Wow. I think Steph and Nick may have just raised the bar on epic weddings. I feel privileged to have met such great people and had such an amazing day. Definitely one I certainly won’t be forgetting for a long while!

Here’s the last shot of the night, a full 18hrs and around 3,000 photos after the first one.

Right well that’s it for now, thanks for convining me to come all the way to Hong Kong guys and keep hitting refresh on the blog as there are a LOT more to come!

Alex

I’m a bit behind with the blog posts at the moment. Holly and I hit Panama (and one of the mot interesting border crossings I’ve been to before) today. More on that later though.

A week ago we found ourselves with some spare time in LA. Holly had been scheduled to meet up with one of the head honchos of Sony Animation. That was until they suddenly remembered it was Martin Luther King Jr day and the studio would be closed. D’oh!

Oh well, we decided to take the opportunity to visit Universal Studios and take advantage of their free year pass when you buy a normal ticket (well obviously, I’m going to have to go back now!).

The park wasn’t actually very busy. I think most people had stayed away due to the threat of rain. The longest we had to queue all day was about 10 minutes for the studio tour and King Kong 3D combo ride. Certainly worth it; Kong alone was friggin’ awesome!

Anyway after way too many 3D rides my eyes started to go a touch squiffy and it was getting late. As such we thought we’d check out the genuine 3D of the Waterworld show before heading back*. Lots of big bangs, some flame grilling and a bit of water later and I had this photo.

Think I might have to use it for a composite background sometime, stay tuned for that!

More soon, including a 50 story high zip line…
Alex

*okay so we didn’t head back straight away – we actually went via the Haunted House but I promised Holly I wouldn’t mention how scared she got in there…

When Holly asked me why I wanted to go to Vegas I really didn’t know what to say. On paper I should hate it, it’s full of drinking, gambling, smoking and prostitution. While I’ve been know to partake in the first couple every now and again, the second two really don’t float my boat. I’m a married man now don’t'cha know. Still, there’s something about Vegas which always lures me in, I can’t stand it for more than a couple of days, but for a very brief time, it’s a lot of fun.

Convincing Holly wasn’t all that easy. She had her heart set on the coastal route to LA, not the 10 hour detour route. My brother happened to be there at the same time which helped to win her over a bit. What really sealed the deal though was scoring a last minute suite in a 5* hotel over looking the Bellagio fountains. Get in!

Vegas was awesome as expected. As I said before, not somewhere I could spend any real time but it is awesome for a couple of days. Holly and I met up with my brother, then did the touristy thing. Toured the strip, gambled a bit and WON! Okay so it was only $20 but hey, we beat Vegas! After our small win we beat a hasty retreat before spending it all (and more) on one of Vegas’ infamous all-you-can-eat dinners at the Wynn.

Right, on to LA and Universal Studios!

More adventures soon!
Alex

So I’m heading off on honeymoon soon and instead of taking my big Nikon and various lenses I’m taking the little Fuji X100. Other than its size, one of the key benefits of the X100 is the Leaf shutter allowing some pretty crazy sync speeds. High sync speeds are good; they allow my flashes to overcome more daylight and effectively increase their power meaning I can carry smaller flashes.

X100 taped up ready for battle.

Anyway to cut a long story short I thought I’d better test out those sync speeds to see what I could get with various flash/trigger combos. It’s not quite as simple as I thought and a lot of it comes down to flash duration and speed of sync device. While the X100 will often sync at much higher speeds then those listed below, you end up only catching the start of the flash and thus lose a lot of its power. As such, for maximum power and sun-beating properties, it’s often better to go for a slightly slower sync speed. Unfortunately the pocket wizard flex system doesn’t support the X100. If it did and we could add hypersync offsets then I’m guessing we could hit some much higher numbers.

Methodology:
1) Setup X100 on a tripod pointing at a white wall.
2) Set flash to full power and point at wall. Connect triggering device under test.
3) Set shutter speed to normal sync speed (1/250) and set ISO, Aperture and ND filter to give a good, bright, but not blown out exposure.
4) Progressively walk up the shutter speed until frame is dark.
5) Import files into Aperture.
6) Use the exposure slider in Aperture until all images have an equal histogram.
7) Find the point at which the shutter speed increase is negated by the required exposure adjustment. Note that shutter speed as the max sync speed for that flash and trigger combo.

Quadra trigger via Skyport at 1/500, 1/640, 1/800 and 1/1000

The results:

If anybody wants to send me results for different flash/trigger combos, hit me up in the comments and I’d be more than happy to share them as well. Would be great to build up a database.

More soon,
Alex

As a photographer who loves an adventure I’m always faced with the predicament of what to take and what to leave at home. I’ve literally spent hours going through my gear, weighing it and charting the possibilities (shhh don’t tell Holly, when I climb into bed at 4am she always assumes that I’ve been working feverishly, not gorging my OCD side with a set of scales).

The simple fact is however that if you take too much you’ll end up weighed down worse than an eighteenth century suspected witch waiting for a float test. You’ll spend the entire trip worrying about gear rather then how to get yourself into interesting photographic situations.

Conversely take too little and you’ll kick yourself when you find that Ethiopian tribal chief just calling out for a bit of deep octa goodness.

Sync speeds:
So one of the biggest problem in travelling light is that flashes capable of over powering ambient (with any decent modifier) typically weigh more than your entire Ryanair baggage alliance (I write this while being pampered on the upper deck of a BA 747, but even I have to slum it every now and again ). One of the best ways of upping the power of your flash is to increase your max sync speed. Take your sync speed from 1/200 – 1/600 and your 400w/s ranger quadra becomes a 1200w/s full ranger minus about 7kg of lead. E

Option One – Pocket wizards:
So for anybody who hasn’t heard of the pocket wizard flex system, where have you been for the last two years?!? The flex system contains something known as hypersync which allows you to control exactly when the flash pulses and over clock that sync speed. With my D3 I can happily get 1/320 of a second with banding or drop in flash power. I can even hit 1/400 of a second if I’m happy to lose a little bit of light at the bottom of the frame. Overall the pocket wizards aren’t going to super charge your flash too much but they do offer a handy gain and are well worth their place in the bag.

Option Two – Medium format:
The Joey L approach. Okay so medium format kit isn’t exactly known for being lightweight but hear me out. Medium format gear is usually a few kg heavier than a large SLR rig however some pack leaf shutters. Some modern leaf shutters sync at crazy speeds 1/1600 and faster. As such while you end up dragging a heavier camera than with an SLR, you might actually end up with a net saving in weight by taking smaller flashes (and, well, medium format is very cool with image quality second to none).

Option Three – The wild card:
So the third option is to take an electronic or leaf shutter mirrorless camera. With the micro 4/3′s system these are becoming really quite powerful and some can also reach crazy sync speeds.
Personally I’ve opted for an X100 with its large APS-C sized sensor and 35mm f/2 lens and I’m going to be trying it out on my current trip. Sure I’m stuck with a 35mm lens but my x100 can sync at up to 1/1000 of a second. That makes the ranger quadra I’m carry equal to a 2000w/s beast of a flash on a 5d mk II. Add in an octa box and nano stand and you have a powerful setup which fits in a small manageable backpack. How crazy is that?

Very I’ll tell you, very crazy. I have no idea how it’ll work out but I’m hoping it could be good. Stay tuned into this blog over the next month and I’ll keep you all updated on my adventures with a small camera and a big flash.

More adventures soon,
Alex

Just got out of a meeting/lunch at Dreamworks in California. They’re flat out finishing up Madagascar 3. (Looks amazing from what I saw).

Anyway their lobby is defended by an 8ft Kung Fu panda and it made me realise I need one to defend my office! Not sure where I’d fit it but you now know what to buy me next Christmas people!

More adventures soon,
Alex

“Welcome aboard ladies and gentlemen this is your captain speaking. It’s all looking good up here on the flight deck and we’ll be pushing back in the next couple of minutes and leaving on time…. Hang on… Nope, sorry spoke to soon, we’ve just been told by Heathrow air traffic control that our slot’s just got taken and we’re going to have to wait about 7 minutes. Sorry about that.”

I sit here on the upper deck of a Boeing 747 gracing the tarmac of London Heathrow airport. It’s the first time I’ve ever been allowed to turn left at the gate and definitely the first time I’ve ever been upstairs on a plane. Sitting along side me is Holly as we watch a rather angry sky and change into our toasty warm flight socks.

Right, airsafe mode time. So-long blighty, I’ll see you in a month.

More adventures very soon.

Alex

Today’s a travel day Bristol -> Heathrow -> San Fransisco with a lot of stuff!

Fun times!

More adventures soon.
Alex

Location:Eastbourne Terrace,,United Kingdom