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Full e-TTL II with the freedom to move around. What’s not to like? Works beautifully with long range and high-speed sync. Just wish Canon would buy out or license the technology and put them into their Speedlights. Would pay more for the feature but actually I need a better ST-E2 transmitter. Come on Canon! I plan to acquire another transmitter and a couple (like 3-4) receivers. Photos to come!
Pretty laid-back, tropical feel to this weekend’s wedding. Gotta grab a snack, load up the equipment and head out. Hope the rain eases up a bit. It’s pouring with unabated fury at this moment…
Attending rehearsals is probably the most important thing a wedding photographer should do. While it does help when you have the program sheets, order of service and more but things always change during the rehearsal. There was one rehearsal I went to that changed half the order of service by the time they were done! I did shoot a few weddings few years ago without attending the rehearsal and it was a lot harder to nail the good shots and you end up stressing yourself. From that point onwards — all rehearsals are mandatory for me! I also make it a point to visit the bride and grooms’ home. More important if its a Chinese wedding where the groom will usually get the bride from a location where the bride will be and return to the grooms’ home. Getting lost is also a no-no.
Secondly, it also helps to visualize the venue. You can get to play with angles, lighting and more while everyone else tries to get the rehearsal started. You also will know where to stand, what to do and more. Some venues are darker, some more natural light, etc. So, it makes sense that you drop by the rehearsal even if you can’t stay as late as the couple — some are perfectionists and will repeat till everyone gets it and can end at 2am!
I’m helping a good friend cover the wedding and while I’m not the main shooter, I still make it a point to attend the rehearsal. This particular church, while nicely coordinated with lovely tones, will be a bit dark in the main sanctuary. High windows face east (one reason to bring your compass/iPhone/GPS) but with a 11am wedding, it’s unlikely that much light will be streaming in. Would be nice to get a lovely beam of light though! My solution, two 580EX IIs on justin clamps on the mezzanine level pointed 450 down. Both synced and fired by RadioPoppers. More to come!
Specifically, Shanghai. The packing challenge is compounded by the fact that a hard case is better protection for your stuff that’s going to be checked in. Not to mention a bit more secure in terms of airport pilferage. The problem is once in China, I’ve a couple of trains to take. From maglevs to intercity fast trains. Packing a backpack in there solves the problem but not the capacity and weight issues. My empty hard case weights 4kg empty. My 65-liter backpack weights 2.5 kg empty.
I also have to pack in my Manfrotto tripod. Clothes for a week at least (I always do laundry on a trip) and enough rain gear considering that certain places are nicer with rain. You also don’t want to stop shooting when the weather turns bad — you’ll miss out the better photos of the trip! Target loaded weight – 18kg. Usually airlines won’t give a hoot if you exceed the weight by a kilo or two but I do have fond memories of three people with 105kg of checked baggage at Beijing Capital International Airport! On our return trip, we have five this time which should give us about a hundred kilos. More than enough unless someone was overzealous in their shopping!
Other problem is that my day pack will primarily consist of camera equipment but I’ll also have my Dell Mini 9, Sandisk card readers, two portable SATA drives, battery chargers, batteries, assorted cables, you know the drill. For longer excursions out of my Shanghai base, 65-liters is good. For overnight sojourns, it is unwieldy. Looks like I’ll have to bring along a little stuff sack so that I can cram a nights’ worth of clothes, etc into the stuff sack along with my day pack loaded with cameras.
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