Dreamy Flash Flowers

Kevin

Hi all
I had a go at creating a dreamy series using off camera flash today.
The flash was tethered by way of SC-29 TTL cord, however, TTL was not used. Sorta negates the purpose of owning a TTL cord eh?

The exposures were done in Manual mode, and the flash was set to manual mode too. Flash power was set between 1/64th and 1/16th on the SB-600. The ambient meter read completely off the scale as being ready for underexposure, but the flash really brought the exposures to life.
The onboard wide angle flash diffuser of the SB-600 was used to soften the shadows.

Using some tape on the hotshoe contacts I was able to bypass the flash x synch limit of 1/500s, which gave me some very fast shutters indeed.

In all cases, the flash was set below and slightly off to the side of the flowers and shooting up into the petals.
What I really liked about this process, and what added even more to the dreamy feeling for me, is the way the background ambient light came to life, causing the subjects to now be the traditionally unlit area of interest, contrasted by the brighter bkgds.

The idea of focus not really being "there" is part of the dream feeling.
Hope it works for someone else besides me.

C&C is most welcomed. Questions too.

GOLDENORFE

I really like these Kevin.
epecially #1 &3.
with such fast shutter speed how did you get the" movement "look in #3?
phil
http://www.flickr.com/photos/goldenorfe/

pyry

The first and especially the third look stunning!

I'd love to see a setup shot

Lord Vetinari

Technique worked well Kevin. Suprised you didn't get some form of banding on the shots using the flash like that- but obviously it worked !
Makes you wonder what high speed sync flash is for.
Brian V.

Skippy

Kevin wrote:

Hi all
I had a go at creating a dreamy series using off camera flash today.
The flash was tethered by way of SC-29 TTL cord, however, TTL was not used. Sorta negates the purpose of owning a TTL cord eh?

The exposures were done in Manual mode, and the flash was set to manual mode too. Flash power was set between 1/64th and 1/16th on the SB-600. The ambient meter read completely off the scale as being ready for underexposure, but the flash really brought the exposures to life.
The onboard wide angle flash diffuser of the SB-600 was used to soften the shadows.

Using some tape on the hotshoe contacts I was able to bypass the flash x synch limit of 1/500s, which gave me some very fast shutters indeed.

In all cases, the flash was set below and slightly off to the side of the flowers and shooting up into the petals.
What I really liked about this process, and what added even more to the dreamy feeling for me, is the way the background ambient light came to life, causing the subjects to now be the traditionally unlit area of interest, contrasted by the brighter bkgds.

The idea of focus not really being "there" is part of the dream feeling.
Hope it works for someone else besides me.

C&C is most welcomed. Questions too.

These are Beautiful Kevin, I like all three shots.
You have created a lovely Dreamy Look indeed.
Your always trying something new, and sharing your results with us

We thank you and appreciate your skills Kevin, and your willingness to share your work with everyone here.

An Excellent Series .... Skippy
.