Words and Light

I am finally starting to overcome my apprehension about using strobes on the field!

I never really articulated this apprehension in this blog. Basically, at the beginning of this semester, I was horribly squeamish about using my strobe out in public because (gulp) I have this irrational fear of being perceived as an Asian tourist loaded with fancy camera gear.

Our TA in Advanced Techniques in Photojournalism told me I have to overcome this fear, which I knew, and suggested that I capitalize on the possibility of being perceived as an Asian tourist. Meaning, I should let myself loose and let people think I’m an Asian tourist, which would let me get away with using every piece of equipment in my bag.

I’m not quite over this fear. But I’m getting there.

For our latest assignment in the class, we were to use rear-sync curtain flash and panning movement to create a blended image:

Working with artificial constant source light (tungsten or fluorescent). Shoot people in an active situation and blend your strobe with the existing artificial light — being sure to think about the color temperature of that light and using the appropriate gel so the image is color correctable. Use of a slow shutter sync combined with panning or other cameras or subject movement to convey a sense of movement or action.

So I shot a drag show at MU.

It wasn’t nearly as elaborate, technical or hilariously raunchy as last year’s affair. The show was in a common area of Memorial Union, where the overhead tungsten lights were dimmed and there were no stage lights. Which was unfortunate for me, since there was very, very little artificial constant source light with which I could blend my flash.

But the show was still fun to shoot. I set my white balance for tungsten, gelled my flash accordingly, got my exposure right, set my flash for rear-sync curtain and fired away.

Here’s my select:

Columbia College student Wayne Boykin II performs as drag queen Amanda Lay at a drag show in Memorial Union on April 18. Boykin was crowned MU's Miss Diva 2009.

I learned pretty quickly that using the blending technique is a hit-or-miss deal. Whether I caught a good moment seemed to rely on how well I could anticipate a good moment in time to snap the shutter and trigger the rear-curtain flash so the flash’s light would stop the drag queen/king’s action in that moment I anticipated.

Make sense?

Thought so!