I've learned recently that shooting on location means bringing your studio along with you. And you'll need to make sure to bring everything; including a power source when necessary. For a while now, I've been wanting to get my studio strobes out on location. They are amazing for controlling light but come with a few drawbacks to mobile shooting. For one thing, they are heavy, bulky, and not very easy to pack if you want to take less bags. Another big drawback is that they are corded and will need external power.
As much as I love the great outdoors, I unfortunately can't plug my equipment into a tree trunk and hope it works. Nor can I count on finding or using available electricity without raising questions. This led me to do some research where I came across a great and obvious solution; a portable power bank! This is great because I’ve wanted one for a long time now. They are super convenient, great tools for camping, and now I have another good reason to finally purchase one.
There were so many different kinds to choose from. From continuous power usage, to size variations; the market is abundant with options. I have an idea of which one I’d like in the future but settled on the Jackery Explorer 290 to test the waters. I was not disappointed and so pumped to have one in my hands! There was a bit of a hiccup at first because my strobes are beasts of power. I would turn on my strobe but the Jackery would immediately turn it back off. The trick was to turn on the strobe then turn it down to its lowest setting. That way, the Jackery would register a smaller charge of continuous power. Once it stayed on, I could go from the minimal 1/128 sec. flash to a full 1/1 sec. flash without any interruption to the Jackery. Just like that, we're in business!
Now that I know I could power the strobe, I decided to lug one along with me. I got a little excited and thought to bring all three but quickly woke from that dream. Three would be awesome but a lot of weight and work. Plus, you can create great photos with just one.
Next was to figure out the perfect location to give it a go. What better place to practice outdoor strobe shooting than Zebulon's Grotto; one of my most loved clothing optional resorts? After some quick planning, It was a done deal! I arrived at the Grotto early morning, set up camp, and mingled around before getting started late afternoon/ early evening.
I wanted to shoot at different times of day to maximize the results from my strobes. Each day I shot did just that and the results are stunning!
Late Afternoon / Early evening:
For these first few photos I sat facing the setting sun. The sun had moved below the tree line so the light was there but not direct. My strobe was placed in front and over my head by a foot. The photo to the left is the RAW file straight from the camera (unedited). The photo on the right is the finished image after post processing. I was very pleased at how great they turned out with these lighting conditions! My favorite part so far is the light in the sky peeking from the top left hand corner. Post processing really brought out the color of the approaching twilight.
F-stop: F/18
Exposure: 1/160 sec.
ISO: 1250
Strobe flash Power: 1/16
Moving around a bit but staying in the same location, I turned and faced away from the setting sun for a few other photos. My strobe was positioned the same from before. I increased the ISO to fight against what sunlight was present. I zoomed more onto myself and tilted the camera upward to capture more of the twilight sky above; the blue pops well against my orange tinted skin. The foliage begins to be more present too and I begin channeling my inner jungle boy. The plants behind me gave me safari vibes and I couldn't get enough!
F-stop: F/18
Exposure: 1/160 sec.
ISO: 2500
Strobe flash Power: 1/16
Early Morning / Afternoon
My next few photos were taken between early morning and the afternoon (approximately from 6 A.M. to 1 P.M.). I was not particularly happy with these at first because the lighting was tricky. I started down by the lake to change up the background and even captured the iconic Grotto gazebo in the back! The hardest part with these were trying to knock down the bright sky in post (opposite of my previous photos).
F-stop: F/13
Exposure: 1/20 sec.
ISO: 640
Strobe flash Power: 1/8
I knew that as the day grew the sun would get brighter but I didn't anticipate it dulling my strobe on medium setting. Long story short, I got all of my settings right and got off to some more fun shooting! I moved from the lake and onto another pair of rock stairs. The time was closer to noon here. The sun was right over head but covered by the tall trees. Nice and bright but nothing direct. This was a lot better!
F-stop: F/13
Exposure: 1/20 sec.
ISO: 640
Strobe flash Power: 1/16
At the end of the day, I had a lot of great photos and a lot of fun shooting. There were some ups and downs but mostly ups and I'm happy to have this experience under my belt. I will be playing around with mobile strobe shooting in the near future and vising the Grotto again even sooner. Maybe next time, I'll take all three!
In addition to my strobe shooting, I brought my 360 camera and bike along with me to play with my new setup. I’ve had my 360 camera and bike along the Grotto before but wanted to improve from past content now that I have better equipment. I also took some strobe portraits with it for practice.
I also purchased a few goodies to make my bike truly custom to my missions. A waterproof triangle bike bag, cell phone holder, and heavy duty mounts to secure the camera, and a new comfy seat are some of said goodies!
With everything held snugly in place, my bike footage turned out a lot smoother than before. The cellphone holder did as it should as I worked the 360 app and edited footage. The triangle bag held all of my parts and pieces for quick changes (switching my camera from front to back) along with a few snacks and bug spray. I cut time with camera setup, shot better longer footage, and am much more confident on bumpy paths.