2006.03.30 Improvaganza 2006 Promo . . . or something

I'm actually not sure what these photos will be used for. Crad's idea - I was just the guy holding the camera and setting up the files. Andy Nguyen helped with the shoot. Check out the previous link for his cool portfolio site.

All photos shot in my favourite alleyway (again) using the Nikon D2X, 17-55/2.8 AF-S ED DX for the group shot and 60/2.8 Micro-Nikkor for the individual shots. Shutter speed was set to max flash sync and aperture was usually at the optimal setting for the lenses (F/5.6-11). Balcar AQ Pack S1200 with two Balcar Iris focusable heads. Key light over subjects was raised using a boomstand to about 15' laterally close to where the three were standing to produce harsh light. Light was controlled using the standard Balcar FX60 faceted reflector and a 10degree spot grid. Background lighting was created using an Iris on a ground level backlight stand and controlled with a 30dgree spot grid mounted on an FX60. In both, zoom heads were moved back to the fully-retracted setting. Without a grid, this would normally give the smallest angle of coverage for light but when used with a grid this allows the full 7" diameter of the grid to receive and channel light instead of just using the centre of the grid. This pack with both heads is FOR SALE unless Jonathan or Dong decide to pick it up. The pack will operate most major manufacturer's heads using adapters available from Balcar. This includes Broncolor, Bowens, Profoto, Elinchrom, Dynalite, Hensel, Norman, Speedotron (ewww), and I'm sure some others that I've forgotten. The pack and two heads would likely retail for about $5000CDN. First $3500 takes it but I'm partial to friends and friendly local photographers with whom I may shoot in the near future. It's a nice piece of gear but I'm transitioning to the Bowens QuadX and Explorer systems.