The week after my adventures in Cork I was back in Ireland. This time in Dublin for the PhotoVision roadshow and a couple of shooting workshops.
Again this picture was taken with the 70-200mm lens and with on camera flash. This time I used a black painted background we found at the end of an alley. The black became blue in Lightroom.
The urban shooting workshops are primarily designed to share my techniques of ‘seeing’ an image where no obvious opportunity exists. The portraits that I shoot in non rural areas are either lit with flash, or by controlled natural light. Here is a small selection of my images from the two workshops.
Taken using natural light and the faint glow from an overhead light in the tunnel alleyway between two buildings. This high key image was shot in very dark surroundings and with plus three stops of exposure. The 5D only goes up to +2 so I had to work in manual.
I seemed to revel in Dublin's shiny surfaces. These green glazed tiles on the outside wall of a shop were ideal for this on camera flash picture. I used a wide angle lens in order to avoid flash flare. I zoomed my 580EX2 into 105mm and aligned the flare spot to be behind my model.
Natural light was all that was needed for this simple portrait.
I was expecting Guinness kegs but was faced with Coke bottles. A slash of flash from my 580EX2 coupled with a two stop cut in the ambient exposure.
This shot combines simple lines, a strong diagonal pose, and natural light.
Solitude in blue. A slash of flash triggered by my STE2 made this blue wall a set.
My 16-35mm lens has pulled both the decking and the sky into this shot lit with one flash on a stand high and to the right just out of shot. I cut the basic exposure by two stops to render the sky stormy.
I seemed drawn to the strong primary colours of Temple Bar area of Dublin.
Another natural light shot utilising the tunnel light qualities I find exciting to explore.
I used the sun as a backlight and a Speedlight zoomed into 105mm as a keylight.
This picture shows just how far my STE2 can trigger a 580EX mk2. I was standing a full 10 metres from the flash that was rigged in full sunlight.
I have read great things about the Radio Poppers – are they available in the UK?
The STE2 is great outdoors if it has a fresh battery and the sensor is oblique to the sun. I have made extensive experiments now and I can make it work at up to 10m with ease. The SU800 by Nikon is equally fine if you know how to make it work. Radio Poppers are the next thing to use in conjunction with the STE2.
Damien
Wonderful and inspiring.
I had no idea that the STE2 was so versatile. I had been told that it was next to useless in bright conditions. This proves that it’s not the case.
Hi Damien, I’m raging I missed your shoot. As always you have made the extra-ordinary so simple & so inspiring.
Thanks for the constant awe.
Hugh.
Aha Damien I see you had found my alley on day one already(without the floo powder even!!)-ha! Thanks for the inspirational day. You are an artist. Maj x
thanks for the great day Damien. Learned a good bit just by watching and more by doing,
Also, well done on the blog. It’s a great resource for a starter like myself. Looking forward to the DVDs.
thanks again, Eric
Damien – this blog is just incredible. You are giving away so much for free. The images are great (as always) and the posts here really complements the DVDs (I have both). I have been working hard to implement all the tricks You and Marko were teaching me during the two days last Year – and I must say it has really pushed me forward. I’ll soon be back for an update 1-1 session!
Best regards, Bjørn