Pride Parade In San Mateo

The Staging Area: The Pride Day Celebration is a "thing" in San Mateo. The last time I photographed it was in  2019. That photo featured the El Camino Reelers, a square-dancing club demonstrating some basic square dance moves during the main program in Central Park. This was the first time I photographed the parade itself. I arrived during the setup period before the parade, and was pleased to find the group Cheer SF practicing in the staging area on B Street.

I had intended to refine my "up close" technique using my X-70 and a small FlashQii speedlight. I quickly realized that the little point-and-shoot couldn't keep up during these fast action sequences, so I abandoned the effort and went back to a X-T2 and the 10-24mm zoom lens. The flash was a shoe-mounted Godox V1, a flash with more power than the FlashQii and adjustable beam setting that allows me to concentrate the light into a narrower angle. The head was angled up slightly to reduce the light on the immediate foreground.

1/250 second, F 11.0, ISO 200

1/250 second, F 11.0, ISO 200

These are samples of when the foreground flash is correctly balanced with the sky. The background buildings are pretty much left to fend for themselves, illumination wise, and provide the necessary location context. Flash output was not recorded.

1/250 second, F 11.0, ISO 200

This shot was made at a greater distance, so I tilted the head up slightly, reduced the beam angle to 69 degrees, and set the output to Full. The lack of illumination around the center is apparent, but as a photo, it does emphasize the most interesting person in the group. However, she is too small to effectively draw the viewer's attention, so in that regard the image wasn't worth submitting. If she had her arms extended in a more interesting pose, it might have worked. With her arms tightly at her side, it doesn't.

At this point I was trying to get my subjects in motion during their performance, but I found that the recycle time of the flash, brief as it was, prevented me from making multiple exposure bursts, which would have given me a series of photos from which to choose.

Change In Tactics: As the cheer team began moving down B Street, I moved to a position slightly in front so I could shoot at a 45 degree angle. As it turned out, the sunlight would illuminate the group from a 45 degree angle, so they were front lit as they marched past. I turned the flash off, and set the camera to record using the Low Speed Burst setting, which was about 4 frames per second. I also set the camera for manual focusing and by using the Manual Focus Assist feature, I could choose exactly what portion of my subject would be in focus. This eliminated any possibility of delays caused by "focus seeking", and allowed me to concentrate on recording the moment of peak action. Exposure was set to Aperture Priority.

The march towards Central Park followed a specific sequence: march, set down red buckets, perform, ask for donations, repeat. I would move ahead of the group, and as soon as they put down their buckets, I would position myself and frame the shot. Then I would establish focus on the nearest subject and wait. When the performers were at the top of their lifts, I would fire a burst. Because the action ended so quickly, the bursts were seldom more than four shots.

These two shots were taken about a block apart. I submitted the second shot because my main subject was higher on the horizon and in sharp contrast to the blue sky.  Also, by touching her ankle, the performer's leg and arm created a "hole" which tends to draw the viewer's attention for just a moment longer.

I didn't realize that when I made the shot, all six cheerleaders were at the height of their lifts, and for the most part, are easy to count. I realize now that if I had crouched a little lower and positioned myself more the camera right, that elusive sixth cheerleader would have been a little easier to see. But I didn't have the opportunity in real time, and some of these fine points are hard to identify when you're worried about just getting up off your knees and moving to the next shooting position. I guess that's the challenge that keeps it all interesting.

Must have been a slow weekend. The photo ran on Page 1, right at the crease.

Downsizing A Camera Kit, Continued

The combination of the Fuji X-70 and the Q20ii proved to be a useful pairing when I photographed Carnaval in San Francisco. The two bits of kit fit neatly into a fanny pack, along with some extra batteries for the camera and the flash. I will be looking for a compact selfie stick, preferably one that will fit in the pack, in case I need a little more height.

Key Light: For this shot, the flash serves as the key light. The flash was held high overhead to provide some modeling on my subject. The subject is backlit, and the costume completely blocks any sunlight from reaching the face and body.  The camera was at eye level, and the flash held overhead. Exposure was determned by trial and error.

1/1000 second, F 5.6, ISO 400, Cloudy White Balance

Simplified Guide Numbers: For the mathematically inclined, a Guide Number is assigned to a specific ISO sensitivity by the flash manufacturer. To determine the correct aperture, you would take the GN and divide it by the flash-to-subject distance. I decide to set the camera to the specific ISO / Shutter Speed / Aperture setting that will give me a proper exposure for the sky. For these trials, I choose ISO 400, 1/1000 of a second, and F 8.0 as my base exposure. Next, I stood ten feet from these Birds of Paradise flowers, and fired three shots: Full Power, Half Power, and Quarter Power. You can see the exposures here. In these samples the flowers receive no direct sunlight, although there is some illumination from the open sky.

From this tryptic you can see that at full power, the flash can barely achieve a proper exposure at ten feet. 

Moving up to five feet, you can see that at a quarter power, there's still plenty of light to achieve a good exposure. 

Starting Point: One can conclude from this simple test that at a Subject To Flash (STF) distance of ten feet and the output set to Full Power, there is barely enough light to provide a proper exposure. When one changes the STF distance to five feet, the quarter power output setting is more than enough, if not a bit too much. Now all of this can be influenced by a number of factors. First, the photos were made in an area where the "floor" was dark and non-reflective. Taken on a concrete sidewalk, the light reflecting from the ground will add to the exposure. second, the leaves were dark to begin with, so exposures of fair-complexioned subjects may be a bit overexposed. 

Output Control. On the Q20ii flash, output is adjusted by using an Increase and a Decrease button (lightened). The are easy to adjust by poking the desired button with my thumb, a quality shared with my gold standard Nikon SB-800. Now when I shoot, I adjust the output based on the STF distance, which is so much simpler.

Estimating Distance: Here are some simple methods for estimating distance:

• If you hold out your arms along your left-to-right axis, the distance between your outstretched index finger tips will be equal to you height.
• If you stand facing a wall and point your arm directly in front, the distance will be about 20% of your height.

Exposure Fine Tuning: Understand that when using a 28mm equivalent lens, I am working at relatively short distances. The upside is that small changes to the subject-to-flash distance can have a big effect on the exposure. Too bright? Hold the flash farther from the subject. Too dark? Move the flash closer. If you're using  mirrorless camera and preview the image immediately after you make the photo, you can fine tune your exposure without taking your eye from the camera. Just tell your subject that you're going to make three exposures, so they don't leave before your satisfied with the results.

Fuji X-70, 1/1000 second, F 8.0, ISO 400, supplemented by a FlashQii 

Fill LIght: As you can see from the samples, an STF distance of ten feet is barely enough to properly illuminate a subject when your flash is the primary light source. However, at distances between ten and fifteen feet a full-power blast can provide a satisfactory amount of fill under the proper circumstances. Here, this dancer was already illuminated by sunlight coming from on high and camera left. The flash added light to the sun's, while boosting the existing, open-sky fill light. The dancer stands out from the background because she's brighter, thanks to that bit of flash fill. Grab shots can be lucky accidents, but "opportunity favors the prepared mind," so if you have a basic lighting strategy, those "accidents" can, more often than not, give you some very pleasing results.

Useful Additions: Since Carnaval, I added a few things to this compact kit. First, I added a small notebook and a pen, just in case. I also added two white 6" ball bungee cords I purchased from Amazon. I bought a bag of 50, which might seem excessive, but allow me to discard them, without remorse,  if they start to get a little grody. Besides, this is Amazon, the Costco of on-line retailers. Of course you will be forced to  buy more than you could possibly use. 

Bungee Jumping: Here is the FlashQ mounted on a light pole using two six-inch ball bungee cords looped together to get some additional length. I mounted the flash mounted upside-down so I could tilt the head downward if I need to redirect the light.

I'll follow up with a few selfies that show some of the unique capabilities of this small camera and this smaller flash.