The Fixation Blog | Fixation

Jonny Helm Feature November 27, 2017October 6, 2023 0 Comments

Gumball 3000 | Shooting with the Sony A7S II & FS7 II

Gumball 3000: A mass collection of supercars, taking on a 3,000 mile journey from Riga to Mykonos in the summer of 2017.

The entrants have 6 days to complete the drive which is segregated nightly by parties and dinners full of glitz and grandeur. Crowds fill every city that the moving circus pulls into, with fans desperate to get a glimpse of the cars they have swooned over on Instagram. It’s a level of euphoria that is hard to explain without witnessing first hand with tens of thousands of people filling streets, squares, climbing trees and attempting to clamber over security barriers. Through past work with Gumball, Finn, Hugo and 8 Seconds Media were granted AAA for the entire event, so had free roam to shoot as they pleased, enabling them to cover the rally from a unique and embedded angle, with the help of Fixation.

In Hugo’s own words:
Organising the logistics for the trip ourselves, we planned a 3 week route with Gumball sandwiched in the middle and the first stop in Thirsk to see long standing partners Twisted. Having picked up our beautifully re-engineered Land Rover defender, we boarded the ferry to Europe, the start of a huge triangular trip around Europe. Commissioned to shoot both film and stills, we used the Leica SL and M 240 and for film we used our own Sony A7S II and bolstered it with another A7S II and the Sony FS7 II with a couple of Sony 24-70mm ƒ/2.8 lenses. These were rented from Fixation and were chosen for the A7’s ‘run-and-gun’ abilities and ease to mount on the DJI Ronin-M, and the FS7 II for the higher frame rate and image quality.

Arriving in Riga, we planned our route through the 10 countries that comprised the rally. It was a surreal trip; it’s rare to be able to have the time to travel through each of these countries by car and actually explore them. Although driving circa 500 miles per day, the route dissected some of each countries most beautiful roads. Mountains, coastlines, plains and stunning rivers, it was amazing to watch the scenery change the further south we travelled. Staying each night in generally the capital city of whichever country we were in, we also had the job to capture the other side to the Gumball price tag; the wild and decadent parties that occur each night, laid on for the Gumballers. While only a certain amount can be disclosed and captured on film, safe to say it was an eye-opening and amazing experience.

A particular highlight was arriving at the Albanian border. Met by a huge convoy of police men and cars, one for every 10 Gumball super cars, we were under the assumption that it was going to be one of the more boring legs of the journey. Not only is Albania absolutely stunning but it seemed the the ‘creme-de-la-creme’ of police cars and drivers and been chosen for the role, while what felt like the rest of the Albanian police lined the road into Tirana (our stop for the night) to keep other traffic and people off the roads. There was not one point along the route in Albania that there were not fans in sight, desperate to see the cars. Back to the police cars, it seemed they had been instructed to drive at 110mph through the whole country, regardless of the then unimportant speed restrictions lining the roads, corners and other cars. There were moments that were effectively 170 super cars in a line/group speeding legally through some of the most beautiful countryside we’d driven through. To then be met by the crowds that awaited us in Tirana and the night that followed topped it off. A true Gumball experience, one that could not have been replicated in any way shape or form.

We spent the trip effectively moving from hotel to hotel and otherwise living out of the back of the Twisted, only just about enough space for the 4 of us, our kit and the ability to work and edit continuously while driving. With power inverters for the car, we also had all of our kit charging, definitely pushing the limits of what car fuses can usually handle.

Living out of a bag and shooting is something we’re used to but to do so while working the hours that were required each day was taking, not only for us but the kit too.

Our daily routine would see us up at 5.30am and we worked straight through until around 2.00am when we could finally hit the sack.

We finished up a laptop screen and a Sony RX100v down at the end, but the Sony A7S II’s (kept in Tilta cages or on the DJI Ronin-M) and the FS7 II kept in it’s supported bag were safe from the enduring amount of use they saw. Sony have an amazing range of cameras, of which the FS7 II and A7S II were perfect for this job. While the superior image quality and higher frame rate of the FS7 II were key for certain shots, we used the A7S II for the majority of the work, especially as we had one mounted constantly on the DJI Ronin-M. With our very-much run-and-gun approach to the job and lack of specific structure to the edit afterwards, the key for this project was to shoot as much as we could and build the edit’s story afterwards. This suited the A7S II hugely. It’s light, holds an SD card (great for quickly dumping footage onto an Macbook Pro) and is easily small enough to have sat with me while editing in the back of the car. I had it set up to shoot at 100fps continuously, giving me the ability in the edit afterwards to be able to slow footage down appropriately.

The FS7 II however, although providing beautiful footage and amazing dynamic range, was much harder to have as a run-and-gun camera. Almost too bulky to have out the window of the car while moving and definitely not the space to have it next to me while editing, the FS7 II lived in its case in the boot when not being used for setup shots at specific locations. Once on location however, it performed beautifully. With its built-in stabiliser function, the camera lived on my shoulder and even at 25fps shoots a very steady image with functions easy to manage without putting it down (once you had the menu system memorised!). With the FS7 II, we shot mainly in 150fps and had the camera set up (through a customised S&Q button at easy reach) so it took just one button to switch between 25fps and 150 fps, a very handy function to have.

Having grown up as a photographer, I’ve got used to constantly and manually managing light through ISO, aperture and shutter speed, dependant on the point of the shot. The A7S II works well for those that have evolved from stills photographers, apart from the added necessity of a variable ND. If you shoot in S-Log3, which has the best dynamic range, your minimum ISO is 3200, which therefore immediately requires a variable ND, even if you were to dare shooting at ƒ/22 and a shutter far too fast for the fps (to match the speed of you eye, your shutter speed should be double that of your fps e.g shooting 100fps, your frame rate should be 1/200 and similarly, if you’re shooting 25fps, your shutter speed should be 1/50). One of the beauties of the FS7 II however, is the easy switch between the terms ISO and GAIN and the use of the in-built variable ND, which operates seamlessly, great for variable lighting conditions.

Both cameras have well-discussed pros and cons that I’ve highlighted above and below, but using them in conjunction with one another was the perfect combination on such an event. Where the image quality and higher frame rate were needed, the FS7 II was the camera of choice, while the A7S II had the huge ‘run-and-gun’ advantages that were required more often the not shooting in night clubs, out of cars and in areas where bulkier cameras are less welcome/easy to operate. One of the beauties of having what looks effectively just like a stills camera is people don’t immediately react. The FS7 II doesn’t go unnoticed!

A7S II advantages:

Light and Easy to use
Great for night life with the low light capabilities
Great continuous autofocus capabilities with native Sony lenses attached
Great handheld image stability when not on the DJI Ronin M

A7S II disadvantages:

Complicated menu if it is not your own camera and difficult to quickly setup custom buttons
Noticeably lower image quality than the FS7 due to it’s 8Bit limit
Poor battery life

FS7 II Advantages:

Beautiful dynamic range and footage quality
Easy and smooth variable ND built into camera
With correct setup, easy to switch between S&Q Motion (High frame rate) and continuous 25fps 4k shooting
Good battery life

FS7 II Disadvantages:

Difficult to setup
Can only use constant high frame rate settings with specific software updates and v lock power pack
Bulky and therefore cannot use on the Ronin M or have it in a small rucksack or sitting on lap
Small monitor and hard to view in bright sunlight, imperative to use the eye-cup

Gumball 3000 from 8 Seconds on Vimeo.

Jonny Helm Tips & Tricks November 22, 2017October 6, 2023 25 Comments

Tips & Tricks | Memory card maintenance

Memory cards are an inescapable piece of kit in any photographer’s arsenal and it’s ironic that in many cases, these small squares of plastic and silicon that we entrust with our hard earned images are often the cheapest item in our camera bags!

And it’s probably fair to say that a lot of us have also experienced that panic when the word ‘Error’ shows on your DSLR’s screen and you can’t access any of your images.

Memory cards, in all shapes and sizes, are built on a solid state architecture and despite having no moving parts, there are certain housekeeping processes that will ensure you minimise the risks of your cards failing.

Please note that the following processes are based on our experience with handling memory cards over the years and there are many opinions on how to correctly look after memory cards. We’re simply relaying information that we know works for us and has worked for many of our customers!

Regular formatting

Rather than deleting images, format the card on your camera (once you’ve checked that your images are backed up elsewhere). Even deleting single images as you’re shooting can cause problems with the database structure on the card, and can lead to card errors. Memory cards use the FAT32 or exFAT format, depending on the size of the card. Both these formats can be deployed on a Mac or PC, but it’s generally safer to format the card in the camera itself.

Our Nikon workshop manager, Barry Edmonds, has also come across issues in the past when customers are formatting cards on a Mac: “I’ve had customers reporting the storage space decreasing over time, even though they’re formatting their cards regularly. It seems that in some cases, the cards will retain ‘Apple .Trashes’ files on the directory, despite the cards being formatted in the camera. Formatting the cards on a PC seemed to clear the problem.”

Keep space on the card

The golden rule for computer hard drives is to always leave around 30% of the space free, and exactly the same principle applies to memory cards. The performance of the read/write speed will start to suffer as the card becomes full and you run the risk of data corruption as the remaining space becomes fragmented.

Don’t use cheap cards

Despite some common misconceptions, not all memory cards are created equal! There are different qualities of flash memory and controllers out there, and if a card’s cheap, it’s a good indication that perhaps that manufacturer isn’t using the highest grade materials. Yes, the likes of Sandisk and Lexar are more expensive, but do you really want to run the risk?

Use a card reader

However careful you are when the card is in the camera, when it comes to transferring your images to your computer, don’t use your camera. If your battery doesn’t have much juice left and it depletes halfway through the transfer process, there’s a good chance the files will be corrupted. A good quality card reader is a much safer option and is much more convenient too.

I’m extremely careful with my memory cards but I’ve still been on the receiving end of an error and now I can’t access my images

Unfortunately it’s a fact of life that no matter how careful you are, there will undoubtably be a time when you experience data loss. In that situation, your only option is to try and recover your images using a dedicated recovery application. AnySoftwareTools have some recommendations on image recovery software for both Mac & PC.

You’ll have all noticed the little light that blinks every now and then on the back of your DSLR; red on a Canon, green on a Nikon.

It’s there to indicate that the camera is accessing the card, either to write data when shooting or read data when previewing images. Something important to bear in mind though, is that you should never attempt to remove the card or the battery while the light is on.

If you’ve taken a large burst of images and your memory card isn’t particularly fast, you’ll notice the light on while the camera’s buffer writes the data to the card. If this process is interrupted you stand a very good chance of corrupting not only the images the camera is currently writing, but the entire contents of the card! The same principle applies if you remove the battery during the same process.

Nikon cameras have a green lamp

Canon cameras have a red lamp

Yes, there is software available that can access corrupt data, but it’s not a 100% guaranteed operation.

It’s perfectly safe to turn the camera off while the light is on; the camera’s power will actually stay on until the writing process is complete so there’s no danger of losing anything, just don’t get carried away and pop the card out early or remove the battery.

If you feel we’ve missed out any important tips, or would like to add anything to our suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment below.

Jonny Helm Review November 14, 2017October 4, 2023 0 Comments

Using the Profoto A1

Profoto made a big splash recently when they released the A1 – dubbed the world’s smallest studio flash.

I was fortunate enough to get a hands-on training day with the A1 at Ashridge House in leafy Hertfordshire, where I got to play with the new flash alongside existing Profoto gear. Our tutor for the day was Holly Wren, a self-confessed Profoto fan and user of the brand. I caught up with Holly after the official launch to ask her views on the A1 and how she found working with it during the training sessions.

Nikon D810 + 24-70mm ƒ/2.8G | 1/250s ƒ/3.5 ISO 1250 | © Holly Wren

I understand you were privy to the A1 for a long period before the launch. What were your initial thoughts when you finally got to try it?

When they told me there was a new product they wanted me to try, I guessed that it would be a smaller light, an on camera solution; it made sense as Profoto’s range has become more compact and portable in the last few years with the B1X and the B2. Photographers want to bring the quality of their studio lighting kit onto their environmental shoots, and I think that ‘speedight’ market hasn’t been updated for a while, so I was eager to see exactly how they’d interpreted that.

My initial thoughts when I got my hands on the A1 were about how small and portable it is, and the standard of build quality, plus it’s ease of use – picking it up for the first time I was very quickly able to use it without reading a manual.

Here an A1 is held slightly off camera and used to add more light to the scene, but blended seamlessly with natural light | © Holly Wren

You refer to it as a Speedlight, but Profoto like it to be referred to as a studio flash, why the confusion? Where does this product fit in a photographers lighting kit?

Profoto like it to be referred to as a studio light because it has the features and technical sophistication of their location light be it in a smaller package; but in my opinion the fact that it is the same size and performs on camera like a speedlight, it is largely comparable to one. In fact, I think to not compare it to a speedlight is an injustice to just how well Profoto have done in their improvement on the traditional on-camera flash unit. For a lot of photographers it will replace their speedlight as it corrects some of the frustrations that a more traditional speedlight brings.

I see it as a true hybrid between my larger location lights and my speedlights. In some circumstances it replaces my B2 or B1, but in all circumstances it replaces my speedlight. In fact, I’ve already sold both my Nikon SB910’s, which is a testament to this product.

You can use it as you would a speedlight on camera, as a light off camera, or combine it with other Profoto kit such as the B1X or B2.

You’re a big advocate of the B2’s. How do you think the A1 will fit into your style of shooting, given that the output is lower?

What I’ve discovered using the B2’s is often that I don’t use them on anywhere near full power, often they are set on the lowest power. Primarily that’s because I use them to add an extra bit of clean, beautiful light into an already well lit, natural light led set up. So if I’m using them on the lowest setting, I can substitute them for an A1 easily, without being short of power.

In addition, I sometimes use the B2’s to add a hair or rim light or to light something within a scene, the A1’s are perfect substitutes for this, being small and discreet.

Nikon D810 + 85mm ƒ/1.4G | 1/250s ƒ/3.5 ISO 200 | © Holly Wren

Are there any particular features of the A1 that you feel set it apart from other on-camera systems? Do you ever shoot with Speedlights, and if so, will the A1 replace these for you?

Absolutely. I have used speedlights throughout my career. The A1’s key selling points are clear, and in my opinion means the A1 outperforms its competitors in this on-camera market.

The first is its use of Lithium batteries – meaning you can recharge, see how much battery you have left, and expect consistent power to the end. Farewell to piles of AAs in the bottom of my kit bag and the uncontrollable urge to replace barely depleted batteries with new ones before key shooting moments.

Second is the recycle time, you need to see it to believe it but the A1 literally doesn’t miss a shot. Firing at 12 fps on the D4 you will see no drop off in flash (as long as you’re not at full power on the A1), and anyone shooting events will understand the frustration of getting the shot but it not being lit correctly because the flash cannot keep up with the shooting speeds. That really blew my mind.

Thirdly is it’s much softer and gradual light fall off. I’ve shot portraits with this light on camera, with the flash pointing at my model. Something that I think is a pro- no, no! Profoto are known for their beautiful light, and the A1 delivers this.

Finally, my favourite feature is the ease of use. I honestly could not tell you what half of the menu does on my speedlights. But the A1 cuts the out all the unnecessary and goes straight to the important bits; the large wheel dial lets you easy adjust power or relative power in TTL. And the menu is self explanatory.

Off camera, before I owned the B2’s I used to use a speedlight in a Lastolite softbox (of varying forms) to take portraits which I moved away from because of connection issues, poor recycle times and lack of power consistency. But now the A1’s correct those issues I can go back to using the A1 off camera, instead of the B2s.

Here the A1 is used on camera as a front fill-in flash. In this shot I exposed for the sky, and the faces are filled-in with the flash, creating a dramatic shot without over exposing the sky | © Holly Wren

You demonstrated some interesting setups during the training – some simple and others more intricate. Did you devise these yourself?

Yes. The training was designed alongside the team at Profoto to demonstrate the main features of the product. We wanted to show its strengths, so I designed the set ups to encompass the range of situations that the A1 was capable of performing in, which is why I demonstrated it both indoors and outdoors. I also wanted to show that it could be used on and off camera, as well as for the key light on a portrait or as part of the Profoto system. I think it’s versatility of use is one of it’s key selling points – wedding, portrait, press, event and travel photographers will all have a use for this product for different reasons.

Was the A1 able to deliver the shots you imagined, or did you tailor the setups to accommodate any limitations?

The shots were built to show the A1’s strengths. We didn’t design any of it to show how it would fail!!!! But in terms of it’s limitations, there of course are some. I guess that power is the main one, it’s only a quarter of the power of a B2 so it doesn’t, for example, have capacity to overpower harsh midday sun from a distance, or to replace the flash speed of the D1’s or B1X’s in studio, but that’s not what it’s for. With all photography you have to use the equipment relevant to your needs, will the A1 outperform studio lights? No. But, will it be incredibly useful as an on location flash? Yes.

The best advice I can give, is try it! That’s the beauty of renting before you purchase – try before you buy. Find out if this is the light for you.

Nikon D810 + 50mm ƒ/1.4G | 1/250s ƒ/4.5 ISO 1000 | © Holly Wren

You seem pretty convinced that the A1’s will form a key part of your kit bag– what’s the catch? How could Profoto improve on them?

The only gripe for me at the moment is the modifiers you can use with the A1. Profoto have launched a range of magnetic ones that you can use to soften the light but for me it needs to go further. I want to see grids and soft boxes that can be used with this system. Which would allow me to go further with their use off camera.

Manfrotto do a handy little gadget called the ‘Snap Tilthead’ which allows you to use them on a lighting stand with an umbrella. I’ve used that set up on a few occasions and it goes that extra way to soften the light but I want to be able to do more!

It would also be nice to see them sold as a pair, I think that most people purchasing these will want two, or at least one with a TTL Air remote so they can be used off camera without buying the remote separately.

An A1, modified with a dome diffuser is used on camera and fired directly at the model | © Holly Wren

Finally, there is a lot of talk about the price, this is not cheap at £849, do you think it’s worth the extra investment?

Well firstly, when was buying any Profoto gear ever cheap? But in the same way you might choose to buy a BMW over a Skoda, you need to consider what you’re getting for the money, and whether that investment is worth it. If you want to travel from A to B, both cars will get you there, but it’s more the experience of the ride that changes. If you care about heated seats, better build quality and a quieter ride you might prefer to drive the BMW. If those things are irrelevant to you, you’d save the cash and buy the Skoda. Either is the right decision, it comes down to what’s important to you, your purpose of use and budget.

The A1 allows me to work quickly, more efficiently and more professionally. It solves the issues I have with speedlights and provides me with the quality of a studio light in a portable package. I can use it on location for portraits as well as on camera at events.

Those factors for me, make it worth the extra spend, but of course, people will decide how much those features are worth to them, and how much of a role the A1 will play in their kit bag.

Holly was talking to Tim Stavrinou.

For more information on the Profoto A1, contact our sales department, or to try before you buy, visit Wex rental

Jonny Helm Tips & Tricks November 13, 2017October 6, 2023 10 Comments

Tips & Tricks | Equipment storage

Polypropylene, or ‘Peli’ cases are a great solution for transporting camera gear and offer substantial impact protection along with waterproofing.

However, many of us make the mistake of storing our kit in these boxes when we get back from the shoot and that’s really not a good idea.

Moisture, however slight, will naturally collect on your equipment and once the lid is closed on your protective case, the moisture will have nowhere to evaporate and can cause fungus to grow in lenses and the viewfinder of your DSLR.

Keeping a few sachets of silica gel in the box will certainly help absorb some of this moisture, but these sachets are only effective for around 6 months, and to be fair, do you really know how long you’ve had those tatty packets in your case?

The golden rule then, is to store your kit in camera bags and only use the cases when you’re transporting gear.

Jonny Helm Feature October 31, 2017October 6, 2023 0 Comments

The people of Oaxaca | Holly Wren

As a portrait photographer, I find myself stuck enjoying extremes in people – in my commercial work; I tend to work with traditionally attractive looking folk, pretty girls and handsome men.

Then when I shoot personal work, I’m drawn to the other extreme – character faces and interesting looks. Probably because I’m less concerned with clients opinion on how perfect people look and more about the inherent imperfections of people, they fascinate me.

I also seem to have a thing for old faces, so it was no surprise to me that exactly one year ago today, I found myself in the city of Oaxaca, Mexico.

(say Wa-ha-ca… that’s right people, just like the restaurant, but guess what, they knew you wouldn’t be able to pronounce it as it’s actually spelt!).

Oaxaca is a city in the south of Mexico, relatively modern for its developing country status, you’ll find trendy art galleries, coffee shops and restaurants adorning the centre filled with pretty squares and colourful buildings. Popular with American set, heading to Mexico to celebrate Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead), I used it as my base to get out into the mountains east of the city – where the indigenous communities live.

Although the City was alive with party-goers, it was the more traditional, quiet celebrations of Muertos I was after. For which I travelled outside the city to Mitla and Solaga.

As with all travel photography, it pays to have a “fixer” or someone to connect you with the people you want to photograph. In this case it was imperative, these communities don’t allow outsiders in. So lucky for me I had a friend of a friend, of a friend, that was from Solaga and had arranged with the villagers that I would visit (with her) and take photographs.

And lucky she was there, as the indigenous communities speak a language called Zapotec, which basically meant I needed double translation… Zapotec to Spanish then, Spanish to English.

And it was languages that was my biggest challenge. I felt like someone had literally stripped away my super power. For me, portrait photography is about connecting with your subject, to enable you to get something out of them other photographers haven’t. And how to create that connection – talking. I talk. A lot. In life and in my work. But that wasn’t an option here and I found that incredibly challenging. And also I suck at languages, which was not helpful. But what I realised pretty quickly was that kindness and humour in facial expressions and body language are international.

I literally had no idea what I was walking into, how the light would be, the people, the location, so I couldn’t prep to my normal standards so I was firmly out of my comfort zone! My research beforehand threw up very limited information. I was going in blind, and effectively voiceless!

But as it turned out the light was quite beautifully flat, the people lovely, and really with those locations I’d have to be a terrible photographer to screw it up! And some of those faces, just amazing. That’s my favourite thing about different cultures and places – the amazing opportunity to meet and learn about people you otherwise wouldn’t connect with.

There is a whole story about my trip, and the traditions of Dia De Los Muertos which you can download Here

Photographically I wanted to keep a consistent feel across this images, and knowing they would be shot under different light conditions, in different locations I did this by shooting consistently on my Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 .

I love that lens, I feel it gives me the ability to back up to include the environment or get in closer and still be relatively flattering, and cause minimal facial distortion. It’s fast, it’s lightweight and it’s compact. Most importantly it lets me explore my line obsession (which you may notice in this series).

I took my Profoto B2’s too, I knew that potentially some of the images may be taken inside, or as the light was fading, so these were my back up, but to use to mimic natural light, and look as natural as possible.

I went between portraiture where I interacted with my subjects, where they faced, sat, stood or looked as I directed them to pure reportage, and at times somewhere in between. Interacting and taking the time to get the right light fall, angle and framing is easier when you have permission and time, not so free flowing when you’re shooting in a busy market where people are wary. Having a local to speak to these people was therefore essential.

Below are some of my favourites with some information on each.

Rufina

Taken at her home, she wanted to take her washing down, to clear the yard for me to take her and her husbands photograph. But I loved the depth I could create using the washing, and the colours. As soon as I lifted my camera Rufina started laughing and working quicker, to get her washing out of the shots. So I started snapping a way, a throw away moment that turned out to be one of my favourites.

Aron

Waiting at his home, sat on the hard concrete Aron was enjoying the sun whilst his wife prepared their food for Muertos. Aron must have been 90, but he wouldn’t let us help him to his feet or on the steps. Fiercely independent and probably my favourite face.

Unknown

I took this portrait in the market about 5am when the sun had just risen. I spotted her and held my camera up to see if she would allow me to take her picture. She did and I bought some flowers from her. I loved her skin, and her face, she was so beautiful.

Lucia

Lucia was my guide Maria’s godmother, and I was invited to her house to dine with her family, where they treated me so kindly. I took her picture in the entrance to her home, you can see the bunting that was there for Muertos. Lucia had dressed in her finest silk outfit, to welcome back the spirit of her husband.

Unknown 2

This lady was waiting for a ride back from the market . The locals were very wary of me taking their pictures, and if I’d been American it wouldn’t have been allowed. My American friend who was with me literally was told not to talk so they couldn’t hear her accent! I found it ironic therefore that this lady had her Walgreens bag – probably a gift from a family member now living in the states.

You can see the full series of images here and hey, why not follow me on insta @holly_wren

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