An Airstream Caravel

Rick Geib’s Latest Creation – A impromptu shoot this morning

Richard Charpentier Canon Cameras, Notes from Rich, Photography, RLC Design Leave a Comment

Rick recently popped by the gallery with his latest bronze. And what a piece of art this one is! I’m a fan, no question.

Normally Rick’s works focus around sea creatures.  This time though, he’s taken a new direction.  A stunning moth (no it’s not a Luna Moth but that was my first thought) sitting on a beautiful and colorful flower.  Actually, the colors on this bronze really pop!

Rick had contacted me the other week to see about shooting this new creation, and I happily agreed.  Anything you can do for the gallery artists!  🙂  So, the plan today was to setup and get a few nice shots of the bronze.  Unfortunately I had brain freeze or something going on this morning, and I forgot my Pelican case.  That’s the case with several Speedlites in it, and my spare AA batteries.

Opening my LowePro pack I found a few things I could use, so I made due.  Of course, tomorrow I’ll bring all the gear and take another crack at the bronze.

What did I have?

  • 5D Mark II:  This is usually with me every day.  You know, just in case I need to take a picture.  🙂
  • 580 EX II:  I always keep at least one Speedlite with me.  I thought I had the 430’s as well, but go figure, left them in the Pelican case.  The 580 still did a good job, I just wanted a second light source.
  • Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 L:  This is one of my favorite lenses now.  It’s also one of my heavier lenses.  Makes the camera feel like a tank.  🙂  Still, the results with this lens are always fantastic!
  • ST-E2:  This is Canon’s branded wireless solution.  It’s good indoors with line of site.  So I knew I didn’t need my Radio Poppers.
  • Several Imapct Light Stands:  I’ve been getting these portable stands here and there whenever I find them on sale.  I brought 2 in thinking I’d have two Speedlights, got everything setup, then I looked in my bag and found that I only had one light!
  • Westcott Umbrella:  I actually brought 2 of those in too….but only needed one.  I shot through the umbrella with the 580EX II.  Pushed the speedlite +2.

So, there’s the gear used for this morning’s photos.  Now, how was I shooting these?

Whenever I do these little “product” shots I go full manual on the camera.  In the case of this last image here’s the recipe.  I shot 1/1250th of a second, f/5.6, 24mm, and ISO 200.  The ST-E2 was set to high speed sync and ETTL was on.  Otherwise I couldn’t have shot at the speed I did!  I worked around the piece trying out different angles with the speedlite.  The shot above had the speedlight slightly camera left firing through the umbrella.  I like the result.  But had I used two speedlites (coming in from each side) I think more detail could have come across with the smaller moth on the right.  Tomorrow I’ll setup in the print room with two stands and see what I get.

What I do like here is that I was able to eliminate the bulk of the background by leaving it in darkness.  I didn’t move the bronze from its display in the gallery, so there’s a lot going on in the background, but I was able to eliminate it with only one flash.  🙂  You gotta love playing with these lights!

Alright, back to scanning and printing for the day!

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