Jo responded to a request I sent from the TimeLine Media mailing list. At this time, I am exploring making action photos of athletes and dancers off of their field of play. I have plenty of photos of dancers on the dance floor in competition, and sports photos of players on the field. However, what I am looking to do is make more photos of these talented people displaying their skill in different ways for the camera. In a nearby park, there was a spot that I thought would be a beautiful place for photos.
River Bank Setting
There are some advantages to this area – with all the trees, any sunlight can be diffused. At this time, this setup photos was done in the late fall with almost all the leaves gone from the trees. For now, the leaves are still on the trees which blocked a lot of the light down near the forest floor. When scouting places for photos, look for these – where there is plenty of shade and even light.
Flash Setup
Next, I brought in my flash to light up Jo. I gelled the flash with an orange gel to match the light coming off his sword when it was on fire. I left the White Balance in the camera to daylight to keep the especially orange cast from the light. It matched up nicely!
One thing that I was not expecting was the sound! As Jo would turn the flaming sword around, there was likewise a great swooshing sound that really added to the effect. When I usually see these performances, there is music and other distracting elements, and the sound of the flaming sword is minimized. On this session, though, it was amazing!
I was impressed with how well he handles this flaming sword. Even touching it with his tongue! I tried to show as much of the motion and control that Jo displays at his performances. It was an amazing subject that I hope to get a chance to photograph again!
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