Sunday, October 30, 2022

633 to 9





I’d need a trailer to carry my Profoto studio lighting setup. Between the power supply, the two strobes and the 2’x4’ softboxes plus the cables, stands and Pocket Wizard triggers it’s a monumental effort to assemble the kit. I scarcely ever use it. It would be hunky dory if I could leave it set up but that’s not the case. And to take it on the road is a laughable proposition. Portability and environment portraits in the field are my dream. I may have found my dream package.



As a happy birthday to me gift in September, I bought myself a vastly more portable Godox strobe kit and compromised by buying just one softbox which I hoped would approximate the power and diffuse light of the Profoto gear.




Two evenings last week Peggy and I photographed each other with good if not great results. I didn’t think the light was as soft as the term softbox suggests. I could work with it but wasn’t blown away by any stretch. That meant I needed a portrait victim. I immediately thought of my photographer friend Terry Thompson who would tolerate my bumbling efforts. Happily, Terry’s response to my request was an enthusiastic “I’d like that very much.”

Wednesday, I repaired to Casa Thompson for the first official portrait session with my new Godox kit. Two hours and 633 shots later, Terry and I skimmed through all 633. I told him that I wanted to produce at least a few images that did him justice. He responded. “You’ve accomplished that and then some.”

I said, “I think there are at least 50 worthwhile photographs here. I'll process all of them and give you with a thumbdrive of the best ones.”

One day and six hours later I had winnowed the 633 to 185 promising images. Sunday after another four hours I reduced the so-called “Selects” five times until I had 20 photographs on my short list. Here are the last ones standing. Yeah, I know nine is too many for a blog post but I didn’t want to sacrifice any of them.

3 comments:

Blacks Crossing said...

What great fun the photo shoot must have been with your new lighting equipment. Kudos to both you and Terry for venturing into these waters and getting such good results, Steve. My favorites are 2, 5, and 8, and of course 9 is a great shot of the back. I think you may have solved your lighting dilemma, and I, for one, look forward to seeing shots of you and Peggy when the labor of sorting through the original 633 of Terry is truly complete. Muchas gracias!

John Ellsworth said...

How in the world did you learn all this? I didn't think we were that smart!

Steve Immel said...

Hey, amigo. Pure instinct and a little logic I guess. We were smart enough as you have proven time and time again. Hope you're happy and well. Best to Deb.