Here in Vermont, it can get pretty cold. It’s not so unusual for our winters but while a lot of people like to stay inside and drink hot cocoa, David Brueckner lives for days when the temperature drops to negative digits. Because that’s perfect weather for getting creative!

Throw Boiling Water in the Air? Why Not?

David wanted to take the idea a step farther. So he thought, hey, let’s do it at sunset. Because that will be beautiful. And let’s do it on Lake Champlain, because it can give you a pretty amazing background. Oh, let’s add some lights. Because it’s going to be dark. And one more thing, let’s add some color to it, just for fun!

To do this properly, David needed several things:

• A flash on a lightstand he could put behind his subject;
• A subject willing to chance getting wet (multiple times) in the freezing cold;
• Several buckets of very hot water;
• A camera to capture the image;
• PocketWizards to trigger it all;
• And Mother Nature to cooperate and give him a clear, cold day with amazing light.

David likes the PlusX radios because they are so simple. Just plug them in, match the Channels, and you’re good to go, then it’s up to Lady Luck and a skilled water throwing subject!

The trouble with a shoot like this is that you don’t get a lot of retakes. David shoots either near sunset or sunrise, so his time window is already super short and at those temperatures, you can’t stand around waiting. You have to be ready to move fast.

How Exactly Do You Make This Work?

David picks a spot on the lake with a great background and makes sure the ice is solid. Because it’s Vermont, the temperatures can vary dramatically and you typically can’t plan a shoot like this very far in advance, usually only a few days or maybe a week, tops. For the water to vaporize, the air temperature has to be at least -10 F (that’s -23 in Celsius!) and the water has to be boiling. Temperatures that cold impact EVERYTHING. David and his model only have a few minutes outside, then they need to bring everything back to the car to warm up. To get about 20 shots, it takes about an hour.

He sets up his lights, making sure the stand is hidden behind the subject and turns everything on. At this point, he has the model grab the cup of water then get into place. Then it’s time to shoot!

They have to work quickly, there’s only enough time for about 5-6 attempts before everyone needs to get back into the car to warm up. Once everyone (and everything) is warm enough, they pop out and shoot again for a few minutes. It takes about an hour to do a full session.

David’s Best Tips and Tricks:

• Biggest tip: Throw the water off to the side, not directly over head!  Lindsay tossed the water with the hand that was further from the camera and kept it off the the side as she threw it in an arch.
• Second biggest tip:  Light the water from behind the subject.
• Make sure the air temperature is at least -10 if not colder
• Use handwarmers taped to your flashes to help keep the batteries warm. Also, have extra batteries ready and warm in your car. (and keep the car running!)
• The water has to be boiling. Keep it in a thermos and just use a cup/mug at a time.
• Wear gloves (fingerless gloves are perfect for this!).
• Use a wide angle and leave plenty of room overhead to catch the water as it vaporizes.
• Be patient with the shutter release. Wait till the water is spread out so the vapor fills the frame.
• Watch your lighting. As the sun comes up or goes down, you’ll need to adjust the camera settings and maybe switch into (or out of) HyperSync.
• You can get a larger arch and bigger effect by using a larger pan or cup of water but you’ll got through your water supply faster.

David’s looking forward to the next cold snap to shoot more images this year. Check out his Facebook page for updates!

IMPORTANT!

If you decide to try this type of photo shoot:
Be sure to check the ice and make sure it is thick enough to support people and equipment – usually at least 4 inches thick. If you are driving a vehicle out onto the ice, it needs to be at least 8-12″ thick.

Using boiling water can be VERY dangerous, especially for children. It can cause 2nd and 3rd degree burns. If boiling water lands on clothing, the material can retain the heat,  extended contact with skin and prolonged contact with heat. This can result in deeper burns.

Please be careful AND safe if you decide to try this. Good luck and let us know how it goes!

The post Hot Water + Sub Zero Temperatures = Pretty Cool Images appeared first on PocketWizard.

What is off camera flash?

How many remote lights can you trigger?

Why is PocketWizard the best radio trigger?

Involve me!

Benjamin Franklin once said “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” We took his advice and set up a photoshoot to show our partner how PocketWizards can be used to create beautiful lighting for creative character portraits. Since we are located in Vermont, we went to a local family dairy farm for the perfect backdrop. We created 3 different lighting set ups for 3 different portraits to show the versatility of our products.

1 – Single Off Camera Flash for a Natural Outdoor Portrait

Our first shot using off camera flash was taken outdoors and being early winter, the light was fading fast. A simple one light set up was all we needed to make our subject pop while allowing the ambient light to give the viewer a sense of place. Our flash was placed on one side of him with a warming gel, to light one side more than the other and mimic the look of the setting sun.  

2 – Two Remotely Triggered Lights for a Natural Indoor Portrait

For this portrait we moved indoors to the machine shop at the farm. While our subject worked, we set up 2 lights. The main light was set to one side of him, almost to give the appearance that he was working near a window. To create a moodier shot and create a rich depth to the contrast, we placed a black foam core board directly opposite the light, on the other side of our subject, which darkened the negative space. Finally, to add a little separation between our subject and our background, we added a rim light.

3 – Remotely Triggering Three Lights for a Dramatic Indoor Portrait

For this last shot we wanted to remotely trigger our lights to show the whole scene, so we used a slightly wider lens. We moved our main light back a little bit and eliminated the black board. On our test shot, we noticed that the truck was like a black hole – there was no light and it offered no detail. It was an interesting part of the machine shop, so in order give the scene a little more visual interest, we decided we needed just one more light. Luckily, we had an extra speedlight and another PocketWizard on hand. We placed the speedlight right on the engine pointing toward the hood to add an accent light to our image.

Universal Compatibility

One advantage of PocketWizard is that we are universally compatible and work with virtually any camera or flash on the market. We always encourage photographers to have a few extra PocketWizards in your bag and an extra light to boot! As you invest in lights, it’s nice to know that PocketWizard should be able to trigger all of them and you’ll be able to integrate your older lights with your newer lights when necessary. This might not be possible with some other brands that have proprietary solutions that require you to stay within a single brand. Luckily in our situation with PocketWizard, we were able to use multiple lights from multiple brands. Just one of the many reasons we think PocketWizard is the best radio trigger on the market.

Have you had a situation where you needed just one more light?  Nice that with PocketWizard – it’s possible!

The post Off-Camera Lighting for Character Portraits Easy as 1-2-3 appeared first on PocketWizard.

We Took the Creative Challenge

Two of us from the PocketWizard team wanted to take a photo of the Vessel, a popular new structure in the Hudson Yards area of New York City. We really wanted to make it pop and do something that no one else had done. Here are some results and our 3 tips that might help you make a photo that truly stands out.

Tip #1: Take Advantage of Available Light and Adapt When Light Changes

We worked all day at Photo Plus Expo and managed to make our way to the Vessel around sunset. This was great timing – it isn’t called the “Golden Hour” for nothing! We were hoping to arrive in time to take advantage of that great natural light, however, as luck would have it, we couldn’t get on the structure until after sunset. We had to be flexible and turn our attention to the available light coming from the cityscape.

Tip #2: Augment Natural Light with Flash to Call Attention to Your Subject

Sometimes it helps to visualize your image before you take it. Knowing that the eye will normally gravitate to the brightest spot of your photo can help you compose the best image. We wanted to highlight the geometric angles of the Vessel, but the available light wasn’t enough. One of us hand-held a flash near the top floor of the Vessel and the other triggered that flash remotely from the ground -using PocketWizards of course! We were able to highlight a specific area of the Vessel and bathe it in bright light.

Set the exposure in your camera for the ambient light and then try adding a pop of flash. Adjust your settings as necessary.

See the two pictures below, the first uses just available light and the second adds a pop of flash to the upper left corner. Your eye is naturally drawn to that area, and the light adds dimension and interest.

Tip #3: Change Your Perspective

Walk around your subject and explore different angles and distances. Try a shot at ground level, vertical versus horizontal, wide versus cropped – be creative! The more you can move around, the more interesting perspectives you will find.

We love the look you can get when you get far from your subject and then use a telephoto lens. It compresses the image making the background appear much closer than it really is. 

The E Release Can Help Your Images Stand Out

We created these images using PocketWizard Plus III radios that were upgraded with the E Release, our new firmware that dramatically improves the triggering distance of your PocketWizard radios. This enabled us to try many different perspectives and ultimately get the look we were going for by allowing us to create a lot of distance between the camera and our flash – almost a quarter of a mile! We think the end result is an image that really pops and stands out from the rest.

Try the E Release Today and Expand the Possibilities of Your Creativity

Learn more here!

The post 3 Tips to make your Photos Stand Out appeared first on PocketWizard.

The Super Bowl of Off-Road Racing

In September, Daniel made a trip to capture the Crandon World Cup in Wisconsin – often called the “Super Bowl of short course off-road racing”. We gave him an early version of the E Release to see how it would perform.

Typical RF Challenges

Something that Daniel knows is that setting up remote cameras isn’t always foolproof – especially in a crowded and RF noisy environment like a racetrack. The radios communicate with radio waves and radio signal interference can impact the success of a remote camera set-up causing missed shots. A set up done early in the day, might not work later in the day once the environment fills with cars, people, and more electronic equipment. Some things that can interfere with signal transmission include:

• Metal objects
• Concrete or rock objects
• High water-content objects (People and trees are mostly water!)
• Electronic “noise” (In a racing scenario, there might be high voltage ignition systems that create electronic noise not to mention a sound system or television crew.)

The E Release is more Resilient to RF Interference

Because of the track set up, Daniel had to set up his remote camera a little further than he usually does – about 250 feet away – almost the length of a football field. The non-ideal conditions and the distance might trip up another radio trigger – but not PocketWizard. The truth is that the E Release upgrade has new technology that makes our PocketWizard radios particularly resilient to RF interference and noise.

More Shots than Ever

Using the E Release, Daniel came out of the event with some epic shots. His feedback was short and sweet.

“The radios were incredibly reliable. I came home with more shots than I have ever captured before.”

~ Daniel Schenkelberg

Thanks for taking it on a test drive Daniel! We don’t want you to miss a single shot!  You can check out more of Daniel’s work on his website and get your daily dose, be sure to follow him on Instagram @danielschenkelberg!

If you would like to learn more about how to set up your own remote camera, check out this quick video.

E Release now Available Worldwide!

Users of the PocketWizard Plus III and Plus IV can now benefit from the E Release! Check out our E Release landing page for more information.

Remote Camera Set-up

The post E Release Test drive appeared first on PocketWizard.

Inspired by the PocketWizard’s E Release Range

The new E Release firmware upgrade is a simple way to get incredible range for off-camera flash and remote cameras. The extended range in regular mode is up to 5 times further than our legacy firmware. Sarah wanted to put it to the test by taking an epic family photo in front of a rising full moon. In this case, she wanted to be far away so that she could use a long zoom and she needed a flash to light the family at twilight. A zoom gave her the compression she wanted for the full moon appear closer and larger. PocketWizard Plus IIIs upgraded with the E Release gave her the power to trigger two speedlights from a distance.

PocketWizard Made the Distant Triggering Possible

The speedlights were triggered from a distance of about 2300 feet (700 meters). It is also worth noting that the distance was spread over water and with an elevation rise – both of which are notoriously challenging for any radio triggers. That is, any radio trigger other than PocketWizard!

Behind the Scenes Video with the E Release

Press play to watch this video to see how this photo was taken.

Tips for Long Distance Off-Camera Flash

• Update your PocketWizard radios with the E Release. Learn more here.
• Have a way to communicate with your subject(s). In this case, Sarah was so far away that the family could barely see her and they felt like they were posing for no one. They also could not see the moon and needed to know where to stand and when to smile.
• Train your subject(s) on how to set up and test your flash and radios. Send them with spare batteries just in case.
• Use technology to help you plan. Sarah used an app called PhotoPills to help her plan when and where the moon would rise.
• These photos were taken in TxRx Mode – Sarah did not need to use Long Range Mode (LR) to get this distance. When using LR with a flash, you may lose a stop or two of sync speed. Sarah was using a 200-500mm lens on a canoe – she didn’t want to reduce her shutter speed any more than necessary – and she didn’t need to!
• Be creative – the E Release opens a world of opportunity!
• Tag us! #whypocketwizard

Explore the Possibilities!

With PocketWizard, we can help you Make it Possible!

Shoot this Look

3 PocketWizard Plus III Upgraded with the E Release:

• Plus IIIe on the camera
• 2 Plus IIIes attached to speedlights with a flash sync cord mounted on light stands

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The post PocketWizard’s Moonshot appeared first on PocketWizard.

PocketWizard is 29!

In July, we celebrated our 29th anniversary! We couldn’t have done it without you – thank you to all our loyal customers and dealers for helping us to achieve this milestone. As we enter our 30th year of doing business, we are looking for ways to evolve as well as delight and inspire our customers. 

We don’t make Disposable Products

For the past 29 years, PocketWizard has used the same reliable radio technology and it has served us well. We have a reputation of making quality products that withstand the test of time and offer backwards compatibility. Our users know that if they buy a radio today, it will still work with the radios that they may have purchased 10 or even 15 years ago. Backwards compatibility is important to us because we care about our customers and we care about the environment. We feel good that our products are not ending up in the landfills due to obsolescence. Our radios are not designed to be disposable. 

But, We Want New Features AND We Want Backwards Compatibility

Our current technology has limited our ability to make enhancements. We want to add new features and allow photographers to do even more with our radio triggers. But we want to keep backwards compatibility. We want it all. 

Can We Have it All?

Stay Tuned for a Big Announcement Next Week! 

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The post PocketWizard – What’s on the Horizon? appeared first on PocketWizard.