I had an idea for some night skiing photos- I wanted to use some external flashes to provide some lighting and stop the action. I knew the light would fall off quickly and provide a dark background, and the shots that worked did just that. I was pleased in general, but learned a few important lessons....
1. Cold really does affect battery life. As lesson 2 will indicate, the battery in my 40D faded pretty quickly.
2. Charging the spare batteries is a good first step. Putting them in the camera bag is just as important though.
3. Skiing at night = Cold and Dark. A small penlight would have been a godsend to search through the bag for the missing batteries, and confirm some of the settings on the camera. A handwarmer wouldn't have been a bad idea either.
4. Auto-focus in low light is a little dicey.
5. I was slightly surprised that my pocket wizards were a little unreliable too. Range was not too far- about 10 yards or so, but most shots had only one flash (of 2) firing.
Here are some of the better shots I got before the camera battery gave out-
I had 2 assistants holding Speedlites a 580 & 430 on poles, one on either side of the skiers/boarders. We were well above ambient with these, without the lights firing I had totally dark frames.
When it worked, I basically got what I wanted. Things I'd like to do differently next time-
More batteries.... duh....
I'd love to see the lights firing more consistently. Any ideas? Generally, when I use the PW's in a gym, they are pretty reliable.
Less shadows. I expected one light to fill for the other, and didn't think I'd get such harsh shadows behind the skiers. The flashes were both on full power manual, so the 580 would be about 2/3 of a stop brighter. Considering the back and forth nature of a turning skier, I figured the distance would vary also, and it wasn't worth trying to balance them any more carefully. They were held just over head height, pointed down and at the skiers, without any modifiers.
More gear is not a great option for the next shoot- carrying this all up a chair lift and down the hill required a team effort as it was.
I appreciate any thoughts- Thanks!
