Posted by Kent Staubus on March 30, 2008 at 5:31 PM
Last week I bought two Alien Bees B1600 lights (640 watt seconds,) two Vagabond power packs, two 7 inch & two 11 inch reflectors. I already have a bunch of Elinchrom radio triggers which I use on my 10 Nikon SB-28 type flash. I now have some serious light power for outdoor shots. This stuff is seriously expensive too , even buying used as I did! Since last October I've been using the SB flash system to photo trains at night, and got a few good shots. I've also got two magazines talking to me about an article.
Now that it's getting dark later and later in the day, it's hard for me to take the kind of shots I've been doing on my way home from work. To do it now has me coming home at 11 PM or even later on week nights. My thinking is I need to shift gears a bit. The South Dakota Badlands are about 4 hours west of me (no big deal by 80 mph Western standards.) The formations are gray/white volcanic ash and I predict they will react well to flash. I'm not sure anyone has ever photo'd the things at night much. I could either camp or stay in a motel and take my 11 yr. old along on the weekends my wife works nights. That would make it a "father/son" deal, which would get around any objections from my wife.
So, has anyone used medium powered studio lights like these to do this sort of thing? I've not seen it before in any of the magazines or on internet forums. Between my 2 B1600s and 10 Nikon SB flash I think I have enough light power for smaller scale stuff. I know I can light up about 1,000 feet of a freight train anyway. If the B1600 units work out for me, I may start buying 4-5 used White Lightning x3200 monolights which pump out 1340 watt seconds. I could light a small mountain with something like that.
Here's an idea of what I've been doing. Think I could start doing some small scale landscapes along the same lines? My philosophy is to light as little as possible, to better keep the sense of mystery of the night. Remember that I now have roughly three times the power that these photos were made with.
Posted by Drew Fulton on March 31, 2008 at 5:20 PM
Kent,
I love it. Its a very different feel and something new. Keep it up. I have been looking at unique ways to use flash a lot recently and started to shoot more with it myself doing things besides just fill. To me, the options are endless if you are willing to take the time to set it up.
Some of the recent stuff I have seen involved color gels on landscapes you wouldn't expect it on. Like normal red rock mounds turned blue, red, green, etc at night. Very different stuff, definitely not traditional.
The other example where I have seen some cool use of flash, particularly with landscapes is what James Balog is doing in the arctic. Check out his site, Extreme Ice Survey and watch the YouTube video on the left. He's creating some really interesting images with dynamic lighting that really shows off the icebergs.
With that many flashes, hope your 11 yr old is willing to be an assistant!
I just gotta say that those night train shots are very cool. Different too. The color of the trains becomes such a major part of the image this way. I'm wondering what the train operators think when they see the bigflash of light. I could see how it might scare the crap out of them. And for that head on shot, were you standing in the middle of the tracks?! All very interesting and the shots are great fun to view.
Posted by Kent Staubus on April 1, 2008 at 9:26 AM
Mary--
That's the most common question I get. No, the flash doesn't bother the crews. They are used to me now anyway. I have to pop the flash about 8 seconds before they approach, to take the flash off standby mode. I often pop them a couple of times, to give the crews a heads up. The ones I've talked to think it's cool. And no, I never stand on or very close to tracks. (I try to keep 30 ft. off the rail.) These things can jump off the rail whenever they want. The head on shot was taken at a curve with a long lens.
I've been thinking of how possible it might be to photo wildlife at night. Last night I got my chance. I had all my lights set up along the tracks at a grain elevator, and was waiting in my car as the snow swirled around. I saw some medium sized animals dart furtively over the tracks and stand in the area I had set to be lit. I quietly opened my car door, slipped out, focussed the lens on my 20mm lens, and hit the trigger. The lights popped and I saw some glowing pairs of eyes. I checked my LCD viewer and discovered I had photo'd several deer! They frequently feed on spilled grain around elevators like that.
The only time we've taken studio lights into the field, we've always packed a 5KW gas generator. More lights than you're using, but what a PITA. Your approach is a lot more sensible. Keep it up!
BTW- Have you tried multiple exposures, i.e., using your lights to illuminate the setting beforehand in the first exposure, then concentrating your lights on the train for the second exposure? Something to keep in your pocket for application someday when the setting is larger than the horsepower of your lights. Multiple pops of the lights are also possible to deal with limited horsepower when DOF is great.
Discussion
6 repliesNow that it's getting dark later and later in the day, it's hard for me to take the kind of shots I've been doing on my way home from work. To do it now has me coming home at 11 PM or even later on week nights. My thinking is I need to shift gears a bit. The South Dakota Badlands are about 4 hours west of me (no big deal by 80 mph Western standards.) The formations are gray/white volcanic ash and I predict they will react well to flash. I'm not sure anyone has ever photo'd the things at night much. I could either camp or stay in a motel and take my 11 yr. old along on the weekends my wife works nights. That would make it a "father/son" deal, which would get around any objections from my wife.
So, has anyone used medium powered studio lights like these to do this sort of thing? I've not seen it before in any of the magazines or on internet forums. Between my 2 B1600s and 10 Nikon SB flash I think I have enough light power for smaller scale stuff. I know I can light up about 1,000 feet of a freight train anyway. If the B1600 units work out for me, I may start buying 4-5 used White Lightning x3200 monolights which pump out 1340 watt seconds. I could light a small mountain with something like that.
Here's an idea of what I've been doing. Think I could start doing some small scale landscapes along the same lines? My philosophy is to light as little as possible, to better keep the sense of mystery of the night. Remember that I now have roughly three times the power that these photos were made with.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/96826069@N00/show/
Kent in SD
I love it. Its a very different feel and something new. Keep it up. I have been looking at unique ways to use flash a lot recently and started to shoot more with it myself doing things besides just fill. To me, the options are endless if you are willing to take the time to set it up.
Some of the recent stuff I have seen involved color gels on landscapes you wouldn't expect it on. Like normal red rock mounds turned blue, red, green, etc at night. Very different stuff, definitely not traditional.
The other example where I have seen some cool use of flash, particularly with landscapes is what James Balog is doing in the arctic. Check out his site, Extreme Ice Survey and watch the YouTube video on the left. He's creating some really interesting images with dynamic lighting that really shows off the icebergs.
With that many flashes, hope your 11 yr old is willing to be an assistant!
I'd love to see more.
Best,
Drew
I just gotta say that those night train shots are very cool. Different too. The color of the trains becomes such a major part of the image this way. I'm wondering what the train operators think when they see the bigflash of light. I could see how it might scare the crap out of them. And for that head on shot, were you standing in the middle of the tracks?!
That's the most common question I get. No, the flash doesn't bother the crews. They are used to me now anyway. I have to pop the flash about 8 seconds before they approach, to take the flash off standby mode. I often pop them a couple of times, to give the crews a heads up. The ones I've talked to think it's cool. And no, I never stand on or very close to tracks. (I try to keep 30 ft. off the rail.) These things can jump off the rail whenever they want. The head on shot was taken at a curve with a long lens.
I've been thinking of how possible it might be to photo wildlife at night. Last night I got my chance. I had all my lights set up along the tracks at a grain elevator, and was waiting in my car as the snow swirled around. I saw some medium sized animals dart furtively over the tracks and stand in the area I had set to be lit. I quietly opened my car door, slipped out, focussed the lens on my 20mm lens, and hit the trigger. The lights popped and I saw some glowing pairs of eyes. I checked my LCD viewer and discovered I had photo'd several deer!
Kent in SD
The only time we've taken studio lights into the field, we've always packed a 5KW gas generator. More lights than you're using, but what a PITA. Your approach is a lot more sensible. Keep it up!
BTW- Have you tried multiple exposures, i.e., using your lights to illuminate the setting beforehand in the first exposure, then concentrating your lights on the train for the second exposure? Something to keep in your pocket for application someday when the setting is larger than the horsepower of your lights. Multiple pops of the lights are also possible to deal with limited horsepower when DOF is great.
Big honking lights is right! And obviously a lot of setup work with a most successful outcome.
I'm glad to finally see some of your train pictures. My very young grandson, a budding train enthusiast, really loved 'em.