January 26, 2010

Colombian Caribbean RELAX and SHOOT!!! (part 1 & 2)



Lightenupandshoot.com heads to Covenas, Colombia for some Caribbean relaxation...and photos of some of the locals.  Andy and I decided to bring both the Backpacker's Studio and Backpacker's Studio Plus (addition of the Alien Bee 1600 head and the Vagabond II for battery power).  I suspect to receive a few emails for carrying something other than the Backpacker's Studio.  But,  when on vacation it's nice to bring out the big toys.



More after the break...
Combating the Caribbean sun in the middle of the afternoon can be tough to do with speedlights.  If you need more power, the Alien Bees B1600 is a great light system for the money.

Below:  The 1st shot of a local taken on the beach (ISO 100, f11, 1/250, B1600 at full power, 50" Westcott softbox)

2nd shot taken (ISO 200, f16, 1/320, B1600 at full power, 50" Westcott softbox and SB800 at full power w/CTO for rim light)  note:  from ISO 100 to 200 is one stop of light.  This shot would have had the same exposure if shot at ISO 100 and f11.

3rd shot has the same setting as the 2nd shot but without the rim light.

4th shot (preview of a setup from part 2)
Enjoy!!!!
-Mikey




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24 comments:

  1. Nice Job guys, the beach looks awesome. I'm a little confused how you can shoot at a shutter speed higher than the 1/250 sync speed. I would think the flash would not saturate the shot if the shutter speed is higher than the sync?

    -Ross

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  2. Another great video guys. But damn Andy without your shirt on you were like a big white reflector. No worries I would be a bigger refleactor and make you proud to have your shirt off. Keep the videos and fotos coming. I like how your adding the camera info along with the fotos.

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  3. Several older nikons have a faster sync speed. The D40 claims 1/500 sec, but mine will sync at 1/800 with a cheap ebay trigger I have. I think the D70 and D50 also claim 1/500 sec.

    I do not know what body he was using. I have heard that you can creatively position the dark area in your picture(turn the camera upside down if the sky is the only thing in that part of the picture because you are not lighting that anyway) and you can always crop the dark band out.

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  4. yet another great video guys! Ross your shutter speed only affects your ambient light so going above your max shutter speed will only affect any part of the photo that is lit by flash. So if the picture was completely lit by flash then you would see that dark line down one side of the frame but seeing as how the subject is really the only thing lit by the flash and she is in the middle of the frame you don't get any dark line.

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  5. Hey everyone,

    The max sync speed on the D300 I was using is 1/250 of a second. But, I always push it and see if I can get away with 1/320 or 1/400 without getting that dark line across the screen. Try it! See what happens.

    -Mikey

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  6. Man, that's a great, practical way to explain us newbies how the basic photography's concepts come into play! Can't wait 'til tomorrow to give them a try! Haha, funny question: 'what do we do guys?' -funny and useful! No way I'm forgetting it!

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  7. Really great video guys! At what speed do the cybersyncs start popping inconsistently? I'm debating between them and pocket wizards.

    The D-40 does have a 1/500 sync, in fact if you put an iTTL flash on the camera, it won't let you go any higher than 1/500. I've also pushed it to 1/800 off camera.

    Not so nuts about the rim light. It doesn't look bad, just not as good as without it.

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  8. I haven't had any problems with the cyber syncs popping inconsistently. They work awesome and about half the price....oh so sweet!

    Mikey

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  9. Keith(whiskers) said
    Best video yet! Looks a great location for photography. Beautiful people and beautiful shots. Thank you for sharing your expertise, I have learned lots just from watching your video's. And yes its still cold in Southern England.

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  10. Just saw the second one .. "Why are we at ISO 400??? Because we DID NOT CHECK THE SETTINGS."

    Also guilty as charged (I think I'm on my 200'th offense now).

    I haven't shot a d300, does it still put the number of shots left on the card instead of something useful like the ISO in the view finder?

    .. You know, where we might actually notice such things?

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  11. But can anyone buy cyber syncs in europe ?

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  12. Nice location guys! It looks amazing just like the photos :oD

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  13. Part two was great. Your getting way better at the video thing of showing the set ups your shooting. I gotta say I hate you guys. You make me miss Colombia and I can not wait to get back. Thanks again for these videos and the fotos you share with us.

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  14. Love watching and learning from you guys. I'm still curious why you are in Columbia? Doesn't matter. Learning lots and implementing your teaching oh masters of light.

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  15. Thanks a lot guys!
    It's so much fun watch your videos from Russia, where it's currently -22C degrees!
    Mikey, your t-shirt seems almost like "Hello" to me personally, I love it! ;)

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  16. I'm a bit disappointed in you guys...

    At first you ask me to do the portfolio review,
    and now when i send you the link to it you don't answer anymore....

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  17. V,

    Man, I am so sorry. It is totally my fault that I have not gotten back to a few people about the reviews. I originally thought that the reviews would take about 15 minutes; they have turned out to take over an hour (all the banter and fun). So, I promise to send everyone an email right now and try to re-schedule with those people that we missed. Again, I am so sorry...my fault.

    Mikey

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  18. A quick shout out from Rochester, NY. You guys are quickly becoming my favorite lighting blog. I love how you guys sprinkle in the humor as well. I've been slowly watching all your videos. Keep up the great work!

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  19. Hi from Berlin! I like your style, and your videos are a nice and funny way to extend my knowledge, thanks a lot!

    I own a Pentax K-7 with a max sync speed of 1/160... At 1/200 my triggers won't sync anymore.. So I guess shooting with speedlights during the day with a low aperture number is not really doable? :( Gosh...

    Anyway, I can't wait for your next video. Keep on having fun guys! :)

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  20. poke > ebook
    poke > exif
    keep it coming gringos
    its not good you know we need a hit everyday ;-)

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  21. Anonymous said...
    But can anyone buy cyber syncs in europe ?

    JANUARY 27, 2010 3:27 PM


    You can get them, I just got mine from gotham.ch
    postage to the uk was expensive but at least I have them.
    I got my westcott 28" which arrived today from creativevideo as i could not find one anywhere else in the uk

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  22. Well, I'm just beginning to be hungry for more...:)

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  23. Guys, in your 2nd video, what is the name of the song that starts playing at 8:30 into the video? Cool sound.

    As always, great vid, fun way to learn.

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  24. ur photos take me back to my time spent in colombia,, hopefully to inspire me enough to return again soon, it is truly a great place.. thank you

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