[6-23] "Flash"

Flash is one of those photographic inventions that, for photographers who have always relied on natural light, or ambient lighting, can be frightening, challenging, and unpredictable.

We have all seen at photographers at events, dressed in all black, with large camera and flash devices that go off as celebrities and politicians walk down the aisle. The flash symbolizes the importance of the event, and President Obama’s vision may be deteriorated after eight years spent dealing with bright lights fired off at press events or all public encounters. Do you remember the bizzard of flashes after ***?

When one of the musicians from Duran Duran showed up, I think my flash went off ten times faster, and ten times more often, and so did cameras around me, who saw the occasion, and so the flash has become an indication of something happening, somebody important walking into the room.

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When I started using flash, my results were all unexpected.

This was cool, and exciting. To be frank I was shocked when I saw my first images. A dark garage is suddenly visible. How did that happen? That brief slice of light was preserved in the camera—I did not see the garage myself.

Even more striking was taking off the flash and triggering it wirelessly. I had doubts, but it has worked so well that I don't question it. Consider this:

A wedding photographer is positioned at the entrance of a church. ~150 guests, and a large strobe (flash) is placed ~12 feet above the crowd. No wires allow, so what communication? This turns out to be an engineering problem; you need a signal from the camera to activate the light, each time the shutter is released.

One older way was called "sl***-mode": the flash occurs by reflex, whenever it senses another flash going off nearby.

Now, it's done by radio signal.

In 2015, PocketWizards were popular. They came in two; one for the camera and another attached to the flash. It relays the signal, creating a wire-free, lag-free connection.

My options are better: the Godox transceiver has a large LCD display, with dials that adjust power output for up to five flashes. The radio transmission is so stable, I cannot remember a time in the last 2-3 years the flash did not go off whenever I took the picture.

Next time I'll describe MFSS: with flash, you shouldn't exceed 1/200 speed, or else black lines appear in the image.