Mangawhai at dawn

It's taken a little time, but I've finally started taking a few confident steps into the realms of off-camera flash.

I've been toying with the idea for ages, weighing up the cost of gear against what I think the benefits may be.
Honestly, I wish I had done it a lot sooner.
Let me share a couple of thoughts with you.

Before I get started though I have to tip my cap to two amazingly generous photographers who provided the impetus and information to get started - Zack Arias and David Hobby.

Zack Arias is an Atlanta-based photographer who, amongst other things, runs a series of workshops aimed at using off-camera flash.

David Hobby is the driving force behind Strobist, a blog dedicated to off-camera flash. It is without doubt the most user friendly and comprehensive collection of information I've discovered

Thanks to you both. It is because of people such as yourselves that people like us get to improve our skills.

Mangawhai
Mangawhai is by far my favourite place for dawn photography, and it was with this aim in mind that 4 of us woke up in the wee hours of a Saturday morning to make the one hour drive out there.

The weather was nearly perfect, despite one or two showers we drove through on the way.
Cloud cover was a little thick over the horizon, but the light came through well enough for some good landscapes.

However, the real fun started when we pulled out the lightstand and flash and started doing the strobist thing.

Everything came together quite comfortably and flowed very smoothly. It's such a great feeling to set up an image, work through what your lighting will do, figure out how you want to balance ambient light with flash, and then getting the image that you had planned at the end of it. More skill, less luck. GREAT!

For first-timers we made great headway and I tink it's going to be great to get out again and build on what we have learnt.

Admittedly, it's made a huge difference to my work and has opened up a number of fresh and exciting possibilities.

But as always, doing something you love is much more enjoyable in the company of like-minded individuals.

So to those of you who were there, thank you.

Who knows, perhaps one day it might be us who start big things by sharing what we've been persistent enough to learn.

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Tiny little steps forward...

I can't believe it's been over a month since I last updated this blog.

Things have been quite busy, and unfortunately my amazing penchant for distraction and procrastination has sabotaged a lot of the good work I had planned on doing.

Regardless, I have learnt to be a little more realistic with my goals, and quickly put to rest the expectation of burning the candle at both ends whilst looking for more candles to light.

What has been achieved in the past month you may ask?

Mostly business setup. Mostly.

From the start I have believed in appearing professional and polished before I 'hang out a shingle"

I really don't believe that there is much to be gained reputation wise if you offer great images but your presentation and business skills are mediocre.

So with that in mind I have been sifting through books on marketing, looking at websites for ideas, and talking to the key players I'll need to get things off the ground.

In the next few weeks I hope to share with you the process I've been following. Perhaps you are in the same boat as I am, perhaps my experience can be of some assistance.

I hope so...

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