13th Mar 2008
Another FF Trash the Dress
We have been very lucky in a sense that our clients commission us to fly all over the world and shoot in some super exotic places. One of the requested sessions is typically an after wedding session where there are no rules and the dress likely will end up in the sand or swimming in the ocean. This allows for total creative freedom.
I wanted to share another one of these sessions we shot recently in the Dominican Republic. We ended up spending the whole day with these folks driving across the entire country and exploring a few locations. Shooting in these conditions is risky as you never know what the locals are going to do to you, and sometimes, equipment is in danger. I’d like to cite a specific example where I was in the water with my wast belt of lenses and for this particular example, I was helping Sol with the flash and we were under exposing the background as the bride and groom were splashing each other. I was also shooting (bad idea). Somehow, I ended up tossing a Nikon SB-28 slave and pocket wizard into the ocean. Lets just say that was the end of those pieces of equipment. $130 for the flash, $189 for the PW and a nice SHOCK to my face as the flash does not like water… I had my SD-8A batter pack plugged in, when I unplugged it I got a jolt!
Here is Sol’s photo just moments before the flashes death…
I walked back to the shore to sulk and drop that now useless equipment and snagged this frame of Sol shooting…
Since we had tons of backup, I added a CTO gel to another flash and shot this frame of the bride on the sand (special thanks to our taxi driver for holding the light (he has a cameo in the slideshow with a brides reflection in his shades).
Here is Sol’s version of this a few moments later when the groom decided to enjoy himself…
If you want to check out our entire adventure across the Dominican, check out this TTD Slideshow.
Well, I hope you enjoyed these TTD del Sol moments. Maybe you had a smile or two after visualizing me tossing that flash in the water. Moral of the story, dont try to shoot and assist at the same time, just dont do it!
Cheers & thanks for checking us out here at FF!
Mateo
Wonderful ! I hope I’ll get to have at least half of your skill as a wedding photographer one day
Dude, I would have liked to have seen your face when the flash flew, and the juice lit! Thats what I call some Flash Flava! That bride on the beach is a fine piece of Photography.
Chris!
LOL I loved reading this…I mean, I would sulk, too, if my flash and PW were tossed to their watery deaths, but your storytelling skills are top notch! I love keeping up with what you’re doing, thanks so much for taking the time to share!
A comment from your latest FF Groom. I felt pretty bad about you dropping your flash and PW. I remember that jolt!
I have to say our TTD shots are priceless though. The timing really worked out for those sunset photos. Amazing job!
Its funny how things come together and really work out in your favour sometimes. We only heard about this Alto Chavon place at the last minute and heard there is a beach near it too. I have to admit that I didnt completely feel safe the whole time in that taxi either. Those guys at the one border crossing with the rifles and machine guns didn’t look like the happiest bunch, LOL. I think it was worth the drive for these photos though. Thank you so much for coming along with Mel and I on our little wedding adventure! We had such a blast with you and Sol!
Dude your crazy bro! I bet you did get a nasty jolt! Sound like a brotha needs some UW gear for his flash!
Luck for you the flash did not discharge when it hit the water! You would have been toast . . . all of you.
what a find i’d say this is. wonderful. learning a lot from just seeing those!!
WOW. These pictures are amazing. I would be so bummed about the equipment too, but at least you got some GREAT images out of it. One question, how did you get that soft look to the picture of just the bride lying on the beach?
I know, i’m crazy. I totally didnt mean to toss the light in the ocean, believe me! But, we did feel like these shots rocked for us, very happy with the results.
Erica, we have several actions that we run for a soft look, but mostly, they are a mix of using the gaussian blur technique and different masking techniques.
Cheers!
mateo