Snowboarding night shots

[fokker]

Took these down at the local park the other night. I'm finding that with a max sync speed of 1/160s with my 5d2 and cheap triggers I can only get good well lit shots at night or late evening. C&C on these and let me know what I could do better while I still have the opportunity to try. I know that another flash would help but for now I can only work with what I have.

Gear - 5d mk2, 28mm 1.8 Sigma, 430EX with yongnuo triggers

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

 

[leeroix]

i like #2 do you have any kind of softbox or umbrella?

 

[Mot]

It's a fun series with #1 and #2 being my favourites, I think that the shots in total darkness work best and I'd say you've done a good job of including faces and showing the action. I've only had experience shooting kite surfing, windsurfing and off road rally so I'm not in the best position to give expert opinions.

I'm interested in what triggers you have used, I'm looking at getting a 580ex to accompany my 430ex but would like to buy some triggers to get fully off camera. The stroboscopic effects on the 580 is something I'd love to try.

 

[LINYBIMMER]

Does the 5d mk2 eally have a max sync of only 1/160th? I find that hard to believe. Is it the camera or the triggers that is the limiting factor?

 

[o hey tyler]

Does the 5d mk2 eally have a max sync of only 1/160th? I find that hard to believe. Is it the camera or the triggers that is the limiting factor?

The sync speed is 1/200s. 1/160th is playing it safe.

It's pretty irrelevant anyway, because he's exposing mostly for flash.

 

[fokker]

i like #2 do you have any kind of softbox or umbrella?

No, this is just bare bulb. Mostly with flash head zoomed in to 105mm focused at the rider. Next time I'm thinking about trying a homemade snoot to focus the beam even tighter.

It's a fun series with #1 and #2 being my favourites, I think that the shots in total darkness work best and I'd say you've done a good job of including faces and showing the action. I've only had experience shooting kite surfing, windsurfing and off road rally so I'm not in the best position to give expert opinions.

I'm interested in what triggers you have used, I'm looking at getting a 580ex to accompany my 430ex but would like to buy some triggers to get fully off camera. The stroboscopic effects on the 580 is something I'd love to try.

Triggers I use are the Yongnuo CTR-301p, cheap full-manual ebay jobbiess, but they work every time reliably and the only issues I have with them are the poor sync speed I get with them (1/160s) and the fact that I can't seem use the speedlight in high speed sync mode or with 2nd curtain sync. Still, I think they cost me about $50 for trigger and two receivers and I've had them for about 3 years now.

I've actually just purchased a second flash, another yongnuo product the YN-560II:
YONGNUO, photographic equipment, camera accessories, flash light, camera remote control, speedlite, photo equipment, LED photo light, flash trigger, camera wireless remote control, TTL cordThis flash does the stroboscopic mode, and can be triggered by another flash so I could theoretically use my 430ex on camera to trigger this one off-camera. It costs about 45 pounds in your money ($75 us) so is a much cheaper option the the 580ex.

Does the 5d mk2 eally have a max sync of only 1/160th? I find that hard to believe. Is it the camera or the triggers that is the limiting factor?

The sync speed is 1/200s. 1/160th is playing it safe.

It's pretty irrelevant anyway, because he's exposing mostly for flash.

If I shoot above 1/160 I get a dark band maybe along the bottom of the frame. I believe it must be limited by the triggers since the 5d should be rated to 1/200s.

It's not a big deal when it's completely dark but it causes me many problems when there is still ambient light.

 

[mcap1972]

Try some fun with multiple exposures.
Mario

 

[imagemaker46]

Really nice series of images.

 

[Mygixxer]

#5 is my favorite. I guess unlike everyone else, I dont care for #1 or #2

 

[TimGilbertson]

Look great. Sports like skateboarding and snowboarding lend themselves quite nicely to direct, unsoftened light. It's fairly common practice as the harsh shadows usually accentuate the aggression of the sports.

#1 would be great if you were on the other side of him, showing his face.

 

[ewick]

Does the 5d mk2 eally have a max sync of only 1/160th? I find that hard to believe. Is it the camera or the triggers that is the limiting factor?

The sync speed is 1/200s. 1/160th is playing it safe.

It's pretty irrelevant anyway, because he's exposing mostly for flash.

What do you mean when you say "he is exposing for flash?"