1. This shot of Inda was lit using a single Canon 580 EX2 Speedlight on a Lovegrove Gemini bracket with a 30cm silver umbrella rigged on the Lovegrove Avenger Boom Arm. It’s an incredibly simple set up to use once you know how. My job was to demystify the process of using Speedlights on location and to leave my delegates with powerful new lighting and shooting techniques they can deliver to their clients.
The textures in Jakarta are fabulous and real! This is no theme park, it’s the real thing.

02. We started the morning session with a simple natural light shot on the street. This helped me iron out any technical problems with the delegates camera settings. Colour space, LCD display brightness, ‘Active D lighting,’ picture styles and dynamic range all get normalised. Once we are all achieving similar shots we progress to using flash.

03. This shot was lit with one Speedlight and a silver umbrella as described in shot 01 above. I gave out one transmitter to each of the photographers and once we were all triggering the flash I got under way with teaching the creative task of achieving the best flash/ ambient balance.
I had the Nikon, Canon and Fuji photographers all triggering the Canon Speedlight.

04. Low light window light provided another challenge but also the opportunity to get creative with prime lens composition. There’s no one way to frame a subject like this and it gave me an opportunity to get to know the photographic styles of the delegates who had flown into Jakarta from all over Asia for the workshop.

05. A shaft of sunlight came alive with a bit of smoke from a delegate’s cigarette. I love the wall texture here. I kept Inda just out of the sunlight.

06. I then placed Inda into the sunlight and we all had a go at shooting into the light.

07. I used the silver umbrella and a single Speedlight for this shot. I placed the flash in an adjoining room and the radio triggers worked through the walls. W set the exposure for the sunlit leaves and adjusted the flash to taste.

08. This shot in the same location was lit with bounced flash to achieve an even softer look.

09. Another window and another technique. This time we used diffused flash. By now the delegates had the hang of positioning and adjusting the Speedlight plus setting basic exposures.

10. This shot foxed a few at first but with an unexpectedly tiny amount of direct flash from a bare faced Speedlight we achieved harmony inside and out.

11. What I’ve not told you about this workshop is that we had two bodyguards. These serving Marines were never far from us and kept the kidnappers away. They came in handy later too as you will find out.

12. By mid morning the heat was building. It was about 36 degrees and near maximum humidity when we ventured onto the roof area of the building. I needed to show how to shoot in full sun in the middle of the day and control contrast.

13. It was time to unleash the fabulous Fujifilm 55-200mm lens. I used it wide open for this simple head shot. I love the bokeh and sharpness of this lens. It makes beautiful painterly portraits.

14. After a slow lunch at Cafe Batavia we entered another property. I pushed the door open and rats scurried around our feet. We politely asked the Marines to get rid of the rats which they did using a variety of implements and techniques. This shot of Inda was lit with one bare faced Speedlight.

15. A pool of sunlight bathed the floor of the town house through the place where the roof structure had collapsed.

16. The bike was a bonus. I transported it here from where it’s owner had left it. The arch harmonised perfectly with the wheels. I lit Inda with two Speedlights on stands. The group was ready to step up a notch and so we did.

17. Lighting as above. I was lying in rat urine to get this shot but it was worth it :)

18.

19. By mid afternoon it was one again time to brave the streets. Two Speedlights in a trademark Lovegrove set up.

20. A simple two point lighting set up. This time I used the sun from the right and a Speedlight from the left.

21. This doorway caught my eye. In a matter of seconds I had the flash rigged and the delegated told me what the exposure should be. They were learning fast.

22. I had spotted Inda’s hat at the beginning of the day and when I spotted this patch of sunlight on the yellow shutters I knew it was a match made in heaven. Inda’s rucksack was the cherry on the top.

23. This head shot is sunlit and it’s probably a coincidence that sunlight has a similar look to that produced by a Speedlight at 2m. It’s what makes the humble Speedlight such a fabulous bit of kit on overcast days.