First try with Pocket Wizards (c&c welcome)

[JayLPhoto]

So yesterday I made the investment in some Pocket Wizard Plus 2s. One mounted on my Fuji S3 Pro, and the other to my sb800.

I met up with a couple of my snowboarding friends and we heading to a spot. These are a couple of my favorites.

sb800 camera left

sb800 camera left, above the ledge

 

[JayLPhoto]

with an attempt to bump and potentially get some input I will give a bit more info on the photos.

The first was shot at 70mm f2.8 ISO 200 Shutter was 1/90. ummm...RAW file

The Second was shot at 10mm f4 ISO 200 1/90 again and RAW.

Any other information you'd like to know, feel free to ask!

 

[creisinger]

I think it's not terrible for the first time.

In the first picture though I think you can see that the light spills all over and it looks kind of flood-light-y instead of choosing the specific areas that you want to illuminate at night. But that's also a personal taste issue.

I think you did pretty good in the second shot. I do like the strong line of light. I'd prefer that one as a black and white.

Keep shooting and playing with the angles of the speed lights and from where you're standing.

On a side note: I couldn't really see the snowboard in the first image. Then when I actually saw it, it hurt me because it looks like it does quite a number on the board grinding down that concrete wall. Almost like a "snowboarding gone wrong..."

 

[JayLPhoto]

Thank you for the input! The light spilling over, do you mean on the right side of the photo? If so, that is due to the flood light we had hooked up to a generator so the riders can see the feature they are approaching. :thumbsup:

 

[creisinger]

Yeah, I didn't get that in my first post. Of course the yellowish light must have been coming from another light source.

I kind of thought you had two speed lights on the set where one had a yellow gel on it but I guess I just had a long day

The way you composed the 2nd shot is great because you can't see the flood light spill. Also as long as you leave the images in color you'll always run into the issue of having different color temperatures (flash/incandescent) and they don't mix well.

Converting the shots into black and white will remove the issue.

Also try to shoot at the fastest sync speed that you allows you to shoot with the pocket wizards. It helps you to freeze the action and to reduce the light spill of the flood lights. It may not be much reduction of the flood light but every little bit helps. At least do it at 1/125 of a sec.

And I have to mention that the incandescent light makes the snow look like dirt/sand...

 

[creisinger]

You could adjust the white balance to the incandescent but then be prepared for a blue hue from the speed light - check it out in the RAW filter. But it probably looks better that way than boarding at "the beach".

 

[JayLPhoto]

haha I get what you're saying, but I kinda was going for the "two-tone"-ness of the first one. I think it makes the rider pop a bit more. I do wish it was maybe a different color though, now that you mention it it does look like sand. dangit. haha