PAW 1

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On reviewing my photos from 2010, I was very disappointed.  Sure, I had some decent product shots from my "reviews" and some nice family snapshots.  I even had a few "studio" portraits that I liked.  But no "fine art" and certainly nothing worthy of replacing any of my existing Top Ten shots.  What to do?

As a challenge to myself, I decided on the "Picture a Week" (PAW) approach.  I've been tempted previously but never made the attempt.  My rules are simple:  Take at least one picture every week that is worthy of being published in my blog.  Any camera, any media, any accessory, any technique is OK.  As published, the picture should not require detailed explanation; that is, should tell its own story.

Originally, my plan was to exclude family snapshots from my PAW but who could resist including the above picture of my granddaughter?  Her picture was taken with the G12 and 420EX flash mounted on the camera.  The G12 was in (embarrassment) Program mode and ISO 800.  The flash was fitted with a Stofen diffuser and tilted upward.  Shot taken in RAW mode with slight noise reduction when converting in Adobe Camera Raw.  Above version is slightly cropped. 

In the past, I've smiled at those who take on the PAW challenge but then show several pictures instead of one.  The above shot is the one that I originally planned for this first PAW (well, planned it while about to do a little bit of yard work).  Again the G12 was used but this time at ISO 100 and in manual exposure at 1/160 second and f4 which slightly underexposed the scene.  My  YN460-II flash was mounted off camera (right) and triggered by the RF-602 wireless trigger.   Remembering (at the last moment) that the G12 self timer does not work with flash I rigged another RF-602 as a remote shutter trigger.  Using auto focus but then switching to manual focus to lock it in, I fired off a number of shots while "working".  Then I had to put away the camera gear and actually cut away those dead stalks.

First PAW, check. 
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7D Flash System

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OK, so this is not a great picture. But what if I told you that the Canon 580EX was triggered wirelessly by the built-in flash of the camera at a flash ratio of 2:1 and the flash compensation was also set by the camera at -1? For one thing, you’d know that the camera was the new Canon 7D (because the Nikons can’t trigger the 580EX!).

One of the more intriguing features of the 7D is this ability to control an external flash via its own small built-in popup flash. This was a strong selling point to me and I’m tinkering with it to learn the system. Here’s a link to an ongoing discussion and FAQ about the 7D flash.

About all I can personally say about the 7D flash system at this point is that mine works with my Canon 580EX and 420EX flashes – individually or together. I’ll also gripe a bit that the wireless flash control menus are awkward to access repeatedly while learning the system. Here’s hoping that I’ve overlooked a simple shortcut.

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G9 Fill Flash

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Continuing with the G9 flash fixation, this post is about fill flash. Although previous posts are labeled as flash and exposure compensation, fill flash is, in a way, much the same sort of thing.

First, I set up a very contrasty scene featuring the lovely Hannah . A similar situation – although perhaps not as drastic – occurs when an expanse of sky is included in a scene. The G9 was simply placed in Program Mode (P), ISO 80, widest angle, small Flexizone auto focus and evaluative metering. (For uniform comparisons, all pictures herein are the in-camera JPEG.) Poor Hannah! Although she enjoyed the shade and was not squinting at all, the bright concrete driveway convinced the G9 metering system to use 1/1000 sec and f4 to avoid overexposing the scene. What to do?

Fill flash is the answer here. The question is “How much fill flash?”. Rather than deal with theory, classic ratios, etc., I simply turned on the flash and took another shot. Not too bad! On close examination, several interesting changes took place inside the mind of the G9 (remember it was still in Program Mode, etc. but the flash was turned on). First, the exposure settings were changed to 1/500 second at f5.6; those who follow such details (and all aspiring photographers should) will recognize that these settings produce exactly the same exposure as 1/1000 second at f4. This change was made because the G9 limits its little built-in flash to 1/500 second and at 1/500 second the proper aperture was f5.6. Next, the G9 flash pre-flashes to check the effect and then fires at what it thinks is the necessary power. On second thought, Hannah is actually a bit underexposed. More power is needed.

It turns out that the flash picture was taken with the Slow Sync setting turned OFF so I changed to Slow Sync ON. Duh! Same exposure settings and same result. Next I changed to Aperture Priority (Av) mode and set the aperture at f5.6 to avoid confusing myself. Same results. How about Shutter Priority (Tv) at 1/500 second? Same. Not to be denied my right to force my preferences on the G9, I changed to Manual exposure and kept 1/500 second and f5.6 but forced full power to the flash. (Remember that manual exposure mode also means manual flash adjustments.) Same results – that’s when I realized that the little built-in flash was maxed out. With the flash already firing at full power, there would be no point to increasing the flash compensation setting. So ISO 80, f5.6 and a camera to subject distance of about ten feet is about the limit for the G9. (This would be a Guide Number of 56 but I suspect the GN is really about 40.) Time for a bigger gun.

Next, a Canon 420EX was placed directly on the G9. Again, the G9 was put into P mode. The result was definitely an improvement over the built-in flash. Again, several interesting changes were made by the G9 (not by me). The shutter speed was changed to 1/250 second because that is the limit of external flash unless the external flash can handle “High Speed Sync”. At 1/250 second, the correct aperture setting (considering that bright background) is f8. Actually, the G9 did not particularly like either the 1/250 or the f8 and indicated so by showing both in red on the display. Another point of interest is that the color balance was changed when using the 420EX. The G9 was set for automatic white balance so this was an internal decision by the G9.

The Canon 420EX accomplishes High Speed Sync on the G9 by pulsing rapidly. Unfortunately, this means that flash power is reduced for each pulse. Does the 420EX have enough power at High Speed Sync? I switched the 420EX to HSS and fired away. The G9 responded by changing to 1/1000 second at f4 and the 420EX pulsed away (not noticeable to me). As shown here, the 420EX really does not have quite the necessary power but is close. Also, f4 nicely blurred the background as compared to f8.

Last, I replaced the 420EX with a Nikon SB-28. The SB-28 fires from the G9 but the flash power must be set manually and on the flash. The advantage to using the “incompatible” SB-28 on the G9 is that the G9 ignorantly operates at shutter speeds up to 1/2500 second! Realizing that the “correct” ambient exposure was 1/500 at f5.6, I intentionally set the G9 at 1/1000 second and f5.6 to make the background slightly underexposed. The best setting for the SB-28 was at half power which produced this shot. It’s OK, although the color balance is a bit cool.

Conclusions? Well, fill flash can be very useful and is essentially for some situations. The G9 flash is a bit weak but is certainly convenient. The limits on flash power, sync speed and aperture can lead to false conclusions so be aware of those limits. I much prefer external flash (in fact, off-camera flash). The most understandable setup for me is the G9 in manual mode with the SB-28 also in manual mode; however, this setup often requires a bit of tinkering and trial shots – but I’ll get better at it with practice!
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G9 and Canon Multiple Flash

Woof-Woof is a bit of a lounge chair potato so why not practice flash photography on him? These two shots were taken at night – it’s a wonder he wasn’t asleep!

Here’s a basic bounce flash photo using the Canon 580EX on the G9. The G9 was set for ISO 80, Program mode. Exposure, selected by the G9, was 1/60 second at f3.5. (I’ve noticed that the G3, G9 and even the 20D seem to head towards max aperture in Program mode when a flash is attached.) Not too bad, although a bit flat, I’d say. Time to try a little directional lighting.

The Canon 580EX can control another compatible Canon flash – in this case, a 420EX. The 580EX was set on “master” and the 420EX on “slave”. The 580EX controls the relative amount of light that each flash emits. The 580EX ratio controls were set for 1:2 so that more light comes from the 420EX. The 420EX was placed on a bookcase and pointed directly at Woof-Woof. The 580EX was on the G9 hotshoe and pointed towards the ceiling; that is, the 580EX provided the (bounced) fill flash – similar to the first shot.

The result is a bit different from the first shot. Instead of flat, the lighting is now directional with fill. The amount of side vs bounce light can be controlled from the 580EX to suite one’s taste. The direction of the light is controlled by the position of the 420EX (slave).

Pretty simple, just don’t try it in Manual mode and expect ETTL or the ratios to work; however, the master will trigger the slave flash with the G9 in Manual mode.

(Both shots from unprocessed in-camera jpg without claiming great lighting or composition.)