- Messages
- 724
- Name
- Pete
- Edit My Images
- Yes
A long time ago when I was a young engineer, I needed something photographed in the prototype workshop. So we booked a session with the company photographer who would come over to take pictures.
Everyone was just getting into these rather expensive cameras, OM1n, Pentak ME super and the like.
The company photographer would come along with his large format 8x6, thats large format, put his camera on a tripod (this was a car manufacturers prototype workshop), hit the shutter then wander round the engine bay randomly firing off an electronic flash.
His contact prints (8x6) would always come in an envelope in the internal mail labelled "Photographs do not bend" which my boss at the time would always say "Yes the do" flex the envelope a few times and then chuck it on my desk.
So heres the thing and the challenge, I asked him about the wandering around with the flash, he said "Open the shutter, flash it, see where the shadows are, flash them, just keep walking till you flash out the shadows" That was quite a revelation at the time
I used this technique with film cameras, even macro with reversed lenses and I never got a bad photo. I have even used it when I couldnt afford a dedicated macro flash in digital.
Give this technique a go and post it, take your flash off the camera, stop the camera down and light paint your target manually with the flash, even using amything to tone the flash power down or even change some colour!
Something to try over the rainy season perhaps?
Everyone was just getting into these rather expensive cameras, OM1n, Pentak ME super and the like.
The company photographer would come along with his large format 8x6, thats large format, put his camera on a tripod (this was a car manufacturers prototype workshop), hit the shutter then wander round the engine bay randomly firing off an electronic flash.
His contact prints (8x6) would always come in an envelope in the internal mail labelled "Photographs do not bend" which my boss at the time would always say "Yes the do" flex the envelope a few times and then chuck it on my desk.
So heres the thing and the challenge, I asked him about the wandering around with the flash, he said "Open the shutter, flash it, see where the shadows are, flash them, just keep walking till you flash out the shadows" That was quite a revelation at the time
I used this technique with film cameras, even macro with reversed lenses and I never got a bad photo. I have even used it when I couldnt afford a dedicated macro flash in digital.
Give this technique a go and post it, take your flash off the camera, stop the camera down and light paint your target manually with the flash, even using amything to tone the flash power down or even change some colour!
Something to try over the rainy season perhaps?