Category Archives: Photography

Adding remote extension to a ST-E2 Flash commander

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The need to control an off camera flash came about a while back. I purchases an hotshoe extension cable (YONGNUO FC-681) which allowed me to handhold and aim the flash by hand. In itself the cable worked great, however I needed the AF assist feature that the flash provides and aligning the AF assist beam of the flash by hand is next to impossible while looking through the camera’s viewfinder.

So I bought a YONGNUO ST-E2 wireless controller for its AF assist light and in itself works great, but doesn’t control my flash very well in E-TTL mode. Further to that, since the ST-E2 control is done by optical communication, I am afraid that even if a new flash will be able to be controlled by the ST-E2, outside or otherwise dark environments with black walls there may not be much/enough light reflected to be able to trigger and communicate with flashes that are placed behind the camera.

So I decided to combine the E-TTL hotshoe extension cable with the ST-E2 controller. With this setup I get the AF assist beam of the ST-E2 and am able to E-TTL command the flash where ever it may be pointing.

Brief description of the project: I chopped off the hotshoe connector cable at one and, and soldered the wires into the ST-E2 right as they come off the hotshoe.

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Combichrist show

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First, what a fantastic show! iVardensphere, Asthetic perfection and Combichrist were incredible.

I took about 21 gigs (1756) photos in the span of a few hours. That’s more then I’ve ever taken at a concert before.  And so many of those were really good shots. After the first round of sorting, I was left with 569 (that includes all 3 bands). That’s a long way to go to get the 30 or so keepers I normally end up with from a band’s performance.
After round two, I’m down to 156 shots.

Going out to shoot: checklist

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It’s come to this.
Drove 4/5 of the way to Toronto (from London) to see a concert only to realize I forgot my concert ticket at home. So hopefully this checklist will help in the future.

The idea is to run through this list the night before.
This list is for me. It caters to my shooting style, subject matter and equipment.

01. Concert ticket! (recently forgot it, that’s why it’s on top)
02. Ear plugs.
03. Snack / medication pouch topped up.
04. Camera batteries recharged after each and every shoot – no exceptions.
05. Flash(es) batteries recharged after each and every shoot – no exceptions.
06. Set ISO to 200.
07. Wipe clean all lens glass.
08. Make sure all lenses function properly.
09. Set aperture to wide open on all lenses.
10. Set shutter speed to 1/125
11. Set mode dial to Aperture Priority.
12. Check that the camera body and any/all lenses are set to autofocus.
13. Set white balance to AUTO.
14. Check setting of exposure compensation (set to “0”).
15. Reset the focus point to the center.
16. Set motor drive to single shot.
17. Empty all memory cards.
18. Pack lens pouches.
19. Do quick visual examination of the camera, lenses and camera bag to look for damage defects.
20. Reset additional gear like tripods, light stands, etc.

Thanks for info from Scott Bourne and photographr.info.

Shooting notes : photograhy night with Download

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Last night I was at the Download show at Club Neutral. I came prepared to do some shooting of the band line up. Had my prime lenses, a flash, a clamp for the flash, some wireless flash triggers, and a bunch of batteries.

Before the bands came on I walked the venue, exploring where I could mount the flash (to trigger remotely), where I could bounce the flash from while on the camera, and generally deciding how I was going to shoot that night.

As it turns out I used very little of the ideas I had as I came into the venue. This is a re-cap of what I had learned last night. Photos can be seen in my gallery or blog.

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AF Assist project: laser pointer triggered by hotshoe

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None of the Canon cameras turn on the AF assist light (the red light) on external flashes continuously after focus has been achieved.

I’d like to stick a laser pointer (one that projects a pattern) in the flash slot and paint the subject with some sort of laser light pattern to give the AF sensor something to easily focus on. This way, if the laser light is on continuously, then I can use the AI Servo mode to continuously track the subject in low light situations.

In order to turn on/off the laser pointer, I will use the top left most small pin off the flash hot shoe (not the big round one). See diagram in this thread.

Canon hotshoe pinout description here.

I may have to tweak the diagram shown in the link to turn on the laser pointer, but it should be doable.

The beauty of using the signal off the hot shoe connector is that it comes on only when the camera needs to focus, and stays on only for 7 seconds after it’s done focusing, or 3 sec after the shutter is fired.

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Update: 20 Sept 2010

I went to Club neutral last night and shot some pictures there. (Description of results from that night’s shooting at this post) I took the laser pointer with me, but I could not reliably use it. I had no mount for it other then the velcro I brought with me, which couldn’t keep it in one place especially when having to push the button all the time to trigger it.

When leaving the club noticed a red led bike light, and thought it may work for me too. Tried the red led bike light I have, to see how well it would assist the camera in focusing. Compared to the AF assist light from the Sigma EF500 DG super flash, it took almost twice as long to focus, and at times the bike light didn’t even acquire focus. So much for a simple solution.

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UPDATE: 24 Sept 2010

Came across a few forum posts where people are discussing AF assist lights. This chinese site has an interesting idea.

Also this forum and this forum have discussions on AF Assist lights.

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UPDATE: 02 May 2011

I have progressed this project further.  Check out this post for a working laser AF assist tool.

Camera bags: an epic email

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An email message from my friend Ben, regarding camera bags. Keeping some excerpts  for reference.

… My working configuration when i have multiple lenses is to have at least one empty slot in the bag so that i have somewhere to put the lens down so I only need one hand to manage lens swapping (reduce risk of dropping lens too!). If i need to cram more lenses in my bag, which i do when I have backup lenses with me, is to put the least used lenses at the bottom of a stacked compartment. The lens is there if I need it

Good to know. I will have to make an effort to keep an empty slot in the bag to facilitate the easy changing of lenses.

The UD 40 is the largest bag that I’d carry while trying to stay low-profile. I use mine in two different ways depending on what I’m doing.

1. Gear hauling:
I’d probably pick another bag for gear hauling tonnes of gear but I’ve used the UD40 before as a way to pack a lot of equipment into a small volume. In this instance I wouldn’t be able to access the equipment very quickly but I can get a lot of gear from A to B in one bag. Lenses would be removed the bodies and the bodies would go into the two front slots. Lenses and flashes would go into main compartment that’s separated with dividers. I either have the main compartment divided into only 2 or three sections.

2. Shooting bag:
Here, I’d be carrying 2 bodies (no battery grip) with lenses(usually 35/1.4 and 85/1.2) attached. Each body/lens combo would go into one of two main compartment sections. For me, this is the best way that I’ve found for “casual” shooting. I don’t usually carry lights with me for unpaid gigs. It just too much for me to carry. My preference is to carry 2 bodies with lenses rather than 1 body plus a flashes+transceivers+stands

And below is what I do for weddings:

My base kit ( 3 bodies, 5 lenses, 3 strobes, transceivers, 2 light stands)
goes into an Airport International roller bag:
http://www.thinktankphoto.com/products/airport-international-v2-roller-camera-bag.aspx
I also have another big bag for 2 AC-powered strobes and a 48″ lightstand bag.

When I’m actively shooting. I’ll be using a chest pack + 2 skin pouches attached onto the “wings”: The pouches were made to carry bodies only, but i use them to carry lenses instead (each pouch can hold up to two lenses, but i leave an empty spot in each of them to facilitate lens switching…)….I’ve also recently found out that you can fit a body and a prime lens attached into the pouch….very handy when you’re shooting three bodies at once. Yes, I’ve run out of hands! 🙂
beltpack: http://www.thinktankphoto.com/products/change-up-belt-pack.aspx
(I totally look like a photo dork with this on, but this feels more
comfortable to me than just using a belt with pouches)
pouch times 2: http://www.thinktankphoto.com/products/skin-chimp-cage.aspx

My active set up doesn’t let me carry strobes, but If i need to I can wear a backpack to let me carry more stuff. So now i look like an even bigger photo dork:-)

Digital camera; not a toy anymore

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I just read a facebook post the Ben Wong put up. It read “I don’t just buy cameras, I use them too” (I think he was referring to using a recently purchased medium format film camera).

This post got me thinking.

To a certain extent, I think I have passed the “cool new toy, with cool features” with reference to a digital SLR camera, and am now more looking at what gear (film or digital) will create the look that I’m looking for. I’m now more interested in learning how to achieve a certain look, rather then ‘play’ with a new toy. Sure I’ll be excited to get a new body, but it will now be a means to an end (or rather a look) that I’m after more then just the next toy to ‘play’ with.

I’m happy with myself.

🙂

Club photography: Lighting experiment

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I was thinking about experimenting with a couple of flashes next time I go out club shooting. I do a lot of shooting at Club Neutral here in Toronto, and I thought I ‘d start my experiments there, since I know the layout of the place.

Above the dance floor, there is a frame that is attached to the ceiling which holds all the lights. I can easily reach this frame (ceiling is low at Neutral) I am going to attach 2 flash units to the frame. One at the front pointing away from the stage (towards the DJ booth at the back), and one at 90deg to the first strobe. And point them to illuminate the crowds.

Both flashes will always go off together, and what I’m hoping to accomplish is to always have light available when photographing crowd members dancing. Having 2 light sources at 90deg to each other should (emphasis on should) ensure that my subjects will always at least have side lighting.

Now this will light up the entire club, so all the people will be lit up. To try to isolate just one person dancing, I will shoot from down low. This should ensure that I only capture the person dancing with minimal heads in the background.

I’ve made some clamps (and will also buy a proper one) to clamp the flash to the existing structure at the club.

Will add to this once this experiment is complete.