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Colorado Adventure and Editorial Photographer

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Quadra chronicles; shooting in the water

August 4, 2009 • Blog, Tech Tips

port6643Somehow I seem to be shooting in or near the water for a lot of images…oceans, lakes and rivers…just can’t get enough time in the water.  Naturally electronics (think flash and cameras) don’t like water, so I have come up with some techniques to keep my flash equipment dry should it go into the drink.bpack

When I am shooting in the water, like standing in the surf or rivers, I put my flash pack in a rafting drybag, seal it up, and put it in a backpack.  These drybags are available at most camping stores in a variety of sizes.  They close by folding the top closure multiple times and then buckling it shut.  I run the cord from my pack out the side of the top closure; not watertight, but can take a full emersion for a few seconds and be okay.  Splashes, rain and waves won’t get in.  Since we can control the light output via the wireless skyport system, we just turn on the pack, put it in the bag, and shoot away.tube1

I can either wear this pack and hold my own flash,  have it on a lightstand anchored to the bottom, or the best solution is have a friend or assistant be the “flash guy”.port6644

Water shoots are always exciting because you never know what will happen if those powerful electronics hit the water!  Small mushroom cloud, dead fish floating to the surface..well, more like you will trash your nice flash equipment.

The Quadra continues to be a favorite here.  Perfect for adding some light to Alicia floating in the river. Tech: Nikon D200, 24-70mm lens, ISO 200, 1/160 at F8, Elinchrom Quadra flashpack, 39″ octabank, wireless skyport system used to control output and trigger the flash.

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