The picture above was taken at CALTrans’s traffic monitoring center (California Transportation).Using at 28mm lens, I metered the scene, decided on ISO 400, 1/8 sec @ f11. The flash that’s hidden between the monitor was set to give me f11. It was triggered by wireless Quantum radio slave.
The Ol’ Control Room/Nerve Center
The picture above of a control room is fairly common these days. Gone are the old chalkboards and other “analog†displays, this picture could be the setting for a casino’s security center, or any hub for communication.
In this situation,  camera shake will be a factor because you will have to use a slow shutter speed to allow the lighting in the room to “burn in†or record on your camera’s sensors. Continue reading Location Lighting Part 2→
Taxidermist Tim Bovard and a Sumatran Tiger was lit by one Lumedyne 200 watt/sec flash. The flash triggered by a Quantum radio slave placed on the display case between the Tim and the tiger. The house lights were turned off to remove the clutter in the background. Whatever is not lit, can’t be seen, so there’s no need to remove them from the background. Exposure info: ISO 200 1/200 sec @ f11 using a 28mm lens.
Taxidermist & Sumatran Tiger
There are many schools of thought when it comes to lighting.
If I have a lot of time with my subject, I will take the trouble to actually create the “feel†or ambience by lighting everything.
A typical on-location setup. When the Santa Ana Winds are not howling here in Southern California, the umbrella on a lightstand is a quick way to get some soft light. The rest of the time I have to carry a sandbag just in case. My White Lightning flash is powered by a portable battery on the bottom right of the picture. The flash is triggered by a radio slave so there’s one less wire to trip over.
Exactly how much photo equipment do you need?
You’ve heard it time and time again. It’s not the gear but how the person uses it that matters most.
Baseball was not my favorite sport to cover. Bases can be loaded inning after inning and no one scores. Then out-of-the-blue, all hell breaks loose and a collision at home plate occurs. Thankfully I wasn’t asleep here. Picture taken with a Nikon F4 triggered by a foot pedal. 180 f2.8 lens prefocused at home plate. Fujichrome 100 1/2000 @ f2.8 . Angels Stadium, Anaheim.
So let’s assume you’re in and you’ve gotten the nod to shoot your first sports assignment.
Sorry, those professional baseball, basketball and Big 10 college football games will be covered by the staff photographers because they’ll appear on the cover of the section.
Don’t despair, as you get better, you’ll get to the front page of the Sports section. If you have a really good picture, it may run on the front page, but  let’s not get ahead of ourselves yet. Continue reading Freelancing for Newspapers–Part 3→
Photo tips from a creative Southern California photographer
