Lessons of Baliati and Nikunja strobist meets......

I really feel there were many things to learn from the several recent photowalks we had in the strobist way....... I've thought about listing them down, but haven't really got the time to do it..... at last, I got determined to finish it...... here we go.....

Grip Kit:
keep as many options with grip kit as possible..... grip kits can save the day many many times..... take as many tripods and light stands as you can..... you may not always find assistants to hold lights...... sometimes, lack of proper grip kit can even get expensive equipment damaged!!

and if you place lights on the ground, they'll create multiple problems with unnatural shadows..... its also a pain to hold diffusers...... tripods and light stands are the solution..... take as many as you can, even if its a pain to carry them..... and take as many clamps, clips, rope, tape etc. to improvise....



Diffusers:
take all types of diffusers, especially the bigger ones, as they can help you take a full-body portrait..... less than ideal models would always force the photographer to look for full-body portraits...... close portraits would be more appropriate for models with better facial structure and skin tone.... smaller diffusers would then be very useful..... umbrellas can be the most cost-effective way to diffuse light if light fall-off on the background isn't an issue.....



Reflectors:
bigger reflectors are needed if they are going to be used for full-body portraits.... small reflectors are OK for close portraits; so, they're always useful to have.... its always quite tricky to make proper use of reflectors, as they cast a huge amount of light...... mastering the art of reflector photography can be a target for the future strobist meets....


Warm Gel Filters:
these are exceptionally useful and can create late afternoon sunlight any time.... they can make a rather bland picture pop.....



Number of Strobes:
take as many as you can...... this is especially for group portraits.... sometimes, while trying to overpower the sun, more than one flashes may be needed..... bigger, and more powerful strobes may help even more in this regard......



Strobe Distance:
have to be very careful about this, as strobes can cause flare on the lens if they're too close to the subjects while taking group portraits.....

Models:
we definitely need more models for smoother shooting...... photographers can be models, but it would restrict the learning of the photographers in some way..... dedicated models can go a long way in this regard.....



well, these are some of the lessons that have come to mind.... others can share more....

Nikunja Strobist Meet, 16 April 2010

it was a sudden decision..... the holiday wasn't sudden; so, we had a prior thought to utilise the spare time.... afternoon was the target and the great idea for a place came from Atia..... she was the catalyst behind the previous short photowalk at Nikunja.... this time too, she came forward and guided us..... we were a bit confused about the venue, but once she came on board, it was fixed.... we would shoot near the air port using strobes.... and we would have taking-off aircraft behind the subject....

getting to the place needed some effort, as the place is a bit under watch.... people can go there, but at some places, checkpoints are there and the guards need to be convinced...... anyway, we took a different route and avoided checkpoints.... Saif Bhai went back to bring his car through the main checkpoints, which ensured security for the car and a much better way to go back during the evening......

we took our position assuming that Atia was right about the airline schedule..... according to her, there was a flight of Saudia at 4:30PM, which was certainly not going to be any other than the huge Boeing 747...... we didn't want to miss such an opportunity to have a giant like that in our frame.....

we soon found out that planes were taking off from another direction and the 747 was nowhere in sight..... so, we quickly changed our direction and setup..... the sun was setting on our left.... we kept the sun in the frame as long as we could.... and the rest of the times, we were depending on the afterglow..... we shot away until around 6:45PM, when it was pretty dark...... we had a lot of fun and didn't forget to learn all the way..... it was a good practice session, and a nice afternoon adda with some cool people.....

here are some glimpses of the captures.....

we started off with typical portraits using flashes..... the main idea was to overpower the sun and to underexpose the background.... it was the warm-up time before we could see some big airplanes overhead....

From Nikunja Strobist Meet, 16 April 2010

model: biju
Nikon D700 + Nikkor AF 20mm f2.8D
f4, 1/1,600sec, ISO 200
Strobist info:
Two SB-900 on ground on camera right with warm gel filter; TTL mode; triggered by SU-800

From Nikunja Strobist Meet, 16 April 2010

model: tahmid
Nikon D700 + Nikkor AF 20mm f2.8D
f4, 1/1,600sec, ISO 200
Strobist info:
Two SB-900 on ground on camera right with warm gel filter; TTL mode; triggered by SU-800


we had to change our direction quickly to catch the airplanes in our frame.... the sun was on our left, and using a wide lens, it was possible to bring the sun in the frame..... the sun was already behind the trees, so, just a bit of read was all we could catch.....

From Nikunja Strobist Meet, 16 April 2010

model: atia
Nikon D700 + Nikkor AF 20mm f2.8D
f4, 1/1,600sec, ISO 200
Strobist info:
Two SB-900 on voice-activated tripod (Tahmid) on camera left with warm gel filter; TTL mode; triggered by SU-800

From Nikunja Strobist Meet, 16 April 2010

model: biju
Nikon D700 + Nikkor AF 20mm f2.8D
f4, 1/1,250sec, ISO 200
Strobist info:
Two SB-900 on voice-activated tripod (Tahmid) on camera left with warm gel filter; TTL mode; triggered by SU-800

From Nikunja Strobist Meet, 16 April 2010

model: tahmid
Nikon D700 + Nikkor AF 20mm f2.8D
f4, 1/1,000sec, ISO 200
Strobist info:
Two SB-900 on voice-activated tripod (Atia) on camera left with warm gel filter; TTL mode; triggered by SU-800


then we came up with the crazy idea of capturing a high-speed duel between two "urban warriors"....... the light was fading, but we had the flash duration of the strobes to support us in capturing motion.......

From Nikunja Strobist Meet, 16 April 2010

model: tahmid & biju
Nikon D700 + Nikkor AF 20mm f2.8D
f5.6, 1/100sec, ISO 200
Strobist info:
Two SB-900 on ground; one on camera left and another on camera right; with warm gel filter; TTL mode; triggered by SU-800

From Nikunja Strobist Meet, 16 April 2010

model: tahmid & biju
Nikon D700 + Nikkor AF 20mm f2.8D
f5.6, 1/100sec, ISO 200
Strobist info:
Two SB-900 on ground; one on camera left and another on camera right; with warm gel filter; TTL mode; triggered by SU-800


we had to bring down the shutter speed and boost up ISO to bring the background into play...... it was already getting dark.....

From Nikunja Strobist Meet, 16 April 2010

model: tahmid & biju
Nikon D700 + Nikkor AF 20mm f2.8D
f6.3, 1/30sec, ISO 640
Strobist info:
Two SB-900 on ground; one on camera left and another on camera right; with warm gel filter; TTL mode; triggered by SU-800


by the time we came up with the idea of a group shot, it was already quite dark..... and without a tripod, it became sort of a pain to get the best composition...... the effort was still there to get a goodish group portrait.....

From Nikunja Strobist Meet, 16 April 2010

The Koba Squad!!

Nikon D700 + Nikkor AF 20mm f2.8D
f6.3, 1/5sec, ISO 640
Strobist info:
Two SB-900, one SB-800 and one SB-600 on ground; two on camera left and two on camera right; with warm gel filter on the SB-900s; TTL mode; triggered by SU-800; on timer; on ground

please don't forget to visit the whole gallery to have a look at more pics, including some hilarious bloopers!!
Nikunja Strobist Meet, 16 April 2010

Nikunja Experiment, 02 April 2010

it was a sudden opportunity.... some of us were together to enjoy the leaning sun..... we all took our camera to explore any shooting opportunity...... Nikunja is still pretty empty..... though most of the areas within Nikunja is filled up with too many residential building, there is still some place left just outside the airport runways to see an uninterrupted sky..... that hope pushed us there...... in search of an open sky...... but we got disappointed...... we didn't have any idea how quickly the whole area got filled up with people..... the last bit of open space was occupied with a lot of local boys playing cricket!!

our heart sank and we began to walk back....... all on a sudden, Biju noticed an interesting place...... a small cottage-like place filled with planks..... there were several big stacks and their patterns looked pretty interesting.... we followed Biju though we though we might attract a lot of onlookers..... the boundaries of the small place sort of protected us from the spectators...... we could maintain some privacy......

we became our own models..... Biju brought one SB-800 strobe, and that was enough for all of us....... fortunately, most of us were Nikon users, and capable of triggering the SB-800 with built-in flash..... the sun was just going down and the warm light provided with the opportunity to mix natural light with strobe light... it was also the first real shooting with my newly acquired 20mm 2.8....



Model: Rezwan Razzaq
Camera: Nikon D700 + Nikkor AF 20mm f2.8D
f2.8, 1/640sec, ISO 200
Strobist info: Nikon SB800 left of camera in TTL mode +0.3EV
hand-held, with diffuser on; triggered by D700's built-in flash


I became an assistant for most of the shooting...... tried to help others shoot.... it was short session, but we thoroughly enjoyed it and had a lot of fun.... it was a short learning session for us as well...... a lesson in outdoor strobist portraiture....

we kept on shooting well after sunset....... but then moved on..... just when we thought it was the end of the day, we bumped into a mound of extracted soil..... the mound was literally glowing even though the sun was well beyond the horizon.... I helped other shoot....... and we got some superb portraiture, especially of Biju and Shawon....

anyway, the short photowalk was really productive...... we made some nice portraits.... actually its become so tough getting a decent bit of time to shoot some decent pictures...... every bit of time has become precious!!