3.02.2011

Book Achieves Critical Mass. Light at Tunnel End. Work Gets Easier.


I don't know what possessed me.  I was freaking out about finishing the LED book.  Didn't think I had enough images and what not.  So, when I suspended blogging a week and a half ago my aim was to assess what I had and what I needed.  Turns out I have ten or fifteen thousand shots from my LED experiments/shoots/playtime.  I've learned a tremendous amount about these new lights since last August when this brilliant idea struck.  Now I'm more relaxed.  I'm editing down the photo selection, thinking about writing informative and witty captions (good luck!) and generally getting everything into the right place.  I'm much further along than I thought I'd be.

What have I found out?  That the light source is secondary to your regular day in, day out vision.  That most scenes just need a little boost of light to be successful.  That it's pretty damn fun to light with continuous light sources.  That LED's don't have some bad mojo that you need to tread carefully around.  And that they work really well for video projects.  That's about the long and short of it.

Above is Jana.  She's standing under a covered patio at my swimming pool and I'm filling in with two very small LED panels, covered with diffusion materials.  I'm shooting close to wide open with an 85 and not worrying about sync speed or radio triggers or cables or........any of that stuff.

Too much fun.  Thanks.  Kirk

9 comments:

Aaron said...

That photo makes me happy, Kirk! Feels like spring. I'm also shopping for an 85mm. I'm excited for the book, I want one!

Anonymous said...

It's not fair. Beautiful girls everywhere. And you're a grumpy old man. How do you do this?

Aaron said...

Because beautiful girls love having their picture taken. :)

Wolfgang Lonien said...

Can't wait to read your book Kirk - and what a lovely photo of Jana; congrats!

David Ingram said...

Beautiful portrait, the color and light is great! Will your book show the lighting setup or diagrams? What is the range with those continuous lights? Have you used the Lightpanels Micro Hybrid?

http://www.litepanels.com/lp/products/micropro_hybrid.html

Dave said...

Great feel to this shot. Bright, fresh and spot on. Glad to have you back!

Anonymous said...

Good on ya! I know the pain, Kirk. In crunch mode this week and next week too. No time for anything else other than a few minutes morning web surfing.

Rick D. said...

Looking forward to the book, Kirk.

Every time I gaze at lighting catalogues I consider and back away--the size and complexity and cost don't seem worthwhile to somebody like myself who would only use them occasionally.

LEDs look like a game-changer. I'm especially intrigued at how scalable they are.

ranjini said...

Great thoughts you got there, believe I may possibly try just some of it throughout my daily life.





Filling a Swimming Pool