Quebec Premier Jean Charest gestures as he speaks to delegates at the conclusion of a three days Liberal Congress Sunday March 9, 2008 at the Quebec City Congress Center. Photo Francis Vachon for the Montreal Gazette.
Technical: Canon EOS 1D Mark II, 1/80 at f4 with a 24-70 (or a 70-200?) at 70mm – ISO 800, on camera flash with 1/2 CTO gel
Quebec City, March 8, 2008 – Quebec Premier Jean Charest and his wife Michelle Dionne cheers after the divulgation of the confidence vote result at the Quebec Liberal congress, on Saturday March 8, 2008 at the Quebec City Congress Center. The delegates gave Charest a positive vote at 97.23%. Photo Francis Vachon for the Montreal Gazette.
Technical: Canon EOS 20D, 1/125 at f4.5 with a 24-70 at 56mm – ISO 800, on camera flash with 1/2 CTO gel
Quebec City, February 9, 2008 – Participant takes part in the first edition of the 2008 parade of the Carnaval de Quebec in the streets of the Charlesbourg borough Saturday February 2008.
Technical: Canon EOS 1D mark II, 1/50 at f2,8 with a 16-35 at 16mm – ISO 500, on-camera flash
Quebec City, February 9, 2008 – Participant takes part in the first edition of the 2008 parade of the Carnaval de Quebec in the streets of the Charlesbourg borough Saturday February 2008.
Technical: Canon EOS 1D mark II, 1/100 at f2,8 with a 16-35 at 31mm – ISO 800, on-camera flash
Quebec City, February 9, 2008 – The Bonhomme Carnaval waves to the crowd during the first edition of the 2008 parade of the Carnaval de Quebec in the streets of the Charlesbourg borough Saturday February 2008.
Technical: Canon EOS 1D mark II, 1/60 at f2,8 with a 16-35 at 32mm – ISO 640, on-camera flash
Beaupré, February 5, 2008 – Rémy Gravel, an employee of the Beaupré AbitibiBowater pulp and paper mill, laces his skate before the hockey game involving mostly unionized mill’s employees. The mill’s 400+ employees, whose salaries are by far the main economic mainstay of this region, are right now putting together a package of cuts to their wages and benefits, as well as suggestions on how to cut production costs at the mill. Photo Francis Vachon for the Montreal Gazette.
Technical: Canon EOS 1D mark II, 1/40 at f2,8 with a 50mm prime lens- ISO 400, two remote flash (see below)
That is a photo I did this week for the Gazette to illustrate a story on the human side of the forest industry that is on a huge slump in the province right now.
The journalist suggested to take some photos of a local mill employees while they play hockey every week. The photo would be in the dressing room, before the game. Kind of hard to have a stunning photo of a bunch of guys prepping up for a hockey game, but I had to come back with something.
A hockey room is pretty boring, with bad hard light coming from above. That’s the part I could improve.
I did not want to shoot with an on-camera flash. That gives a flat and boring light, and it gives you a ugly drop shadow behind the subject.
How could I setup my remote flashes then if there was not particular guy that I needed to photograph, i.e. I could have to photograph anywhere in the room, wherever “something” was happening?
I setup two remote flash in two corners, bouncing to the wall and 45 degree up at 1/4 power. That allowed me to shoot at a low 400 ISO with a nice light. Depending of whom I was shooting, one flash was acting as the key light, and some other time the other flash did. Ideally, I would have put my flashes in opposite corner, but the configuration of this room did not allow me this.
When you look at the diagram bellow, you see that in in this particular photo, the upper left flash act as the main (key) light, and the other one fills. That is what creates the nice side light.
That is not a portfolio picture, but that’s something I was happy to show to the photo editor. Something that will ensure they will keep calling me back.
St-Patrice-de-Beaurivage, January 31 2008 – Ministère du Quebec Développement durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs ministry workers Éric Langlois (left) and Jean-François Boulet take care of the sludge left on Agrior site in St-Patrice-de-Beaurivage, south of Quebec City. After the Agrior went bankrupt, 2000 tons of sludge – faeces mixed with water – was left on the site and the environment ministry had to clean the place. Photo Francis Vachon for the Globe and Mail.
Technical: Canon EOS 20D, 1/3200 at f2,8 with a 70-200 at 78mm – ISO 200