Mohammadpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh
at last the beast arrived!!....... I had been longing for this for almost a year..... it was almost a dream getting to open that massive case!!...... yes, the impossible had at last happened and I got my Elinchrom Ranger (Elinchrom Ranger RX Speed AS with A-Head; packed in carrying case; extra battery; 35" brolly; two reflectors) in my hand!!..... it had been a hard decision for me..... I asked myself many questions before I finally decided to go for the Ranger..... I was actually looking to invest in things that I thought would really help me change/diversify my photography..... I refrained from getting any new lenses, and definitely not cameras..... in fact, I got rid of all my previous camera bodies until I ended up with the magnifico D700..... lenses can get me sharper images, less distortion, good bokeh, faster focus, etc. that ensure only the technical quality of an image, but doesn't make a good or different photograph...... the lenses that I have in my hand are more than enough to do decent photography.... the only option that remained was "the light"......
ever since discovering the strobist movement, I never looked back..... I never thought of all the possibilities until I was able to fire my first off-camera flash.... since then most of my effort went into understanding light and getting to use light in the best possible ways..... I'm learning, I'm experimenting and I'm making mistakes..... it had never been more exciting for me...... it gave my photography a new dimension..... when I was challenging myself whether I would be able to keep myself in photography because of job pressure, this word "strobist", invented by David Hobby, gave me a new life..... now I was able to shoot even when there was no daylight..... it kept me in photography..... I was able to enlist myself in "52 weeks project"...... this opened the door to many new possibilities...... this is a new lifeblood for me.... and the Ranger will certainly push me further....
I will post some more things about this "beast" as I get to know more about it..... I haven't been able to take the thing outdoor, where it belongs..... thats when things will start to heat up...... am still thinking how to take this massive thing out..... the battery pack alone weighs 8kg!!.... the flash head and some accessories would add more weight when I would be on location..... lets see, how I can manage it.... but I will manage it for sure..... thats the challenge I would have to take.... after all, this is the single biggest investment that I have made in my photography!!
shot a few images over the last couple of days.... first, with a white backdrop (4'x4' diffusion panel) illuminated by a Simpex Prolite 400D (shooting into a 31" silver reflecting umbrella) at full power (oh shit!!)..... and then, against a blak background...... both occasions, the Ranger A-Head was in a 35" umbrella brolly softbox..... I shot at 1/250s and f11..... this wasn't really possible with SB-900s.... I required at least f8 to shoot decent pics with SB-900s shooting through 4'x4' diffusion panel....
lot more to come....
