Just Human

I shot the above picture for a multimedia essay project undertaken by a number of volunteers for the Women's Resource Center of Cebu last year. The project involved conversing with women from all walks of life from the city and retelling their tales at an exhibit for International Women's Month in Kortrijk, Belgium this year.

As of this writing, some of the pictures that I made during the two interviews that I covered are being shown more than halfway across the globe. I got to participate in the process of making their stories heard. It's an awesome feeling just to be a part of it. The volunteer I worked with promised to send me pictures of the exhibit, and I will be sharing them with you, together with the other pictures I made in a more substantial post.

More to come...

Grid-lock

I have contemplated permanently attaching a grid to one of my flashes a number of times now (and that's during one of my saner days). I might just do it one of these days as the grid is one of the most used  light modifiers  in my bag (and probably my favorite). I have always loved how it restricts light, which makes it a great way to isolate (or selectively light) my subject. And plus it weighs next to nothing and requires only a Velcro strap (or a rubber band in a pinch) to attach to a hot shoe flash.

It is this very portability that allows me to bring it with me even on family trips because you'll never know when you'll need a 'kiss' of light to capture a moment like the one below.

My brother and his son were standing near the pool light, which created a warm yellow orange glow around them. However, the light was not powerful enough to illuminate their faces, so I simply popped a flash in the frame. I warmed the light up a bit with a 1/4 CTO gel to more or less match the color coming from the pool light. After making a couple of test shots, it was all a matter of waiting for my nephew to flash his endearing 'cute face'. :-D#

_________

For those who are interested in the technical details, here are my settings:

Camera - f/4.0, 1/25s, ISO 200, WB Cloudy | Off-camera flash (triggered via Cactus V4) - at 1/32 power, +1/4 CTO gel, through 1/8" grid

Watching the World Go By

New Life

*Click on the image above to view it large in a light box.