The 2024 Holiday Train

1/15 second, F 7.1, ISO 1600, Daylight White Balance

The Holiday Train rumbles along its San Francisco Peninsula route twice in one weekend. On the first night, it stops at alternating stations along the Caltrain's route from San Francisco to Santa Clara, and repeats the trip on Sunday and stops at the stations it missed on the first run.

The Nuts And Bolts: This photo relied on a high ISO setting to achieve detail in the background. The rail car was turned into a stage, and was artificially lit. Machines directed artificial snow toward the audience. I was using a Fuji X-T camera with a Godox V1 flash with a diffuser dome with the head tilted to 45 degrees up. The lens was a 10-24mm F 4.0 zoom.

Working The Crowd: It is always a challenge to work a crowd like this. With so many people it can be difficult to get the ideal shooting position, and the rapidly changing lighting conditions force on-the-fly exposure adjustments, especially to the flash output. I love the quality of light the V-1 provides, but my complaints about the control layout are still valid. These units often dedicate a single control point to several different functions, making a simple misplacement of finger an invitation down the rabbit hole of inadvertent control changes. I explored the flash "lock"options, but when activated, it locks everything, including flash output in the manual mode.

Similar problems occur in the Fuji camera bodies. After my experience on Saturday, I deactivated all of the programmable function buttons. This makes it harder to change things like White Balance, but  changes in these settings are infrequent, however tedious.

Visual Elements: When I arrived on location, I try to locate anything that will help "fill out" the story. I was first drawn to the San Mateo train station sign, and experimented with compositions that would include it. I made a few test shots, and found that I couldn't create a composition that would show both the sign and the Holiday Train in any detail. I decided to eliminate the sign and focus on Santa, or one of his helpers. 

Holiday Train in 2023

When I photographed the event in 2023, I was able to the this shot of Santa with the spectators, along with some detail in the train itself. The crowd was held at bay by a police barricade. The distance between the train and the barrier was about eight feet, so the position of my subjects would be critical. And the train could only stop for twenty minutes, and Santa needed to shake as many hands as possible in the 100 foot long reception line. Needless to say, everybody was hustling. I remember feeling lucky to get this shot, as Santa was working the fence line and stayed in this location for only a minute and I was able to get only three shots before he moved to the next group of visitors. Also notice that the shot was made at a 45 degree angle to the train, giving me more background to work with. 

Holiday Train in 2024

Handedness: When photographing a right-handed subject, try to position yourself on your subject's opposite side. This minimizes the chance that a raised arm will condeal your subject's face. In 2024, Santa seems to be a southpaw, and my position on his right gave me an unobstructed view of his face. There wasn't enough context for me to submit the image, but it does illustrate how the photographer's position plays a role in the outcome of the photograph.

Flash To Subject Distance: This is an important consideration when working with on-camera flash. When I mount a diffusion dome, I normally tilt the flash head at a 45 degree angle from the horizontal. This increases the distance from the lens axis to the light source, which gives a bit more modeling (shaping) to the subject. This 2024 Santa shot was taken at a greater distance, so the effect of the higher flash position is minimal.

Since a Santa shot proved too elusive to pursue, I moved away from the barrier and headed towards the sound of Christmas carols. I found that one of the Holiday Train cars had been configured as a small stage, and carolers were already singing holiday songs. I saw kids trying to catch the flakes of artificial snow and decided to work that shot. This first attempt showed that there was enough existing light to illuminate the singers, so I only had to worry about my flash and who to illuminate. The shot definitely had legs, so I started to work my way closer to the stage.

When I got close to the barrier, I found that the children, perched upon their father's shoulders, might make an interesting frame for the train car. This photo was made before the train's departure, and I thought this would be the Money Shot. However, the more I looked at the image, the less I liked it. The singers in red seemed to compete with the two kids reaching for snowflakes at the right edge of the frame. I was happy that the snow was very visible, but the harder I looked at the image, the less enamoured I became. I felt I had created two different images that competed for the viewer's attention. I went back through the images, looking for one that "worked better".

I chose this earlier frame, which placed the emphasis on the singers in the background. The two kids now serve to frame the image, and since they are both facing the stage, help direct the viewer's attention to the train. They are now more a framing element and less a distraction. I also left the spotlight in place to help the view understand why the snowflakes were now visible. The overexposure of the singers was necessary to make the snow more visible, but considering their relative size and the detail obliterating nature of newsprint reproduction, probably not a great loss. When I get down to San Mateo and get a hard copy, I'll know for sure.

The Civil War Reenactor

Period reenacting is a pastime enjoyed by a variety of people for a variety of reasons. Historians, campers, and people wanting to visit a simpler time make up the ranks, and all with varying levels of commitment to historical accuracy. Think about the Renaissance Faire. Here history  mixes with commercialism to provide visitors with an historical experience in a way that is financially sustainable by modern standards. Another group are the Buckskinners, who enjoy practicing the survival skills used by the trappers that followed in the footsteps of the Lewis and  Clark Expedition. Perhaps the best known are the Civil War Reenactors, who may take on the personas of members of  a specific group such as Mosby's Rangers, or a unit, such as the Confederate States Marines. 

My editor and I have long been casting about, looking for a reenactor living in the Journal's service area. I managed to make contact with Belmont resident David You, a cannoneer from the Confederate States Marines Artillery and Infantry Unit. We agreed to meet at Twin Pines Park in Belmont, and since we were on public property, decided to bring a minimum of period correct "props", settling on a simple tin cup, which happened to be made from stainless steel. He is dressed in period correct clothing and not a formal uniform, as the cash-starved South could not always provide clothing, shoes, and other accoutrements to all of its enlistees.

After walking about, we found a grove of tree stumps where the high-noon sunlight just skimmed the treetops and provided some accent lighting from high and behind. Front lighting was provided by a shoot-through umbrella and light stand combo. This kit is always in the trunk of my car for lighting shots that don't require a lot of complicated lighting. I positioned the light about three feet from my subject, just above my subject's eye level. You can see from the shadows on the right side of my subject's face that the light was very close to the lens axis.

Due to the angle of the sun, some flaring did occur, and you can see flare spots scattered about the upper portion of this frame. When I repositioned myself so the shadow of the umbrella shielded the front of the lens, the spots went away. Unfortunately, I was not able to duplicate the exact pose, and the CSA embossed on his belt buckle was not seen in subsequent images. And while I had asked for David to bring a cup, I forgot to bring some black coffee to fill it, although I doubt anybody would  have noticed that his cup was empty.

This diagram will give you a rough idea of the placement of the light in relation to my subject. The camera position is low enough to prevent the edge of the shoot-through umbrella from appearing in the frame. One problem with using shoot through umbrellas is that light can reflect back from the umbrella causing the image to lose varying levels of contrast. This could be prevented by using almost any softbox, but at the cost of having to carry a package much bulkier than a simple double-fold umbrella.  I will certainly make the effort to carry a softbox if the situation justifies it. But for portability, a simple double-fold shoot-through umbrella and a compact light stand just can't be beat.

Getting In The Mood: After I made the photo, I started playing around with converting it to sepia-toned photo that looked more "period correct". I found two on-line tutorials: One to recreate the sepia look, and one to create the feathered oval vignette that was so popular. After a few minutes of experimentation, I created this version of the first portrait. I may visit the technique again, as I would prefer the sepia coloration to be more pronounced. 

I enjoyed shooting this assignment. The simplicity of the setup gave me lots of time to get to know my subject, and produce a very nice image in a relatively short period of time. Digital imaging certainly simplifies the process because the instant playback allows the photographer to catch any mistakes in real time and reshoot the pose in a few seconds. And with the tools available in post production, it's easy to re-think the image, and just maybe create something more in step with the period look the photographer is trying to recreate.

David Ford At The Marsh Theater

  
I made this photograph at about 9:15am in a small community theater in the Mission district. I am usually wary about photographing in unfamiliar locations, especially in the Big City, so I purposely brought the minimum amount of equipment in case I was forced to park some distance away. It turns out that I was able to park by the theater's front door, a pleasant surprise. 

After chatting with Mr. Ford for a bit, we toured the two available stages where the photo might be made. In this theater there was a strong spotlight accentuating the center stage, along with some small lights I planned on using for atmosphere. I asked for a stool to give my subject something to sit on, and positioned it in the middle of the spotlight's beam. You can also see the EXIT sign in the background, something I wanted to include in the composition.

You can see the slight shadow cast at the edge of the stool. The key light was a speedlight with two magnetic grids plus a CTO (warming gel) mounted on a six-foot light stand. Theater lighting is often a mixture from several colored spotlights, and I felt the extra warmth would help minimize any cooling effects they might have on the subject. The lightstand was located a few feet to my left, and the flash angled up slightly to prevent light from overexposing the legs. 

This test shot shows the EXIT sign floating is space. I needed to put some additional light on the wall to help the viewer better understand the setting.

I also positioned my second (and last) speedlight on the floor to add some light into the corner. I did this so that the word EXIT wouldn't be levitating in space in the back of the frame. I had a second speedlight, so I started looking for some place to put.

As soon as Mr. Ford was placed on  his mark, I rotated his position slightly to eliminate the shine that appeared on the left side of his nose. The highlight on his left cheek was fine just where it was..He naturally dropped is right leg so his foot touched the floor, and I now had a way to conceal that second flash.

Since I had already established my shooting position, I placed the camera on the floor and walked past Mr. Ford and positioned the speedlight along an imaginary line starting from the camera and passing "through" Mr. Ford's leg. This completely hid the flash from the camera, and the light it provided gave me the visual context I needed.

Here's the final version. The accent light, placed behind Mr. Ford's right leg, remains completely hidden from the camera. Looking back, I can't help but wonder what I would/could have done if I carried a third flash. I certainly would have tried to brighten up the right side of the frame.Even a very small flash, like the FlashQ unit I carry on my morning walks, could have been set on the bar to provide a random spot of light. But sometimes there isn't enough time to improvise, and your efforts must be confined to staying wit the basics.

The Quest For A Better Cold Shoe

Stroboframe Cold Shoe. Buy yours here.

In The Beginning: Sometimes things become annoying far beyond their size or importance. Let's examine the humble cold shoe. Its mission is simple: Provide an attaching point for shoe-compatible accessories. This became more important when Strobist began advocating off-camera placement of radio-triggered speed-lights. Initially, many photographer simply used a plastic threaded speedlight base similar to the one included with Nikon speedlights. After a while, the cold shoes made by Stroboframe became the hot thing, in part because they incorporated a clamping mechanism to more securely retain the flash. Over the years I must have purchased over a dozen such shoes, the majority of which were Chinese knockoffs purchased for half the cost on eBay. 

The knockoffs, while inexpensive, had a habit of disassembling themselves when riding around in a camera bag. The retaining screw would loosen, allowing the components (2 tiny springs, a clamping foot, and the screw itself) to separate from the base. I can't recall the Stroboframe versions ever deconstructing in this manner. Havoc favores the lessor quality component.

Frio Cold Shoe. Buy yours here.

Next: One interesting variation came in the way from a company called Frio, and it addressed the retention issue in a novel way. It is made of tough, flexible plastic and features a retention tab that must be depressed before the flash can be removed. The fly in the ointment is the brass threaded insert for attaching the unit to a light stand or other 1/4 x 20 device. While the brass itself is sturdy enough, it appears to be press fit into the base of the shoe, which may lead to separation from the shoe itself. While I have never had that happen, it is possible. It has happened with the plastic cold shoes mounted on the Manfrotto Justin Clamps, and they have a similar metal to plastic juncture.

Anwenk Cold Shoe. Buy yours here.

A Better Solution? I recently found this cold shoe on Amazon. Branded under the name Anwenk, it appears to be machined from a single piece of metal with a small screw installed to prevent unsecured accessories from sliding forward, and off, the shoe. You can also see the threaded 1/4" X 20 threaded hole. Again, it's fabricated for a single chunk of metal, so there's nothing to pull out should he going get rough.

It is a tradeoff. The clamping action of the Stroboframe cold shoe is certainly secure so long as the clamping screw stays tight. As for the Frio, its only shortcoming is the possibility of the threaded brass insert being pulled from the shoe itself. But the Anwenk has a problem when using a speedlight that employs a retracting locking pin, which includes the Nikon SB 800 and SB 900 series. It has no provision to receive the locking pin when the user attempts to use the locking lever located on the flash foot. This probably applies to any shoe-mounted speedlight that does not use a knurled locking wheel on the shaft of the flash's foot. For me it's a  non-issue, as these shoes will be part of my traveling speedlight kit where all the speedlights use the old-fashioned knurled locking wheel.

I will eventually replace my knockoffs with this all-metal shoes. Somehow, it just feels more secure, and eliminates the occasional need to locate those tiny parts when one of the knockoffs throws a tantrum. Of course, I remembered to tighten down all screw-based retention systems before put things away, the the problem might just disappear.

Godox AD-E2 - A Worthy Umbrella Bracket Upgrade

Order yours here.

New And Improved. I just started following Markus Rothkranz's channel on YouTube. At first, I was a little skeptical about his approach to photography, but as I watched his BTS (behind the scenes) commentary on lighting techniques, I started to get interested. Personally, I prefer a written blog posting over a video because text can be skimmed more quickly than slogging through the normal patois that has become a mainstay on the 'Tube. However, I came to appreciate his minimal approach to outdoor lighting, and over time, started to check his channel on a regular basis.

During one of his recent videos he described the new umbrella bracket that is currently supplied with the Godox "mini-monolights", including my beloved AD200. Shown here is the newest iteration of the humble umbrella bracket. While not visible in the photo, it has several important improvements:

Metal Construction: The original brackets were made from plastic, which I considered perfectly adequate until one such unit shattered when a light stand toppled over in the wind. I'm a little more optimistic that this won't happen with this one.

Photo Source: Click here.

Elimination Of The Spigot: Umbrella brackets accommodate spigots (short threaded brass rod stock) at both ends. When properly oriented, the top spigot recess is used to attach a cold shoe, while the lower recess attaches the bracket to the spigot on the tip of the lightstand. While the spigot adds versatility, you only need a 1/4 x 20 thread to attach nearly any accessory you would need. As you can see, the spigot has been replaced with a tripod-inspired 1/4 x 20 thumbscrew.

You can see that an AD200 easily mounts on the bracket using the flash's 1/4 x 20 threaded socket on the side. This keeps the flash close to the umbrella's axis. This makes it easier to use the AD200 with my Westcott umbrella-based softboxes in which the flash is mounted inside the softbox to prevent light spillage. My collection of Westcott softboxes haven't received much love lately, simply because the collapsing softboxes like the Lastolite are easier to transport.

Screw Retention: The original umbrella brackets had only a spring metal tab to hold the umbrella in place. This annoyed me to now end, so the addition of a retention screw is high on my "like list". However, Mr. Rothkranz gave a possible explanation. Lack of a retaining screw would allow the umbrella to slide out of the bracket if the wind catches it, This could be a good idea, as a flying umbrella is more likely to survive an episode of free flight. If held in place, the lift-off would probably drag the light stand with it, potentially resulting in the purchase of a working replacement for a potentially destroyed flash. If this is the case, I may decide to not tighten the thumbscrew if a flying umbrella is a very real outcome.

Incidentally, in these photos, the retaining screw is on the backside of the bracket. I guess it was considered unphotogenic.

Umbrellas: The umbrellas that I usually carry are similar to this Phottix Double Fold Umbrella, a 36" diameter shoot through umbrella that collapses to a compact 16" length. To save on weight, they have shafts that are thin, six-sided tubes, which can be crushed if retaining screws are overtightened. I normally force the shaft of a wooden pencil down the shaft for reinforcement. I normally cover the tip with a small plastic cap for added protection and remove it if it interferes with the umbrella bracket.. 

Inserting an umbrella was actually a fight! The spring steel retaining tab, relocated to the interior of the umbrella mounting hole, already provides a secure grip on the umbrella shaft. In fact, it feels so secure that the retention screw may be a "belt and suspenders" situation. In addition, the contour of the tension spring is easier to insert the umbrella from one specific side, while I'll mark for future reference.  This was by design because the AD200 and its subsequent variations all can be mounted on the side, parallel to the umbrella axis.

Goodbye to this kluge

Clarification: Just in case this makes no sense, here is an AD200 mounted on a conventional umbrella bracket. You can see that the umbrella shaft is secured at an angle from the bracket. This is an accomodation for the additional height of a conventional speedlight, and is designed so that the beam of the flash and the center of the umbrella coincide when the umbrella is fully extended. Notice that I needed to add an additional spigot (photo left) to provide the necessary clearance for the screw to turn.

Flash Attachment: The tripod-inspired mounting screw can be used with either the low profile AD200 flash variants or by adding a cold shoe, conventional shoe-mounted speedlights. I can now position the AD200 much closer to the umbrella axis when using a traditional umbrella bracket. If I mount the cold shoe on a small ball head, I can achieve the same results with a conventional speedlight.

So what's not to like?

Watch The Edges

I don't do art well. If there is anything that governs my selection of subjects, it would be how I respond to their coloration. or how subtleties of in lighting reveal some form or texture. Other times, the subject is visually amusing. And that doesn't take much.

Lately, my primary "morning walk" camera has been a Fuji X-70. It has an 18mm lens, the equivalent to a 28mm lens on a full frame camera. The camera has a leaf shutter that allows me to synchronize flash at exposures of 1/1000 of a second, sometimes less if the conditions are right. It also has a  tilting LCD panel which comes in handy when photographing from high or low camera angles. I also own the dedicated Fuji eye-level optical viewfinder which I could use, but don't from fear of dropping this relatively expensive accessory.

My biggest thrill has been the the X-70's ability to create images where the sky could be exposed to an ominous level of darkness. By adding a small flash, I can properly expose a foreground subject. The ambient exposure for the left image was 1/1000, F11, ISO 400. I needed the small aperture to keep the yellow rose in sharp focus. The one on the right  was shot at 1/1000, F5.6, ISO 100 because I needed a more open aperture to minimize the depth of field, which was a gesture in futility when using an 18mm lens. Still I liked both images because of the color, a bias to which I freely admit.

Halloween: In my neighborhood, Halloween is a big thing. It's a chance to buy plastic garden ghouls and create one's own Danse Macabre in the front yard. One nearby home displays a plastic skeleton that must stand fifteen feet tall.

In years past, I would haunt the Cole Valley neighborhood where the decorations appeared to be seasonal art projects created by local children. It appears to be a very desirable neighborhood for young families due to the proximity of Grattan Elementary School. Way back then I usually carried a camera with a manually focused prime lens, and this required an attention level 110% and both hands on the camera. With the autofocusing X-70, I now had a free hand to hold a small off-camera flash. This, along with my purchase of a Lightpix Q20, made flash-enhanced images so much easier to create.

1/1000, F 16, ISO 100

By way of comparison, this photo was made without flash at the ambient exposure of  1/1000, F 16, ISO 100. These settings are under the standard "Sunny Sixteen Rule" by more than three stops, which is the darkest I can make the sky without resorting to a neutral density filter. The flash (output unrecorded) provided enough light to properly expose my ghostly friend, although the highlights are a bit hlt. Without the camera's autofocusing capability, I could not have used my free hand to hold the flash, a definite disadvantage. By contrast the second shot was made at 1/125, F 11, ISO 100. Compared to the first shot, I added three more stops of exposure to get the details in the sky and the house in the background (below right). It also becomes very clear that if there was to be any foreground detail at all, it would have to be provided by the off-camera flash. 

1/125, F 11, ISO 100

From here on out, the little remote flash did all of the heavy lifting. Working in the digital universe has definite advantages. The instantaneous feedback provided by the LCD screen allow for on-the-spot adjustments to exposure and composition, and when working with a manual flash at close range, one can simply move the flash in or out to achieve the desired exposure.

One problem that comes with the tiny Q20 flash is the coverage. It was probably designed to cover the frame area of a 35mm lens, or longer, a presumption I've never been inclined to test empirically. When working with photos like these this limitation isn't too bothersome if I take the care to "aim" the flash directly at the center of interest. If you look at the skeleton photo, you can see the light fall-off at the lower half of the frame. The only correction is to move the flash farther from the subject and suffer the subsequent loss of light intensity.

So What's The Beef? If one forgives the vapid background and the totally unthreatening blue sky, what's not to like? Well, for starters, the bat-like creature near the upper right hand corner. Had I framed it more carefully, I could have included the entire silhouette within the frame, adding some tiny bit of relevance to the image. 

I normally don't  re-shoot images that proved unsuccessful when viewed in post production. This all points to one revelation that I can't escape: I need to pay closer attention to the overall content of the frame and not concentrate solely on my momentary euphoria that bright colors so often elicit.

Filling The Pelican: Lighting

In The Beginning: For me, flash photography has always been an evolutionary process. When I first started experimenting in the early 1970s, I lined an old umbrella with aluminum foil and used it with any flash I was able to scrounge up. I was also the first kid on my block to own a $40.00 Wein Flash Meter, which essentially made the immeasurable measurable. Later on, I was helping a biology professor at City College create an audio-visual tutorial on how to properly adjust a microscope. I created two softboxes I needed by starting with a cardboard box lined with aluminum foil. Then I suspended a flash on a narrow piece of plywood and aimed it towards the interior. Finally, I covered the front with some tracing paper. In effect, my "softbox" was in actuality, a box.

I currently use an assortment of Godox / Flashpoint units. For the record, Flashpoint was Adorama's house brand until Godox imported their products under their own name. Originally, Adorama offered the Flashpoint Zoom Li-on Flash, a manual output speedlight that could be controlled using an external dedicated receiver coupled with a hotshoe mounted commander. The hot new thing was the dedicated Lithium ion rechargeable battery which delivered short recycle times at full output. In 2016 I purchased four on sale for $99.00 each, along with the receivers and commanders to keep them all going. Unsurprisingly, this tribe of non-TTL configurations has been discontinued. However, I still use them frequently.

Godox AD200 flash. Full Post here.

Power Upgrade: When the Godox AD200 hit the market in 2018, my location approach to location lighting changed dramatically. Up until this point, big flash was a Norman 200B flash, complete with it heavy power pack and separate head. This and the Graflex IV were the real workhorse flashes for the event and wedding photographers of the 1960's, and being of the Flower Power generation, I automatically assumed that this permanently stooped shoulders would a fact of life.

The AD200 seemed to be a combination of all the newest innovations wrapped up in one compact product. It used a dedicated lithium-ion battery unit that recharged quickly (relatively), provided enough juice for sustained, full output pops, and was reasonably priced. The output to volume ratio was amazing. The flash required about 1.5 times the space to store, but could produce over three times the output of an SB-900 speedlight. It was also self contained, and small enough to fit inside of the Westcott Halo softboxes, eliminating any chance of light accidentally spilling onto the background. It was capable of TTL exposure automation, but in adding this feature, Godox adopted a different wireless protocol from the earlier Zoom Li-on flashes.

Pocket Wizard on AD200 Controller

I was able to bridge this technology gap by using two radio triggers. In this image you can see the AD200 controller mounted directly to the camera's hot shoe to control the AD200, while a second controller mounted in the controller's built-in hot shoe could be used for anything else. In this photo I used a Pocket Wizard transmitter, but it could have been replaced with one for the Zoom Li-on flash. That hot shoe was a bit of genius, as it has "straight through" circuitry that allows one to attach an OEM flash in the controller's hotshoe with full TTL control.

On my last assignment I carried only three flashes: an AD200 (for use in a softbox) and two Godox speedlights carried in my camera bag. Since the were all compatible with the AD200 controller, I had no issues. There could have been problems if I had added an older Zoom Li-on unit to the mix. In a pinch I could  have converted that maverick flash to trigger using its built-in optical slave, or I could have include the dedicated controller. Either way, I could have made it work.

Nikon Redeploy: Obviously I'll need to anticipate the lighting solution I am most likely to use, and equip myself accordingly. However, I am considering a compromise. First off, I usually have two Godox speedlights riding in my camera case. These will respond to the same R2 controller as the Godox AD200. By adding a my seldom used Nikon compatible Godox V1 to the Pelican, I now have my requisite three speedlights for a complete "Krist List". While the flash is designed to deliver TTL exposure automation when mounted in a Nikon hotshoe, it behaves like a dedicated remote when communicating with the R2 controller. Since this is a "round head" flash, it will accept all of the magnetic gels kept in the Pelican.

Umbrellas and Soft Boxes:  The easiest and most portable solution is to use shoot-through umbrellas. They can produce very soft lighting with huge catchlights when you subjects are relatively small subjects (example: half-length portraits). When you use the "double fold" versions, they have an overall collapsed length of only 14", making them almost pockable in a photojournalist's vest. Bob Krist's checklist includes two such umbrellas. Now I need to be clear:  Using umbrellas or softboxes outdoors can be an invitation to disaster if there is even the slightest of breezes. I've crashed several shoot-through umbrellas when they went "Mary Poppins" whenever the wind came up.

Buy yours here.

For the moment, I'll permanently add that third speedlight to the case and I'll be ready with three lights mountable on three separate light stands whenever the Pelican is in the trunk. If I know I'll be working indoors and need some soft, flattering light, I'll throw in the AD200 and a Glow 31" x 31" Softbox (with its dedicated bracket). Since the softbox and AD200 combination are heavy, I'll just sling a suitably stable lightstand over my shoulder. 

Squeezing both the AD200 flash and the collapsed Glow Softbox may be a tight fit, but the Glow Softbox could be strapped to the extension handle with a bungee cord if necessary.

So far as I can tell, I've covered all of the necessary lighting basics, and by the time my next location portrait comes around, I'll be ready to go.

Susi Damilano

The assignment was to submit a photograph of Susi Damilano, the Director of The Play That Goes Wrong. The venue was the Sab Francisco Playhouse located near Union Square. Parking is away on my mind when working the in city, but there was a convenient parking garage just three blocks from the theater. I arrived at exactly 11:00 am, and was whisked into the theatre to get my lights in place and to determine exposure. In the meantime Ms. Damilano brought a lobby poster to use as a prop. I was lucky the the "G" was reversed, a shoutout to the mishaps that were part of the play's central theme. This would become the foreground for the photo, so I had to create the lighting around it. 

Since Ms. Damilano was the director, I wanted the seats in the background, rather than the stage itself. What I found was an interior that was so dark I could only light a small portion of the background. I had only one AD200 flash and my one 12' tall light stand, so I did my best to elevate the flash as high as I could, and aim it almost straight down. The objective was to create a relatively large area of edge lit chairs to emphasize their shape. By committing my one powerful flash to "background" work, I would need to use speedlight-sized flashes to light the rest of the photo. As can see from this first photo, the fabric portions of the seats were too dark to be discernable.

As it turned out, I still had two additional light stands and two speedlights. One would be committed to being the key light, so I mounted the other speedlight on the second light stand and positioned it, camera right, to throw some light on the backs of the seats. This could be dialed up or down, depending on how much detail I wanted to reveal.

White Balance: I wanted to create some additional separation between my subject and the background, so for fun, I adjusted the camera's White Balance Setting to 3800 degrees Kelvin. This would add a blue tint to background, and when I gelled my key light with a CTO gel, the flesh tones were rendered correctly, if not slightly warm. The gelled flash was shot through an umbrella, mounted just to the left of the lens axis. When working close to the subject, I am often shooting from below the umbrella, so the lighting tends to appear from just above my subject.

Just as I was finishing up, Ms. Damilano came in to see how things were going. She had a phone meeting at 12:00 noon, which was my deadline for completion. It was 11:45, so I told her that I was ready, and the shot would be over in a few minutes. This last estimate was accurate enough, and in a few exposures, I had my money shot.

In this cropped portion of the final print, you can see that Ms. Damilano is centered in the puddle of background light, while the accent light provides some separation of the hair from the background. I did not anticipate the "fill effect" of the "chair light" on my subject's face. I was hoping to get the light high enough to miss hitting her face, but it did. You can see the tiny triangular shadow below her chin, a clear sign of cross lighting. If I had an assistant I could have check this "on the fly", but once the shooting started, I couldn't spare the time for any fine tuning*.

With the shot in the can, I asked if Ms. Damilano would like a photo of Emi, the theater's "empathy dog", for her virtual scrapbook. Sure, so she and the dog came onstage. I made some quick position changes and made a few shots. Just for laughs, mind you.

The repositioning of my new subject moved the background off center, and to make room on the stage, I moved the "chair light" further off center. You can see that it completely missed my subject's face, giving me the shadows I was originally hoping for. Since I was running out of time, I contented myself with the subject's head being clipped. After all, this was a Social Media photo, something cute for friends and followers. Just for fun, I sent both of the images to my Editor. She answered quickly, and loved the shot with Emi. That one moved to the front of the line. 

I look back on the two photos, and am happy that the combination of lighting, white balance, and a CTO gel that produced two very nice photos. My next at-home project will be to streamline my lighting setup process. 

*There's an old saying: "Never let them see you sweat." When something is a tiny bit off kilter, it may be better to just let it ride, rather than disturb the rapport between the subject and the photographer.

Filling The Pelican - The Small Bits

Buy yours here.

Changing from a rolling sports equipment bag to a Pelican case was like downsizing from a bungalow to a fifth wheel. In the process, I eliminated the equipment packed but I never used, and restocked the Pelican with accessories that easily stored and more effective. Some old standbys were kept so long as they were potentially useful and compact.

Rogue Grid. Buy yours here.

Grid Spots: I favored the Rogue Grid from Expo Imaging. Like nearly every non OEM speedlight accessory, it was held in place using Velcro tape on the flash head. Retention was a little iffy, but if handled carefully, it was secure enough. It featured two grid inserts which could be used individually or in tandem to produce a variety of lighting effects. 

I recall using it only once in the field, and the effect was worth its weight in chocolate The photo was of the installation of Rodin's "The Thinker" in the Cantor Art Museum on the Stanford University campus in Palo Alto. Luckily for me there was time to experiment, and if you check my blog posting on the shoot, you can see the dramatic effect that grid spot had on the final product. The Rogue system could accommodate pre-cut colored gels if I only remembered where I put them.

Since dipping my toe in the Godox "round headed world", I dove in and purchased a variety of accessories, including these grids. The built-in magnets on the flash bezel ring provide an easy-on easy-off option, and are much less likely to get bumped off during the rigors of working in a "run-and-gun" environment than the velcro-secured Rogue unit.

For flashes with rectangular heads, there is an adapter that easily attaches to a variety of different flash head dimensions, up to and including the the largish AD200. By comparison, this system takes up a little more space than the Rogue Grid, but is faster to deploy. 

Honl Gels. No longer available

Gels: Speaking of gels, I originally kept a full set of rectangular Honl Photo Gels in my bag. Like the Honl Grids, they were attached with velcro strips. I also liked that the gels were clearly identified. 

Back in the day my speedlights always had small pieces of Velcro tape on the flash head. This allowed me to easily attach Honl snoots and other light modifiers like the Lumiquest mini-softboxes. Now that my speedlights are Velcro free, I use a Honl Speed Strip when I need some sticky-points.

When I was a proud Nikon user, I usually carried multiple SB-800 speedlights, and always had one with a CTO gel permanently taped to the head. In the bag,   I stored it gel-side-up so I could immediately reach for it when needed. This procedure was more appropriate for the "run and gun" situation where speed was of the essence. Incidentally,  

Since shifting to the magnetic option, I started using the round gel holders and installing the Godox gel disks. No, I don't have a lot of confidence in the color consistency of the gels, but this is digital and not film, so minor adjustments can easily be made in post-production, or a custom white balance setting can taken. Being magnetic, multiple gel holders can be stacked, one upon the other, for a more dramatic effect.

I have proven to my own satisfaction that when judiciously used, gels, can produce photographs more "real than real" by aligning what the mind sees with what the camera records. In this regard the CTO (daylight to tungsten) gels are the most valuable, since we readily accept the color shifts that occur under incandescent light. As they say, any color shift is acceptable so long as the shift is to the "warm".

The Manfrotto Justin Clamp: This gizmo was the hot ticket for positioning a single speedlight without a light stand. All you had to do was find a flat surface (a shelf or a door), attach a speedlight to the cold shoe, and clamp it. The miniature ball head gave you flexibility in direction, and the system worked well enough.

I found that the Justin Clamp worked well on paper, and it did, so long as the clamp was strong enough to keep the unit from twisting out of position. Unfortunately, the plastic cold shoe could crack when the thicker hotshoe of a Nikon SB900 was forced into place.  Manfrotto eventually  corrected that by using a properly sized cold shoe. I suspect most people simply replaced the plastic OEM shoe with an adjustable metal one, as I did here. The clamps were also expensive.

Buy yours here.

Amazon came to my rescue once again, as I found this miniature clamp, complete with ball head and a 1/4x 20 threaded shaft, for about $13.00. All I had to do was find my stash of metal cold shoes (I bought them by the handsfull back in the day) and I would be back in business.

This first part covers the small items in the case, the sorts of things that you wouldn't normally think about until something goes really wrong and you have to kludge something to make it right. Other essentials would include a flashlight, a Swiss army knife, a pair of folding pliers, some ball bungie cords, and one heavy duty bungie to connect the light stand to some convenient ballast, namely the case itself. Add pens, a small notebook, gaffer tape, some alcohol wipes, some first aid supplies, some cough drops, and we're all set.

With my transition to the Pelican case nearly completed, I donated the old equipment bag to the Salvation Army. When I passed the now empty case to the Donation Sorter, I was shocked by how little it weighed. Still, my last assignment convinced me that once I managed to wrestle the case onto the set, the easier access to all my accessories would help me work more efficiently. Still, that Pelican is one heavy bird...

I will cover my revised lighting equipment list in another post.

My Shortest Dragon - The 17-35 F 2.8 Nikkor

Read Ken Rockwell's Review here.

The Three Dragons: According to popular lore, NIkon created a series of three zoom lenses and dubbed them the Three Dragons. While they all had maximum apertures of  F 2.8, the combined focal length range varied from a maximum of 200mm to a minimum that varied with the most current high-speed zoom the company had to offer. The standby zoom ranges were the 70-200mm 2.8, the 24-70 2.8, and whatever the widest zoom lens happened to be at the time. Currently it is the 14-24 zoom, but before 2007, it was the 17-35mm 2.8, which is shown here. It was the last member of the trio that I purchased for a price that is best forgotten. It suffices to say I paid dearly to complete my collection, but never had cause to use it in the field. I tended to carry my 15-30 Sigma when reaching for a full-framed super wide angle lens, partly because the Sigma weighed only 21.9 ounces, compared to the Nikon's 26.3 ounce heft. That doesn't sound like much, but ounces become pounds when assembling a proper kit for an assignment where you can't park your car nearby, or more importantly, when it's mounted to a DSLR body and hanging from one's neck.

I freely admit that carrying those Three Dragons was certainly a knight's errand. The lenses were all heavy, and when coupled with two full-framed DSLR bodies (A D600 primary and a backup D700) it becomes a sizable burden. Now that my working system is a Fuji APS series of bodies and lenses, the performance of this enormous 17-35 is easily duplicated by my 10-24 F 4.0 zoom, which was the first lens I grabbed for a long time. When I finally got tired of the "stretch face" distortion created when working at short distances, I then made my 16-55 2.8 the first choice lens. It forced me to increase my minimum working distance and lessened the distortion considerably.

While the Sigma has a weight advantage, the Nikkor could accept 77mm filters, which allows me the protection of a protective filter and braving a landscape filled with thumbprints and wayward bits of airborne flotsam.

August 11, 2024

August 11, 2024

August 11, 2024

I had hoped to add some random field shots taken with the 17-35, but the combination of time and opportunity have not meshed successfully, so for the moment these early images must suffice. The difference in contrast and sharpness are apparent when viewed in post-production, but only hinted at when the image lands in a post.  The lens is definitely a cut above the Sigma, but for the price, it should be. 

Today, for one last hurrah, I hauled the lens out to Sausalito. I was hoping to make some photographs where this super-wide angle lens was in its element. However, most of it was pretty two-dimensional, although the exaggerated foreshortening inherent to such a lens can be observed.  Here's today's harvest:

August 25, 2024

August 25, 2024

August 25, 2024

August 25, 2024

August 25, 2024

August 25, 2024

These photos were taken in the light industrial Sausalito shoreline. There were body shops, electricians, and a few scattered marine-related businesses. I was surprised to find what appeared to be a rather nice restaurant called Anchorage 5, a place I might try some day. It's easy to speculate how the restaurant came to be. Perhaps it was the equivalent of the neighborhood restaurant for the residents of the houseboat community moored nearby.

So what's the point of carrying the lens if it is so infrequently used? I have to wonder if purchasing the Pergear 14mm F 2.8 might be easier on my shoulders, as it weighs only17 ounces. Also, I would probably have a more "normal" mounted on my camera, and deploy a superwide lens only the situation warranted. As such, the lighter Peargear, waiting patiently for its moment to shine, makes a bit more sense.

Incidentally, there's a speck of dust at the top edge of the frame the I need to address.