't drive a Hummer Dave, I'll take back the things I said about you this morning at breakfast to the good lady wife. Speaking of road trips, have you been to the Corning Museum? About 7 hours from Balmer, well worth it.
I kinda figured the Hummer thing was a joke. lol Cute.
$3.25 a gal is about what we have here too, thank goodness for Speedy Rewards cards! lol
I think the video is great. I love seeing videos of the setups and picture taking in action. It is easier for me to understand than just diagrams or a single pix of a setup. That's just me though.
Great post as always DH!
America is so different from the UK- do you not have eco warriors spray-painting Humvees and knifing the tyres?
Come to England - $8.50USG a gallon and you'll sell your gas guzzler faster that you can say "carbon footprint"
You'll also notice that the price of flash guns, guitars, apple products, cameras, music, etc means that it's often cheaper to fly to america, go shopping and come back.
Seriously, if you're looking at flash gear, you can expect to pay the same numbers despite it being $2/£1.
I'm with adam- the flash lighting is nice, but the composition sometimes feels a bit flat. Nice set though, and it looks like you guys had fun, which is the main thing.
I dunno if it is global warming or what, but I had to hop in the Hummer and drive 200 miles -- that's 17 gallons of gas at $3.25 per gallon -- just to find some good snow last week.
snip
Kidding on the Hummer, folks. I drive a dinky li'l Scion XA - gets high 30's MPG...
good to hear 'twas a joke. i was about to leave you a nastygram for the seemingly ignorant first statement (took it as fact due to lack of emoticon).
$13.00 a gallon and $1200.00 for an SB800 and Pocket Wizard kit in the UK. Just returned from the US with a load of gear, the money I saved almost paid for the trip. That's what you get when your Gov. still think we rule the world.
Thanks for the cool write-up and the advice, poly bags will be used in future. Although some of us were using Canon 580EX II, so some water resistance there. There was also a notable Skyport contingent. Now they really do need a bag. =)
On the composition comment - not all the photos are in Neil's great wee video up there, he did it before a lot of maybe have a look at some of those involved's streams on Flickr. But also, this was a few folks first time shooting sports/snow jumpers.
The lighting stand was attached by gaffer tape to the centre column of a large, medium duty tripod with spikes into the ground, weighed down with unused equipment in heavy kitbag tied to legs.
I know how difficult it must have been to achieve those shots, but I have to be honest: I did not see one good frame.
All this talk of tasers...
Is this part of the reason Canon upgraded the speedlite range with the 580 II being... "water resistant"? but given it is not water proof; does this mean it can still fell an Ox; when stuck in the cloven hoof; in a rain storm?
Has anyone expereince of getting zapped with one of these? should I still be loading up with freezer bags if I go out in the wet then ?
In my oppinion, many of the pictures are not worth showing here... flashes in the shot adding a white ball and illuminated snowflakes? Rider in the air without any idea how high or low he is? Thats a big nogo in sport photography.
We went to hillend to get away from the standard strobist portrait shootin' meetup. It was something very different for most people there and I think they did a good job. We'll be going again when folks are done with exams.
I'll be calling the meet a success, we got pictures in adverse conditions, you can't change lenses in snow, focus is tricky. We got familiar with techniques and setups. We also got in a brew afterwards. Next time we head out on a dry sunny day, we'll probably be hauling freezerbags.
Wether or not you think the images we made are "worthy" of the Strobist page, is'nt it good that this community shows its diversity in range of subjects? Its flexibility in application? We don't all see the same things and we don't all shoot the same way.
The head on shots were made with a 364mm lens, shooting 35mm or wider forced you to include a strobe or lose the ground entirely. Getting closer put you in real danger of being landed on or sliding helplessly onto the landing area. In an earlier shoot in this location I had a snowboarder land on my SB800 which was placed well off the run-out matt. Apart from some scratches, it was fine.
We'll see what we get next time.
bring your hummer and your equipment down to Mexico, you can give me some leassons and in return I'll make every gas station charge you only about $2.2 per gallon, it wont matter where you are, the price for you will be the same!!!
Thanks for all the great advise, they should make the SB-800 as weather resistant as the nikon D300 that way we would not have to worry.
Thanks for showcasing us.
Well I enjoyed myself emensly (apart from all the crap on my lens!) and think I got a few good shots, maybe not great in some peoples eyes but I've never shot anything like this before and was just happy I got some in focus.
Colin
Northern UK ?? That'll be Scotland then ...lol
Great idea and pretty cool to see the video of it all
Nevermind the negative comments good stuff considering the conditions
Funny to see that you talk about global warming but you say that you took your gas gusslin hummer to drive 200 miles to get there.
Nice work tough
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