The Wonder Of Light

When using a off camera flash, there are a few basic things we need to control as photographers. The placement, colour and quality of light are the 3 key elements which shape our shot. These are the elements where the artistry of photography and flash are applied.

But on a more basic technical level, we also need to control how the flash is triggered or fired as well as controlling the flash power. Read the rest of this entry »

Last week I attended an off-camera flash lighting techniques workshop in London run by Joe McNally under the auspices of Scott Kelby Training. This was as much a social event for me as it was a workshop, but at the same time I went in the sincere hope that I would pick up some very valuable tips and information. First off, I must admit that I am a huge fan of Joe McNally! Joe is a staff photographer for National Geographic having contributed to the magazine for over 20 years and having gained many front covers. He’s also secured covers for TIME, Sports Illustrated and Newsweek amongst others. So this guy has pedigree and quite simply, I love his work. Read the rest of this entry »

It feels like an age since I’ve taken any real images in anger, so I jumped at the opportunity yesterday to go along to the Irish Cross Country Mountain Bike National Championship race in Djouce Wood, Co. Wicklow and I had a lot of fun I’ll be the first to admit that shooting sports is not exactly my genre, let alone shooting mountain biking, but at the same time I was really interested to see if I could apply my “skills” and techniques to this sort of event. Kit wise, I kept it pretty light, necessitated more so by the walk into the woods than anything else. On my camera for the majority of the day I used the 70-200mm and for lighting my Quadra Rangers got another outing; which were perfect for an event like this. Read the rest of this entry »