[Leica] Noctilux and natural light......Not always!

[Ted Grant <tedgrant@home.com>]

Harrison Mcclary wrote:

> Well.....sometimes one HAS to use flash. <<<<<<<<<<

Right on Harrison! :-) You're absolutely right and I know Tina will
agree with both of us, as there are simply some situations that require
flash,  your shoot under really weird lighting conditions as an example.

One would have to be living super dangerously in the situation you
described and not do controlled flash shooting.  If it were me doing the
shoot, I'd throw in a few "natural light things" only to show what it
looked like real time.  But that would only be to satisfy the "visually
challenged" editor sitting in New York or wherever.  :-) 

Folks, those of you who have never had contact with these "aliens"
(photo editors)   want to avoid them like the black plague! :-)

I'd have shot as you did,   strobe or hot lights, in consideration of
your description of the light and it being a commercial assignment. 
Folks that means he was being paid and not out happy snapping! :-)

It seems we who prefer natural light that motivates our vision,  appear
as though we never use flash.  That isn't the truth!  As there are times
when the obvious point of " common sense"  dictates that we use the
tools af our trade to do the job right.  That is to do it right to earn
our bread and butter,  we'll use flash or candle light to pay the bills! :-)

Harrison,  I suppose if you knew the existing light would satisfy the
client by shooting available  light,  it's more than likely the the way
you'd go.   But what sorts out the pro from the not so pro,  is
recognizing the limits of shooting "existing available light"  and when
it works and when one must  strobe it !

I suppose it comes down to experience, that which determines when one
goes natural light or all strobe.  Or combination of both!

Not sure the above makes any sense.  What it boils down to is  ... "if I
had a shoot and the available light was the pits and wouldn't work 
.....    I'd strobe the hell out of it to satisfy the guy paying the
bill."    See?  Common sense prevails and money in the bank dictates the
situation! :-)

It isn't all Leica and lenses that drive us to take pictures and satisfy
our clients!   Our bank managers can be mean assed mothers sometimes! :-)

ted


About 2 years ago I was hired
> through Black Star to do some photos in a DANA plant for INC Technology
> magazine.  I got there with my assistant and a truck full of lighting gear.
> I walked around the plant looking at the beautiful orange lights (being
> sarcastic here folks) and was figuring on how many lights each shot was
> going to take.  I used every strobe I own and was wishing I had more.
> 
> The entire time I was there the Plant manager kept saying "I don't know why
> you are having to take all of these photos we just had someone here last
> month and they shot all this stuff.  They had sent these photos to the
> magazine but they did not like them.  I kept talking to them about what had
> been shot because I did not want to get similar stuff if the magazine photo
> editors did not like them.  Well after we had done 2 or three shots one of
> the plant guys volunteered that the other shooter had not used any lights at
> all.  My assistant and I looked and each other and said ah....now we know
> why they did not like those photos.
> 
> DANA ended up buying some of my shots from Black Star for their Annual
> Report.....available light ain't always the way to go.
> --
> Harrison McClary
> http://www.mcclary.net