I Wasn't Thinking Ahead

My Long Story: My editor's daughter in law, "K", is an advocate for, and a student of, bee hive preservation, noticed that bees were entering and exiting the ventilation hole of a utility vault's cover. This activity suggested that there was a hive inside the vault.  Its proximity to a major thoroughfare made its safe removal imperative. My editor contacted me about photographing the removal. Give me the date and time, and I am so there.

This cell phone photo taken several days prior gives you an idea of the situation of the utility vault. Bees could be seen entering and exiting the tiny ventilation hole in the cover, a sure sign of a hive hiding within. Its safe removal and relocation was important from both an ecological and safety perspective, since the local flora needed the bees for pollination, and the utility workers needed safe access to the enclosed valve. Plans were made to include a professional bee specialist and the San Mateo Water Department representative in the hive's relocation on Wednesday at 11:30. On my docket.

That morning I arrived at 11:05, and spent more than ten minutes trying to find a convenient parking place, and finally found one two blocks away. I started my long walk to the hive. In the interest of mobility, I brought only a lightstand and a shoot-through umbrella which I keep in my trunk for times when portability is most important.

Taken 11:28 AM

I arrived at 11:20, just moments after "K" and her husband. When we arrived at the vault, we were told by Ray the beekeeper  that the queen bee had apparently left, leaving behind a partially constructed beehive hanging from the vault cover. With the vault cover hive-side-up on the grass, we could see small dark spots in a few of the cells, signs that some eggs were on their way to pupation. Looking at the hives still attached to the cover I started to make some photos, if only to add some value to a morning that had just fallen apart due to the impetuous actions of the queen bee.

His work done, Ray was preparing to leave, and was in the process of cutting out the little hives when I asked if he could stop for a few moments while I prepared to make some photos. While any images I made would not tell the complete story of bee hive relocation, they might serve as accents to a future article. I instructed Ray to kneel beside the little hives just to see if the 16mm setting on my zoom lens could accommodate him. As you can see, it couldn't.

Two things became apparent. First, the 16mm setting on my zoom lens was not wide enough, so I would have to move farther away from my subject/s. Second, I would need some additional light on Ray's face to give me some detail. The repositioning was easy. The additional light was not. In the interests of time, I pulled a Hail Mary and opened my shoot through umbrella and positioned it just out of frame, camera left, hoping it would reflect enough light back on Ray's face.

This shot was a definite improvement. The face, will benefit from so adjustment in post processing.

Next Time: If memory serves me, there is a quote from Joe McNally that I should make my mantra: "Whenever possible, negotiate for more time". I should have asked Ray how much time he could spare to help me make a better photograph. Had I asked, I could have easily extended the session by ten minutes or more, judging from the time spent in friendly conversation once everything was put away. 

• 

  "K" made this little sign.

  Next time, take a few minute to set up a proper lightstand with a flash and shoot-through umbrella or small softbox.
• Next time, position the light at a 45 degree angle (or less) when aligned on the subject's nose. 
• Next time, angle the flash up and to  camera right to reduce the texture ruining light on the ho9ney comb.
• Next time, I will select, from my current collection, a speedlight to store alongside the lightstand and umbrella in the handy carrying bag. No more buying new stuff.
• Next time, I'll determine some practical guide numbers for said speedlight and tape the information to the head of the flash. Pre shrunk, pre thunk, I'm fond of saying.

I'll do that tomorrow. Yeah, right.

The Quilt

 This photo was the second photo assignment of the day, and even though I spent almost two hours of "run and gun" at a Memorial Day celebration, I have seldom been more energized that I was during this shoot. 

The assignment was to photograph this quilter with her submission for the upcoming County Fair. I was ecstatic when I found out i would be photograph inside one of the pavilions, which meant relative security and a complete lack of wind. While the artist went to  hang the quilt, I started unpacking. When the quilt was hung, to take a no-flash shot to see what the ambient lighting looked like.

From this first attempt, you can see the structural details of the ceiling and the accents provided by the ceiling lights. You can also see that the ambient does provide some light on the subject, although not enough to bring out the true colors of the quilt. I was very encourage by the graphic aspects, so I proceeded to create my flash lighting solution.

I decided to approach the photo from a typical copy lighting setup. I set up two identical speedlights set on light stands adjusted to a height that approximated the half-height of the hanging quilt. Shoot through umbrellas were used as modifiers and positioned at an equal distance for the lens axis line. 

If you look at the above photo, you will see a red arrow pointing to a my accent light, which was a 200 WS flash with a grid mounted to help contain any potential light spill. It did provide a the glancing light that gave my subject's hair the separation from the darker background. I believe there was some lens flare created by the flash, so I made a small gobo (shade) out of gaffer tape to reduce it.

Now here's the fun part. From my camera position the lightstand is aligned with the open garage door on the far wall. In fact, the lightstand is practically invisible. This means that the accent light is coming from an existing location, and the effect is therefore believable, although greatly exaggerated. 

The final photo was simply cropping out the left edge of the frame. What remains of the garage door suggests a light source for the viewer, and that little hint helps make the photo a little more "believable". 

You can see from the cropped portrait (above right) that the accent light did a proper job of highlighting my subject's hair. Notice that the accent light is placed so it did not create a highlight on the side of the subject's nose, an important thing to remember.

I can never leave well enough alone, and in this photo I am bothered by how the (camera) right edge of the quilt gets lost in the dark background. I didn't notice the problem until the end of the session when I was at the end of my allotted  time. At the last moment I tried to add an accent light as I had done on camera left, but couldn't get one to trigger properly. I couldn't get the effect I wanted, so I resigned myself to come up with a solution for future use.

If I could replay the whole scenario, I would have taken my fourth speedlight and set it to S1 mode so it would be optically triggered by the flash I had placed on the left side of the frame. Since I didn't have another light stand, I could have simply used the ball-headed clamp I had in my camera bag and attached it to the back of a chair. I would have positioned the chair just out of the right edge of the frame, and aimed it directly at the right edge of the quilt. Then I would move the chair away from the camera, until the light skimmed in front of my subject. This way I could get light on the edge without affecting the seamstress herself. I don't know if it would have worked as planned, but at least next time I can try.

On June 1, the photo was published. I was shocked at the size. It takes up more than half of the page. It was cropped a bitt, but I suspected it would be, as I always provide some "extra" on the edges so the photo can be adjusted to fit the available space. The quilt is shown in all its glory, and the colors and details really pop in spite of the limits posed by printing on newsprint. All the effort it took to set up the twin copy lighting setup was all worth it.