Seagull With Better Beamer

[mrclark321]

Went out for a drive today and used the 1DMKII, 100-400L, 580EX and the Better Beamer. My results were not too great but I tried to salvage this in PS.
Unfortunately around here there is not much to shoot but gulls and ducks. :(

Dan

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y200/mrclark321/MI8U5243.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y200/mrclark321/MI8U5241.jpg

[cfcRebel]

I think you did great Dan. It's definitely a challenge to shoot in backlit situation but the better beamer seems to do a great job concentrating the flash power.

I know what you mean. We had a few sunny days but not much bird activities going on here either. :(

[mrclark321]

I think you did great Dan. It's definitely a challenge to shoot in backlit situation but the better beamer seems to do a great job concentrating the flash power.

I know what you mean. We had a few sunny days but not much bird activities going on here either. :(

Thanks Fee

[canonloader]

I think they came out fine.

[mrclark321]

I think they came out fine.

Thanks Mitch

[PetKal]

Yo, Danny boy, how come all of the sudden you've got then "pump" in your gear list?:rolleyes:

OK, back to the gull. I will tell you the way this looks, because nobody else is likely to. Nothing wrong with your capture, but the beamer gives it that 'glassy', unnatural and flat appearance, especially the second one....the first one is not bad. I suppose it could be too much power concentrated in a short distance.

I think several options are open to ya in a shot like this: shoot in natural light, reduce the flash power output (if that's possible), or the use the flash bounce if you can.;)
Yesterday I also saw a bunch of ducks shot with a powerflul flash.....to me they looked like paper cutouts....pretty bad.:rolleyes:

[sugarzebra]

Hi Dan, the first is my preference but the ice formation in the second is quite interesting. BTW I was up at the cottage this morning and there is no ice anywhere to be seen.....must be the global warming :D

[Blue Deuce]

In spite of Petkals observation I don't see the adverse effects of beamer useage in this shot and I would tell you.

I think they came out very well. Nicely done.

[Keith R]

I think I'm with Petkal - though they are still very nice images.

We seem to be less inclined to use flash in the UK for some reason, and I would probably have gone for a bit of +ve EC to deal with the backlighting.

Shooting RAW would give me a decent chance of dealing with the highlights on the birds' wings.

[mrclark321]

Yo, Danny boy, how come all of the sudden you've got then "pump" in your gear list?:rolleyes:

OK, back to the gull. I will tell you the way this looks, because nobody else is likely to. Nothing wrong with your capture, but the beamer gives it that 'glassy', unnatural and flat appearance, especially the second one....the first one is not bad. I suppose it could be too much power concentrated in a short distance.

I think several options are open to ya in a shot like this: shoot in natural light, reduce the flash power output (if that's possible), or the use the flash bounce if you can.;)
Yesterday I also saw a bunch of ducks shot with a powerflul flash.....to me they looked like paper cutouts....pretty bad.:rolleyes:

Thanks for your honesty Peter and I have to agree. I have only had a few outings with the better beamer and nead practice. I sprained my wrist last month and lugging around the 1DMKII, 100-400, 580 and BB is heavy as hell and my limited patience was even less. Actually trying to get a 5D to reduce the weight. :D

Hi Dan, the first is my preference but the ice formation in the second is quite interesting. BTW I was up at the cottage this morning and there is no ice anywhere to be seen.....must be the global warming :D
Thanks Scott....This Global Warming thing is really scarry...Have you seen the movie : An Inconvenient Truth......scarry

(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0497116/)


In spite of Petkals observation I don't see the adverse effects of beamer useage in this shot and I would tell you.

I think they came out very well. Nicely done.

Thanks :D

I think I'm with Petkal - though they are still very nice images.

We seem to be less inclined to use flash in the UK for some reason, and I would probably have gone for a bit of +ve EC to deal with the backlighting.

Shooting RAW would give me a decent chance of dealing with the highlights on the birds' wings.

Practice practice

[Maureen Souza]

I really like them, Dan. The reflection in the 1st shot almost looks like he is standing on a mirror.

[dancad]

I like the ice patterns in the second shot. A trick I read about concerning the better beamer is to manually set the flash to expose for 50mm, even with the lens set at the long end. I don't have a better beamer myself so I can't speak from experience...but it might be worth a try??

[mrclark321]

I really like them, Dan. The reflection in the 1st shot almost looks like he is standing on a mirror.

Thanks Maureen


I like the ice patterns in the second shot. A trick I read about concerning the better beamer is to manually set the flash to expose for 50mm, even with the lens set at the long end. I don't have a better beamer myself so I can't speak from experience...but it might be worth a try??

Thanks Dan, I actually tried on manual at different settings. At 24mm it's a narrow pattern and at 100mm its a wide pattern so for these being close I tried the wider pattern. There lots of fun Dan once you get the hang of them (which I have not yet :rolleyes: )

[MDoc]

I like them both. It looks a little cold where you are.

[mrclark321]

I like them both. It looks a little cold where you are.

Thanks MDoc....Cold it is especially compared to Miami

[sugarzebra]

Thanks Scott....This Global Warming thing is really scarry...Have you seen the movie : An Inconvenient Truth......scarry

Not yet, but enough people have recommended it, I think I will. Never thought I'd pay to see an Al Gore movie :D