Project 52 ... 45

This is Paul...
.

D200, Tamron 17 - 50 f2.8, SB800 from camera right...

.
Paul is my Brother-in-Law. A great dad and a good husband; a nicer man you could not meet. We shared a house many years ago when we were first starting out in work. Good memories, the best of which ;

'I've fallen and I can't get up... but I'm alright now...'.

You had to be there!

I took Paul a bit by surpirse with this portrait. The flash was on-camera (I know, cheat, I hear you say...!). I am not a fan of on-camera flash; people end up looking flat and washed out. Paul doesn't. The reason is I bounced the flash off an adjacent wall, that in itself would have made solme difference, but some of the flash light would have gone straight onto Paul, which I didn't want. So I placed a gobo, a black piece foam, velcroed to the flash that directed all the light where I wanted it to go. It had the added benefit of not blinding Paul when I took the shot. Great for parties, it looks like directional light... which it is. So much better than on-camera flash.

Thanks Paul for a great photo.

Hannah

This is Hannah.
.

D200, Tamron 17 - 50, f2.8, SB900 camera left bare flash, zoomed,

SB800 camera right in shoot thro'

I shot Hannah with two other photographers, Pat and Adam at a recent 'Bristol Strobist' shoot in the magnificent Ashton Court Mansion in Bristol. We had a great day's shooting. Hannah was no stranger to modelling! She was fantastic throughout the day. We only had a short time shooting her but it was great fun. Thanks again, Hannah.

This shot was taken using the Nikon CLS system for controlling the flashguns. Both Pat and Adam had used it in the past, and as we were all Nikon users, that was how we started. Being used to manually controlling the flashguns at source - not the menus back of camera, I could not get to grips with it and found it taxing. But we got some good shots - I was, however, glad we switched to manual triggers later on

This was the best shot I took of Hannah, here are some more...
.

Project 52 ... 40

David wears shirts... lots of 'em and not just ordinary ones at that!
.

D200, Tamron 17 - 50, f2.8, SB80 bare flash camera right, 1/2 power

.

They are all patterned and flash and sometimes loud, but very 'on trend' as my ten year old daughter would say. David came to work with us for a few weeks; stayed for a few months and is a valued member of the team, but is sadly going to a more permanent position in the near future. When I approached him to take his portrait, it struck me that getting him to wear one of his famous shirts was the way to go. Well he didn't just bring one, he brought half a dozen!

David is lit by a single SB800 at half power or so to camera right just out of picture. I dropped the ambient light by about a stop, set the camera to manual at 1/200th at f8 and started shooting.

Thanks David for being such a good sport and I wish you well for the future, (and you might notice, David, that the brick coursing doesn't align with your shirts either! - you had to be there)

Ashton Court Bristol Strobist Meet

More shoes... rather a lot of them actually...

I recently had the good fortune to be part of an incredible meet at Ashton Court in Bristol with a group of about 40 like-minded photographers, 20 amazing models and a handful of very talented make up artists.
.

Sherie's Shoes

D200, SB900 1/2 power camera right,

SB900 1/4 power camera left

I am at present editing the selection but I will be posting the best shots here over the next few weeks. Keep watching.

Project 52 ... 39

This is Ben. Ben joined us as a Year Out student in Architecture this summer.
.

D200, Tamron 17 - 50mm f2.8, Sb800 shoot thro' umbrella camera left,

Vivitar 285 gridded behind Ben

.
We take in students most years during their studies. Ben has spent a lot of the summer doing door and window schedules and drawing up plans on the computer.

Thanks Ben for being a good sport!

To learn more about brick sizes...

Project 52 ... 38

This is Pal.
.

D200, Tamron 17 - 50, f2.8, Sb 800 camera right

Pal is a Shotokai College instructor in Shotokai Karate. On Saturday mornings you can find him sharing his knowledge, wisdom, wit and experience with children. A difficult task, he has the ability to bring the best out in his students and is always finding new and exciting ways to progress. A huge asset to the karate community and I know I am not alone in hoping that he continues to teach. Here he is practising kata.

A kata is a series of moves strung together and practiced in a set way. On a superficial level a kata is a physical exercise to learn to string together various moves; on a deeper level it is harmonizing the body with the mind and all around it.

A simple shot. I had an SB800 flash, no modifiers, on a VAL (voice activated lightstand - Katy, thanks Katy) to camera right and out of view. I dropped the ambient about a stop and then lit Pal, tweaking the power output on the flash until i was happy with the result.

Project 52 ... 37

Say hello to Ann.

.

D200, Tamron 17 - 50, f2.8, SB800, shoot thro' camera left,

Vivitar 285 gridspot camera right

I have known for a short time but in that time have come to know how much she does for the local community. Here Ann is doing a jigsaw puzzle, no big deal, right? But it is when you add the next one and the next one and then find out its so that when they are sold on in charity shops they are full and correct and thats all thanks to Ann! She must have the patience of a Saint! A lovely lady she is always there with a smile and is also a great hostess.

For this shot I set up the SB800 in a shoot through umbrella to Ann's left and a Vivitar 285 with a gridspot to her right.

Thank you Ann, for having patience to sit for me, but I suppose if you have the patience to do jigsaw puzzles then me taking twenty minutes to set up and photograph you is a dawdle!

Project 52 ... 36

This is Bill.
.

D200, Tamron 17 -50, f2.8, SB800 shoot thro' camera left,

Vivitar 285 gridspot camera right

.
Its hard to believe that this is the 36th portrait I have taken on this journey! I feel I am on the home straight. I have known Bill for a little over a year or so and I am happy to be able to call him a friend. Retired, he is a pillar of the community and well liked by everyone. I took this shot just before he and his lovely wife, Anne, were off on holiday.

The set up was a simple linear one that I find so quick and easy.

Thanks Bill for letting me take this shot.

Project 52 ... 35

Meet Matt,
.

D200, Tamron 17 - 50 f2.8, SB800 shoot thro' to camera left, Vivitar 285 behind and gridspot

.

I first met Matt some years ago when he tried to get me involved in the Catenian Association. At first I wan't buying, but I came around (after a bit of subtle selling...) and have met some fantastic people along the way, some of whom I have photographed here.

I photographed Matt with his daughter, Morag, see here, a wonderful girl going to devote her life to mathematics... To shoot Matt I used the same set up as Morag, simple and easy.

Thanks again Matt, for badgering me!

Project 52 ... 34

This is Morag.
.

D200, Tamron 17 - 50, f2.8, SB800, shoot thro', Vivitar 285 gridspot for hairlight

.

Morag is a beautiful young lady with a bright future in ... Maths and Philosophy! Great subjects! She starts her university course this month, rather her than me! To mark the occasion we took a series of shots one Saturday morning of Morag and her Mother and Father. This can only be a difficult but very exciting time for both Morag and her parents.

.

For this shot we had an SB800 in a shoot through umbrella to camera right, Morag in the middle and a Vivitar 285 to camera left and behind Morag giving a hairlight separation, and a nice bit of flare... This linear approach works very well and is very quick to set up.

.

I want to thank Morag and her parents for being great people to photograph; we had a great laugh taking the shots. Morag, I wish you all the success and hope you enjoy university life! Oh, and don't forget... never divide by zero.

More shoes ... well boots ...

This is part of a project of photographing my wife Catherine's wonderful collection of shoes and boots. This is the first shot I have taken and this was to decide how to progress the project. I want to create an sense of drama.
.

D200, Tamron 17 - 50 f2.8, SB800 grid, Vivitar 285 grid

.
Lighting is all important in these shots and adds to the film noir mystic. Flat lighting will do nothing and leave you wondering why you bothered.
.
As you can imagine, there are a lot more photographs to be taken ...

Project 52 ... 30

Say hello again to Heidi.

I photograph Heidi every year when I return to Ireland on a family holiday. With her lovely smile and long shining blond hair Heidi always looks good in a shot. I photographed her previously here.
.

D200, Tamron 17 - 50 f2.8, SB 800 in reflecting umbrella

This shot had to be taken indoors as the Irish weather was asserting itself; as I posted earlier, rain. Fortunately the hall in Heidi's house is rather large and lent itself to me setting up an SB 800 with a reflecting umbrella. The quality of the light from it was wonderful. As before everything was set to manual, the camera and the flash and I was shooting at 1/200th. I simply tweaked the f-stop until the photo looked right. Simple. Then you just shoot away. In a sequence like this I find it better to take a lot of shots because facial expressions change constantly and you wound not want to miss the best one!

Heidi's two friends are holding her hair up to give this fun shot. Thanks Heidi for being such a great sport and putting up with the hair pulling!

Project 52 ... 29

Meet my little brother, Paul.
.

D200, Tamron 17 - 50 f2.8, SB 800 shoot thro' umbrella, Vivitar 285 + gridspot

I have wanted to shoot Paul since we were kids... only kidding. He is the best brother a man could have. Here he is holding a samurai sword called a katana that was awarded to him on receiving his First Dan black belt grade in Wado Ryu karate. He is also sporting his yakuza style tattoo. Paul and I first started learning karate in the 70's when the Bruce Lee phenomenon hit the big screen. You couldn't get enough of Kung Fu or Karate. It was everywhere and everyone wanted to be a part of it. We both kept it up, Paul studying Wado Ryu in Ireland.

I wanted to make this photo a gritty hard edged one to show something of the karate-ka that is Paul. Unfortunately this cannot show you the blood, sweat and tears that goes into the dedication required to gain this level of achievement in karate, but believe me its there. I lit Paul with an SB 800 in a shoot through umbrella level with the camera to camera left and a Vivitar 285 directly behind Paul and about 10 feet away from him with a grid spot to control the light. I also draped the umbrella with the black/silver cover to limit the spill of light through the umbrella. The lights were in a linear formation; with Paul in the middle forming a straight line.

Both flashes were triggered with CTR 301 P, Ebay remotes, which have fired every time for me so far! Thanks Paul for a wonderful meal that night and for having the patience to sit (stand) while I took the shot.

Project 52 ... 26

Bow your head to Sensei Rolf...

.

D200, Tamron 17 - 50, f2.8, Vivitar 285, SB 800, both gridded.

Rolf has dedicated much of his free time over many years teaching karate to children, specifically Shotokai Karate. The club is in Winkfield, you can find out more about it here. Rolf has a great way with the children and they progress at a fantastic rate with his teaching and understanding of this amazing martial art. Sadly he is leaving the country to pursue his career. He shall be sorely missed on Saturday mornings!

I had Rolf sit in seiza for this shot. Not a posture I am comfortable in myself, but Rolf was very patient when I set up the strobes. I had both flashguns at camera right and left respectively, both gridded and both about 3 feet higher than Rolf's head. I killed the ambient and then tweaked the aperture / flash power until I got the shot I wanted. Thanks Rolf, and good luck!

Heidi and Helga

These two great girls, Heidi and Helga are drama dedicated in a big way. they are always in some production or other and they always excel!

.

D200, Tamron 17 - 50 f2.8, SB 800

This shot was set up as a bit of fun one summer evening in the south of Ireland, yes we do have summers there ... sometimes ...

The shot was lit with an SB 800 in the Guinness umbrella, fired by the SU 4 super slave built in to the flash. A great fun shot, thanks girls!

Project 52 ... 24

Meet Cathy. A wonderful lady I met in my Spanish class!

.

D200, SB 80, shoot thro' umbrella to camera left

Cathy spends half of her time here and the other half in sunny Spain. Where her excellent grasp of the language no doubt comes in handy! Her she is amongst one of her vices ... handbags! We've dealt with shoes ... sort of ... I guess its a natural progression to handbags

This was a first for me - the first use of a shoot through umbrella. The flash was set to 1/4 power and, as usual, I dropped the ambient about a stop or so. Camera setts I don't remember, but about 1/250 or so.

Thanks Cathy for being a great sport! The shot took about half an hour to set up and get right and thanks again to my VAL, Katy.

Project 52 ... 23

Meet Maggie...

.

D200, Tamron 17 - 50 f2.8, SB800 softbox, camera left

Maggie is a bit of a culinary expert. She works for the culinary genius Mr Roux and she tells me she loves her job. The theme of this shot was always going to have food in it in some shape or form. Maggie also sings in the choir at Mass on a Sunday and her dulcet tones fill the air like the song of an Angel! She is very well know and liked in the community.

The shot here in Maggie's back garden, when I suggested using the garden bench, she went and dressed it herself! Much better than I could have done it - she told me she had done it before (I shall file that away for future reference...) so I let her get on with it. I set up the SB 800 in a softbox to camera left with a 1/2 CTO (colour temperature orange) gel on it to warm up the photo. The ambient is under exposed by about a stop or so. I wanted to reproduce the late evening glow on an overcast night. The camera was at 1/200th or so and I tweaked the f-stop until I got the shot I wanted. Maggie is always smiling and this shot in a sequence was the one for me.

Thanks Maggie for letting me into your home, maybe next time you'll bake a cake...?

Project 52 ... 21

Say hello to Des...

.

D200, Tamron 17 - 50, f2.9, Sb 800 soft box camera left, Vivitar 285 and gridspot camera right

I first met Des about a year ago and given that he is a Building Surveyor we immediately had something in common; the recession. To all who know him he a very happy and sincere person and always has a great building site story!

Throughout this project I have constantly wondered what the next shot is going to be. Because I am invariably in a person's home or office and while often I know them, I don't know their house and given the timescales involved have no chance of a recce beforehand. But I had been to Des' house before so I remembered the glass dining table. So Des became the first reflection shot.

An Sb800 is in a softbox illuminating Des and not much else as I kept it quite close to him. To the right is the 285 with a gridspot that is pointed past Des and onto the wall behind. This separates Des from the background. Ten minute set up, shot done.

Project 52 ... 17

Here's Malcolm!

.

D200, Tamron 17 - 50 f2.8, Sb 800, Vivitar 285, Mains Flash.

.

This is Malcolm. Hiding under the table?; this is the table Christopher was standing on, here, not at the same time I might add...

.

In this shot I used an old Edison screw in flash head I picked up years ago and never used. I got a fantastic Ikea lamp shade in the shape of the old aluminium flash heads and Bob's your uncle. I placed a piece of white paper over it and placed it to camera left. The flash is manual and has one power setting, so you vary the intensity by distance / aperture / softening. To camera right and behind Malcolm is a gridded Vivitar 285 giving the rim light effect. An SB 800 is placed, bare bulb, in a cupboard behind him.

.

At first I didn't like the flare the SB 800 is giving off, but it has grown on me now. I could have modified the light by snooting it or putting a gobo on it to ensure the light didn't fall on the underside of the table. But I like it as it is.

.

And, no, Malcolm does not live under tables...

Project 52 ... 15

This is the one and only Christopher...

.

D200, Tamron 17 - 50, f2.8, Sb 800 + softbox , Vivitar 285 + gridspot, Sunpak behind

Christopher is standing on a layout space down the centre of the drawing office studio. An award wining architect, Christopher is leaving his mark on this land in the residential sector. His designs are innovative, both traditional and modern, and very well received. He is a much sought after designer. Unfortunately he doesn't appreciate my jokes... but that's another story.

I lit Christopher with an SB 800 in a softbox to camera left about six feet and 30 degrees to the front of him, it was probably at 1/2 power. A Vivitar was placed behind him at about 45 degrees and at 1/2 power, with a tight gridspot. About ten feet behind him was a small Sunpak flash with one manual 'full power' setting to give him an 'edge'.

I set this all up beforehand, again visualising the finished shot, did a few test shots, tweaked the aperture. The D200 was set to manual at 1/250th. Then all that was left was to call in Christopher, get him to climb on the table and shoot! As you can see I missed!