Flashlight Man
Man on road with flashlight
Man on road with flashlight
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Aug, 2015Views
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Awards
Featured
Contest Finalist in Come To Me Photo Contest
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Outstanding Creativity
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Absolute Masterpiece
All Star
Superior Skill
Magnificent Capture
Genius
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
Indian River Road near Deep Cove, North Vancouver, BC CanadaTime
It was late afternoon on a wet, cool night in that hazy twilight time that allows a darker type of photography.Lighting
With new DSLR's never give up on lighting! The ISO range is so incredible these days you can shoot in light that was nearly impossible before. Who knows, at the rate technology advances they may be able to make "lightless" cameras where you can shoot in virtual darkness. In order to gain extra light for the flashlight I had to slow the shutter down, so I asked the model (my son actually) to 'pretend' to be walking so his legs and feet would not blur. I also asked him to have an expressionless face, like a stranger, and to hold the flashlight as if he was going to inspect me. A hint of a boundary invasion.Equipment
I have several cameras but this one was taken with my Canon 1Dx which obviously gave me a lot of technology to work with. I used a monopod, but tripods are the great equalisers for the different quality between cameras and lens. The 2.8L 70-200 IS lens is perfect for low light, but the image stabilization is turned off so it does not mess with the monopod. Also gives great depth of field and tack-sharp focus.Inspiration
Y'now, that's a great question. I think if you love photography you just take pictures because everything is a photograph and there is so much to learn and try, more than you can do in a lifetime. I'm trying to create stories with some of my images; you can study photographs, they are time machines. So I wanted to make a picture that asks more questions than it answers.Editing
Yes, black and white does wonders for low-light photography, often when colour does not work converting it to black and white changes everything. Noise reduction was important, and enhancing the light from the flashlight and leaving it in colour was also part of post. In Photoshop I duplicated the layer, zoomed into the face and neck and smoothed out extra noise but left enough to keep it rough by lowering the opacity of the top layer.In my camera bag
1Dx, 3 or 4 lenses, grad filters, extra battery & cards, lens cleaner, trigger cable. tripod or monopodFeedback
The best advice I was ever given was 'take 20,000 images on manual settings and come back and see me" said this master photographer I met. Play with light, shoot everything and anything that has a highlight/contrast to it, and find a personal style. For images like these, twilight or before sunrise is ideal and use flashlights and 'paint' with the flash, getting supercool results. Finally, if you see a scene you like stop and shoot or come back when the light is better. If you are a photographer you can't help it; it's what you do.
