Hey guys -
Re : Loony photography - I have based a significant proportion of my "style"
around slow-sync flash. And the only thing that
SUCKS about OM - yes, you heard right !!! - is that you can't do true
rear-sync/2nd curtain sync flash!!!! I've had to abandon a favorite
technique by going with OM quality/bang for buck/ compactnesss. Sigh. The
trade off has forced me to explore other techniques anyway ...
In essence, if you have your ratio of flash to ambient light set right, and
a shutter speed of about 1/15th to a 1/2 second or so, you can shoot some
fabulous ghostly light trails (ambient) that "lead" or "draw" a path to your
frozen (flash) subject. When shooting rock bands (who constantly move
around, and whose low-lighting often facilitates shutter speeds in this
region with iso 400/800 stock and faster) this can yield some amazing
portraits - the energy of movement and the poignancy of the frozen moment
trapped simultaneously on the one frame. I don't think I'll make the cut,
but I've entered a frame in the 2001 NCPI (Nik*on photo contest biennial) of
my ex-fiancee waxing her bikini line (trust me it's tasteful !!!!) using
this technique - only this technique could freeze the moment of agony on her
face, yet concurrently render the sweeping/ripping motion of her arm in its
perfect masochistic arc. I hope the judges buy this, anyway ... Sadly, I had
to use an EOS 5 and 430EZ. Sorry.
If you guys are interested in seeing some great examples of this, do a
search or two on Charles Peterson, the Seattle-based photographer whose work
with Sub-Pop and Nirvana specifically helped change the face of contemporary
music, and certainly live/performance photography. One camera (sadly a
Nik*n) a 24mm prime, and balls of iron to get within (usually) a foot of
stage divers, flying guitars etc ... my inspiration.
Oh, and black bodies are infinitely cooler as "user" bodies, perhaps less so
as collectors. I know a local pro who shoots Nik*on, and the day he bought
home his AUD $3000 new f100, he did exactly what he had done with all of his
old bodies, - blacked out the name with gaffer (duct) tape (depending on
where you're from :)) and plastered the backs and handgrips with stickers
and crap. When you're travelling or on assignment, you attract less atention
to yourself if your gear looks cheap and shitty. Chrome says "bucks", and
Nik*on says "steal me" in about 400 languages.
Kid glove your collection stuff, but with your user bodies, treat them like
cars - drive them like you hate them. Only the glass deserves your true
respect. Filterless for me, wherever possible - when I anticipate water or
other fluids, out come the filters.
Just some thoughts.
Reuben
... who is sad because his publication is dismantling its wet darkroom as we
speak. The slide into digital has begun. I am heartbroken. I printed my
first 8 x 10 here. Sigh.
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