My new lighting equipment arrived has arrived and I finally got a chance to play with it last night.
My family is going to get tired of me wanting to use them as models. I found if I bring the lights to them and let them do what they want, then they are much more willing to pose for me.
My wife and I were visiting my father-in-law for Memorial weekend (2007). One of their family traditions on this weekend is working cattle. Many members of the family joined together at a friends house to work his herd.
As the cattle were herded towards the corral, I was standing next to a piece of farm machinery in an attempt to avoid being trampled and maintain a good position to get the shot. I wasn’t sure what I had until reviewing the photos later that day. Of the many shots taken from cowboys roping cattle to the branding iron sizzling, this one caused a big smile. My father-in-law is the cowboy in the background shrouded in the dust.
It is amazing what can be accomplished with one or many hot shoe flashes, some filters, diffusers and a vivid imagination. For those of us without the latter, there’s Joe McNally. Reading his book has opened my eyes to many possibilities and inspired me to not only get out and shoot, but to incorporate my flash into the mix. I intend to try to reproduce some of the shots he has done for his book and post my thoughts and images about each attempt as they are completed.