July 3rd Meeting Report – Using Flash on HSS to reveal texture
Our meetings this month are all about helping everyone develop their interpretation of Texture ready for this month’s competition. We hope that by gaining creative control over light, you’ll discover how even the most ordinary everyday subjects can be transformed into something extraordinary.
Our second meeting at our new venue – Connect Church in Ashby Rd went very smoothly. Despite it being just before the school holidays, which meant several members were away, ten photographers gathered to continue exploring how flash can add intrigue, drama and impact to our photographs.
This month our project and competition is Texture and, rather than simply accepting the available light, we are learning how to become masters of it. By controlling the direction, quality and intensity of light with a flashgun, we can make rough surfaces appear richer, reveal details that would otherwise go unnoticed, and create photographs with far greater depth and atmosphere.
Many members have invested in Godox’s excellent little iT32 flash trigger, and during the session we worked through setting it to TTL mode and using it both on and off camera. We also learnt how to lock the controls so that settings are not accidentally changed during a shoot. Having mastered these basics, next week we’ll move beyond simply learning which buttons to press and begin exploring how light itself shapes the story a photograph tells.
One of the most interesting parts of the morning was comparing how the different cameras we own work with flash. Between us we had Nikon, Canon, Olympus and even a Lumix FZ82. The Lumix proved particularly interesting because it uses what is known as a leaf shutter, allowing it to synchronise with flash at virtually any shutter speed. It was a great reminder that understanding the strengths of your own camera can open up creative possibilities you may never have considered.
Graham’s video explains more about using flash with Lumix Bridge cameras
If you have an iT32, the video below by Rob Trek is an excellent guide to many of the features we discussed during the meeting and is well worth watching before next Friday’s session.
During the meeting we also discussed a number of local photographic opportunities over the coming weeks. AppFrod photographers are always welcome to photograph matches at Appleby Frodingham Football Club, and David Hornsby reminded us that the club is playing a pre-season friendly against Retford at Brumby Hall this Saturday, with a 2.00pm kick-off. Football is an excellent opportunity to practise action photography, storytelling and capturing emotion.
We also talked about Winterton Show, which takes place over the weekend of 4th and 5th July. While the show undoubtedly offers a wide range of photographic subjects, several members felt that the £15 on-the-gate admission is becoming quite expensive for a local event if the main aim is simply to spend a couple of hours taking photographs. As always, though, the choice comes down to whether the experience offers good value for the type of photography you enjoy.