Page 41 - Lightroom Magazine Issue 26

› › PHOTOGRAPHY SECRETS
When Nikon introduced
the SB-5000 earlier this
year, I almost spilled my
coffee. The speedlight
I was dreaming about
had arrived. Most impor-
tantly, the SB-5000 used
a radio signal instead of
an optical signal. This
meant I didn’t need line-
of-sight to trigger the
light, and I could fire
my flashes almost 100'
away. Combined with
faster recycling, more
power, and a built-in
cooling fan, this flash
wasn’t just a bump in
features; it was a speed-
light overhaul. And Nikon wasn’t the only company to improve their speedlights. Canon and others had intro- duced radio-controlled speedlights.
With these new speedlight capabilities, I needed to put the SB-5000 to the test. I wanted to see how well the new radio signal worked. How far could I trigger the flash? How many flashes could I get before the batteries started to struggle? To get some answers, I loaded up my trailer and headed to Great Sand Dunes National Park in southern Colorado.
scout the location
Or in this case, be overwhelmed by the location! These dunes stretch for miles, and the largest dunes top out at 750'. Imagine walking on the soft sand at the beach, except instead of being flat, you’re going up a very steep hill at 8,000'. I didn’t need to climb the tallest dune for my shot, but I was dazzled at the massive scale of the dunes. I brought my family along for this adventure. My wife is also a photographer, and my teenage son, Skyler, is a nationally ranked high school athlete. Since he trains con- stantly, Skyler makes a great athletic subject for outdoor images. This was going to be a family affair.
the long-distance hiking shot
One powerful graphic element of sand dunes is the nar-
row ridges that crisscross the dunes. Almost any ridge will
make a great landscape photo, and adding a hiker adds
scale and perspective to the vastness of the environment.
Under the stars in the chilly predawn darkness, we hiked by headlamp until we were surrounded by mountains of sand,
and found a curving ridge that Skyler could run along. To
light him, we placed a small light stand in the sand with a Lastolite Triflash bracket on top. This bracket holds three speedlights for plenty of power. 041
› › kelbyone.com
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