Wildlife Photographer of the Year

perkeleellinen · Oct 22, 2009

This year's winner is José Luis Rodríguez with a stunning flash photo of a wolf leaping over a gate. Hope this link works:

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats...s/wpy/photo.do?photo=2554&category=56&group=4

Taken on a Hasselblad 503CW.

Now onto my question. The tech bit also says the photographer used "6x6 Fujichrome backing". What's that? New name for film or some digi thing?

Q.G. · Oct 22, 2009

They obviously were very confused when they wrote that about the fact that this old camera has a back in which Fuji slide film could sit.
Probably because they never heard of film.

They also write about risking a slow shutter speed, never mention thhat the exposure is made by a short burst of flash.

Whoever wrote that is rather new to photography.

Christopher Walrath · Oct 22, 2009

Just goes to show how little knowledge some people can get by with and call themselves a photographer. I know enough on the piano to fool a few people. Only a few. Anyone with a trained ear would pick me out in a heartbeat. And I do NOT refer to myself as a pianist.

PeteZ8 · Oct 22, 2009

Being this contest was from a museum and not a photography related publication (I would even consider NatGeo or Time as such), I am not expecting the contest be judged by a photo editor.

More than likely the person chosen to judge this contest was chosen with some degree of randomness.

Q.G. · Oct 22, 2009

Very probably, and not a problem.

And then probably also the reason for the "6x6 Fujichrome backing" confusion.

Christopher Walrath · Oct 22, 2009

I just figured the leatherette was coming off and Fujichrome and Super Glue was all that was at hand. ;p

But we're getting off topic. And I am sorry.

It is a fantastic photograph. The photographer must have really known has wildlife and habitat to be able to position the gear to get such a great photograph.

coloradocold · Oct 22, 2009

It looks too sharp to be a 1/30 sec. exposure of a wolf jumping a fence.

Q.G. · Oct 22, 2009

The exposure was made by a motion stopping short burst of flash.

Christopher Walrath · Oct 22, 2009

The short duration of the flash light that refelcts from the wolf is much shorter than the 1/30 shutter speed.

coloradocold · Oct 22, 2009

Thanks for the explanation. Maybe I can use the same technique when chasing around the grandchildren. Does a standard flash unit have a short enough burst or do you need a "special" flash unit?

PeteZ8 · Oct 22, 2009

"Speedlights" as they are commonly referred to (Nikon/Canon/Vivitar etc) on camera flashes get their name as one would expect. Fast, not only on recharge but discharge. Speedlights typicly run around 1/10,000 of a second at the higher power end and may be as fast as 1/50,000 or so at low power.

Studio lights run a little slower, from 1/300-1/2000 on average depending on the brand and quality, and unlike speedlights they have their shortest duration at full power and get slower as you turn them down.

Q.G. · Oct 22, 2009

As far as i know, studio units behave just like smaller flash units, in that the more power they put out, the longer - not shorter - the burst is.

"Speedlight" is the tradename Nikon uses for their shoe mount flash units.
Though the name makes the point well, such units are usually just known as "electronic flash units".
Since flash bulbs are very rare nowadays, just "flash unit", or even "flash" will do.

mark · Oct 22, 2009

He used a IR light trap. He set it up and was most likely no where near the camera. National Geographic uses these to catch wild life all the time.

Don't get me wrong, I think it is a fantastic shot and the guy had to know his subject well. A light trap is one more tool of the trade.

PeteZ8 · Oct 22, 2009

Most photogs I've talked to refer to all "electronic flashes" as speedlights. Kind of how everyone calls PWC's "Waverunners" or "Jet-Skis" when in fact those are trade names.

Studio lights do in fact increase duration with lower power. It has to do with differences in how their circutry works vs. small flashes. There are only a handfull, perhaps even less, of studio lights that work similar to a small flash. I know Paul C. Buff, aka Alien Bees and White Lightning, recently introduced one, and I believe Photogenic also has a similar model.

David A. Goldfarb · Oct 22, 2009

PeteZ8 said:
Studio lights run a little slower, from 1/300-1/2000 on average depending on the brand and quality, and unlike speedlights they have their shortest duration at full power and get slower as you turn them down.

This depends on the design of the strobe head. My older Normans all have long flash durations at the brightest output and shorter durations at less output, but some modern units may have less difference in duration from full output to minimal output, and some units like Alien Bees have a shorter duration at full output than at minimum output, strange as that may seem. Elinchrom heads and Speedotrons also have longer durations at full output.

PeteZ8 · Oct 22, 2009

David A. Goldfarb said:
This depends on the design of the strobe head. My older Normans all have long flash durations at the brightest output and shorter durations at less output, but some modern units may have less difference in duration from full output to minimal output, and some units like Alien Bees have a shorter duration at full output than at minimum output, strange as that may seem. Elinchrom heads and Speedotrons also have longer durations at full output.

David you very well may be right. I cannot say I have tested many stuido lights, and even less have I tested on an oscilloscope (none ) But this certainly goes against everything I have been told about monolights and for that matter, studio lights in general.

Q.G. · Oct 22, 2009

You must know other units than i.

Modern studio flash units control both power and duration electronically, and (within certain limits) there is no direct relation between both.
All other studio units (and these electronically variable units too outside the scope of the electronic control) need more time to put out more energy.
There are some too that disconnect capacitors to reduce output, and then keep the flash duration relatively constant.
But i have never come across studio units (yet?) that take less time to put out more energy.

The reason is very simple too: the tube has a maximum output level, quickly reaches its peak. To get more light, it has to 'burn' longer.

PeteZ8 · Oct 22, 2009

I'll have to look into that. The last year or two has brought a lot of new products to market and most of them electronicly controlled. The way I understood it was the studio lights and the small flashes regulated power differently. The former using direct voltage control and the latter using pulsewidth. Studio lights as I understood it dump all their power on every flash, (thus the need to "dump" them when making adjustments) and the lower voltages affected the discharge rate.

Lee L · Oct 22, 2009

A short discussion of flash duration in monolights with variable voltage control vs thyristor controlled shoe mount units vs switching capacitors in and out with power pack studio flash units is here:

http://www.paulcbuff.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=59

Lee

PeteZ8 · Oct 23, 2009

Thanks Lee, that's pretty much how I understood it.

Paul Kierstead · Oct 23, 2009

coloradocold said:
Maybe I can use the same technique when chasing around the grandchildren. Does a standard flash unit have a short enough burst or do you need a "special" flash unit?

Even the slowest of the slowest of the slow will be fast enough. The trick is getting nice looking results, which will take some practice and perhaps some study. It is a worthwhile skill, however.

mark · Oct 23, 2009

coloradocold said:
Thanks for the explanation. Maybe I can use the same technique when chasing around the grandchildren. Does a standard flash unit have a short enough burst or do you need a "special" flash unit?

I have been wanting to build an IR trigger for a long time. I bet, if it is set up in a high traffic part of the house a few of the shots would be great candids. Once the kids figured out was was going on they would really ham it up. Have to have a motor advance camera though.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year

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