Freezing Warm In The Studio

Did goe to Terrace Photography in Wittenoom St., East Perth laste night and was greatley entertained.

The distributors of the Elinchrom flash system arranged for a top-notch fashion photographer - Stef King - to demonstrate the new Elinchrom ELC monoblock flash head in a studio setting. Stef was aided and abetted by the crew from Terrace, Team Digital, Kayell, and us - Camera Electronic. She was armed with a Nikon D4 camera connected via a Tether tools orange cable to a laptop. The pictures were transferred up to a projector and we got to see the results instantly.

The lighting was done, as I mentioned, with the new Elinchrom ELC heads. These are 500 w/s and 1000 w/s types and fit all the standard Elinchrom shapers. last night they used strip and octa soft boxes made by Elinchrom with very effective grids attached. The heads chop light precisely - very fast strobe effects and instant recharging. Sophisticated timing options too - you can have lots of small pops and then one big one in the middle of the sequence. The tiny slices of light are at usable power - you aren't restricted to tiny settings.

The result? Stroboscopic effects - stop-motion effects - Edgerton effects. Dreamy sequences and then sharp delineation right in the middle. No wonder Stef and other fashion experts love this sort of look - it is arresting.

Mind you, I couldn't help thinking that someone should have been arrested...the things that they did to the poor little model girl! She was a tall graceful attractive girl and as game as they come. But they dressed her like a Guy and then proceeded to throw silver paint, smoke, glitter, and corn flour at her - frequently at the same time. If it had been a food shoot they would have thrown a bucket of gravy at her...What price the modelling profession?

Ah, but she did have the satisfaction of seeing Saul and Ben from CE and Team Digital volunteer as the last models of the evening - they were treated to glitter and corn flour and fortunately there was a lot available. I expect the upholstery in their cars will bear witness for the next month.

In the end, one can conclude that the Elinchrom ELC is a good light for studios and is at a good price. If you see a tall girl with long hair trailing corn flour and glitter somewhere this next week try to not stare - it would be cruel ...