A totally ruined shoot :(

jamesoliverstone

jamesoliverstone

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Well, I decided it was time to go for my fellowship with the RPS and the BIPP so I have flown out to Thailand and Cambodia to make a documentary set on life on the streets. I wanted to create a set of dramatic images that are lit with a huge octabank with my alien bee flash head, balanced with the sun to create a stylised look... Needless to say, my pack of kit is huge and heavy with a 1000w head, battery pack, reflector and a 40" softbox and stand (plus my gear and lenses of course). I bought this rig specifically to do this kind of shot (ie. travelling to remote locations, dust, humidity etc), so I have never used it before like this, but I was assured that it was up for the job.

Well, I arrived yesterday and decided to fly over to Koh Chang for a bit of relaxation on an island for a couple of days to clear my head and prepare for the shoot.

So my lovely girlfriend and I were wandering out to the beach and the sun was setting so I figured now would be a good time to bust out the lighting rig and the ND filters to create some lovely dramatic photos...

So, I connected everything up and powered up the flash and it just fired the flash constantly (I had no triggers attached yet, just the power cable). It fired maybe 15 times before I could get back into the softbox to pull the power cable out.

Now, it only powers up 1 in 4 times and you can get 1 flash before the battery just cuts off. It seems that despite my long and lengthy conversation with Paul Buff Europe, that the humidity over here did indeed cause an issue.

I made sure that that all the kit was fully acclimatised before powering it up (its not like its the first time I have done this) but it just popped the circuitry I guess.

Its been 2 hours now and the kit has been back in my AC room and I just tested it and its completely buggered.

So, I flew all this way ready to do the shoot I have been prepping for bloody ages and its ruined now. So, I am now off to the bar for a good few beers as I am rather pi**ed off to say the least, Paul C Buff europe have not bothered calling me back, despite 4 calls to them over the period of the last 2 hours (even though they keep taking my number and promising to call back in 10 mins).

Tomorrow, I shall set out with just the 85mm and a reflector to create some natural light portraits, but today my mojo is well and truly shot.

Anywho... rant over, just needed to get that off my chest I guess, but by god am I rather dejected at lugging all this kit 6000 miles for nothing :(

/sigh/
 
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Wow that beats my travelling to Brussels and forgetting my battery! Good luck!
 
jamesoliverstone said:
Well, I decided it was time to go for my fellowship with the RPS and the BIPP so I have flown out to Thailand and Cambodia to make a documentary set on life on the streets. I wanted to create a set of dramatic images that are lit with a huge octabank with my alien bee flash head, balanced with the sun to create a stylised look... Needless to say, my pack of kit is huge and heavy with a 1000w head, battery pack, reflector and a 40" softbox and stand (plus my gear and lenses of course). I bought this rig specifically to do this kind of shot (ie. travelling to remote locations, dust, humidity etc), so I have never used it before like this, but I was assured that it was up for the job.

Well, I arrived yesterday and decided to fly over to Koh Chang for a bit of relaxation on an island for a couple of days to clear my head and prepare for the shoot.

So my lovely girlfriend and I were wandering out to the beach and the sun was setting so I figured now would be a good time to bust out the lighting rig and the ND filters to create some lovely dramatic photos...

So, I connected everything up and powered up the flash and it just fired the flash constantly (I had no triggers attached yet, just the power cable). It fired maybe 15 times before I could get back into the softbox to pull the power cable out.

Now, it only powers up 1 in 4 times and you can get 1 flash before the battery just cuts off. It seems that despite my long and lengthy conversation with Paul Buff Europe, that the humidity over here did indeed cause an issue.

I made sure that that all the kit was fully acclimatised before powering it up (its not like its the first time I have done this) but it just popped the circuitry I guess.

Its been 2 hours now and the kit has been back in my AC room and I just tested it and its completely buggered.

So, I flew all this way ready to do the shoot I have been prepping for bloody ages and its ruined now. So, I am now off to the bar for a good few beers as I am rather pi**ed off to say the least, Paul C Buff europe have not bothered calling me back, despite 4 calls to them over the period of the last 2 hours (even though they keep taking my number and promising to call back in 10 mins).

Tomorrow, I shall set out with just the 85mm and a reflector to create some natural light portraits, but today my mojo is well and truly shot.

Anywho... rant over, just needed to get that off my chest I guess, but by god am I rather dejected at lugging all this kit 6000 miles for nothing :(

/sigh/
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No consolation I'm afraid. Sadly you've found out it's never a good idea to test new kit on an important shoot.
 
Agree with Wayne, though in fairness, its a b****r of a 'test' outing to go all the way to somewhere humid first to make sure it will work before attempting the main shoot, so not surprising you did as much research as possible instead.

Might be worth giving it 24-48 hrs to dry out completely [moisture get sin there so quickly yet seems to take forever to get out again], but even then you still have the problem that as soon as you take it outdoors, the same may well happen again and with such humidity 24 hrs a day [at a guess from your location] its almost impossible to acclimatise it slowly. :bonk:

Get out there James, make the most of what you can do, you DO have the ability to do it, and you know it.... it is still a great location and you just need to sink a few cold beers, have some sleep, and then replan quickly your approach and get that mojo fired up! :thumbs:
 
I only understood about a quarter of what you wrote, but it sounds like you are having a lousy trip :(

But looking on the bright side, surely it can't get any worse ;)
 
Cambodia,i never even had an A/C room,it can be a killer this time of year :eek:

Yep i think you will just have to go with natural light,thats one of the big problem with taking lighting gear,you also need to take a backup.

:)
 
I'd get the kit checked properly before trying it again, if it is caused by the moisture (and not just a faulty lamp) then it may have shorted something out inside, powering it up again might cause more damage or even make it unsafe to use at all.
 
jamesoliverstone said:
Well, it looks like there might be a silver lining though as they have offered to ship a new battery unit to my hotel in Cambodia from Australia, now thats what you call service!
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good to hear it. Must be a heavy rig :(
 
Pah - you forgot to pack the gaffer tape, didn't you?

Now stop complaining, get outside and take some damned photos you lazy &%^$**&.

Knock off six hundred or so and you should manage at least one decent frame!! :p :D
 
swanseamale47 said:
No consolation I'm afraid. Sadly you've found out it's never a good idea to test new kit on an important shoot.
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Yup, but unfortunately there is no way to re-create the relative humidity of Thailand and Cambodia in monsoon season back in the UK ;)

Yv said:
Agree with Wayne, though in fairness, its a b****r of a 'test' outing to go all the way to somewhere humid first to make sure it will work before attempting the main shoot, so not surprising you did as much research as possible instead.

Might be worth giving it 24-48 hrs to dry out completely [moisture get sin there so quickly yet seems to take forever to get out again], but even then you still have the problem that as soon as you take it outdoors, the same may well happen again and with such humidity 24 hrs a day [at a guess from your location] its almost impossible to acclimatise it slowly.

Get out there James, make the most of what you can do, you DO have the ability to do it, and you know it.... it is still a great location and you just need to sink a few cold beers, have some sleep, and then replan quickly your approach and get that mojo fired up!
Click to expand...

Thanks Yvonne, hopefully the kit will arrive in time and I can salvage the shoot, but to be honest you are right, I can just get out there with a reflector and start working with natural light as I normally do... I just really wanted to do something a little different this time :)

MWHCVT said:
It's a long shot but what about giving the Australian branch a call see if there is any help/suggestions that they can offer

https://paulcbuff.com.au/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2&Itemid=9
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Thanks bud, thankfully the Australian's have indeed come to the rescue! I have to say that I really didnt think they would offer anything like this, and I certainly didnt ask for it, so top service all round!

Ste Manns said:
"A totally ruined shoot... "

No it isn't, it's a unique opportunity for you to adapt and overcome.

Every cloud and all that
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Indeed :D

simonblue said:
Cambodia,i never even had an A/C room,it can be a killer this time of year :eek:

Yep i think you will just have to go with natural light,thats one of the big problem with taking lighting gear,you also need to take a backup.

:)
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Yup, and thats just not practical unfortunately, so a kit failure is a big risk on shoots like this...

swanseamale47 said:
I'd get the kit checked properly before trying it again, if it is caused by the moisture (and not just a faulty lamp) then it may have shorted something out inside, powering it up again might cause more damage or even make it unsafe to use at all.
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Yeah, I have done this and it hasnt been touched since. Hopefully everything will be fine but I suppose there is a risk that the flash unit has also been damaged.... I will check when I get to Cambodia

itsdavedotnet said:
good to hear it. Must be a heavy rig :(
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Its not that bad actually Dave, the alien bee head is pretty lightweight as its mostly plastic, and the lithium battery pack is certainly lighter than the old lead acid batteries of the past!

DemiLion said:
Pah - you forgot to pack the gaffer tape, didn't you?

Now stop complaining, get outside and take some damned photos you lazy &%^$**&.

Knock off six hundred or so and you should manage at least one decent frame!! :p :D
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Shut it you! :D

and six hundred? come on, I will shoot at least a couple of thousand, theres bound to be a keeper in there somewhere! :lol:

ShoeQueen said:
Hope the new battery sorts it out.
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Me too! :thumbs:
 
Come on James, I've seen your work. With or without the new toy you'll still be able to pull off cracking shots.
 
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