So last week I met up with my mate Anthony Crothers just outside of Cardiff, Wales and then we both headed to Newport in Pembrokeshire.
It was there that I’d arranged to meet up with Dai O’Toole ; a friend I’d not seen since my 39-45 Portraits Project Exhibition at the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum back in November of 2019.
We’d always kept in touch but this was the first time we’d caught up in person since, and this was all motivated by me having seen Dai mention about a Trek he was soon to be embarking on called the GR54 ; a 120 mile trek in the French Alps which takes in elevation of 12,500ft 😳
Hearing this and his motivation for doing so, I got in touch saying that I’d love to take his portrait on location and record a short chat with him about it all … needless to say , we were ‘Game On’
Meeting up in Newport, Pembrokeshire after some long overdue man-hugs, armed with a small amount of kit we all headed off on what Dai would call a stroll, up nearby Carn Ingli ; a mere 1500ft above sea level 😃
( Left to Right ) Anthony , Dai and Yours Truly
With no need to rush, we took our time making our way to the top whilst chatting , laughing and chatting and laughing some more whilst stopping regularly to take in waht can only be described as spectacular views.
I cannot stress enough how enjoyable and uplifting this was and it didn’t take much to understand why Dai goes out trekking every week.
Once at the top and in between repeated cries of “WOW” , with the help of Anthony on lighting, I took a series of full length portraits of Dai.
The main image from this I’m currently working on but with regards to kit, this is what I used …
Camera: Sony A7RIV
Lighting: Westcott Fj200
Due to the winds on top of Carn Ingli I decided not to take a softbox but as there was a lot of cloud cover and consequently soft light, this I needed to match on Dai.
The solution was to take along the 45 Degree Deep Focus Reflector
This would help to give more control over the light, add an extra stop of power but also by aiming it slightly off Dai, the outer softer area of the light would light him. The result … soft light from a modifier that would ordinarily produce a hard light source.
Of course using the outer area of the light isn’t as powerful / strong but for this combined with the Fj200 and conditions on the day was more than adequate.
I was also shooting tethered into my iPad using a TetherTools USB-C to USB-C cable directly into CaptureOne Mobile; shooting tethered does not get simpler and it works an absolute treat!
Having finished on ‘the top’ we made our way down ( not quite so direct as the way up mind you 🤣 ) and after grabbing a coffee and chatting more and more, we headed back to the cars which is where I wanted to take a headshot portrait of Dai for an idea I had, inspired by the original ad for the movie Hancock starring Will Smith …
To control the light on Dai I opened the boot of my car and had him sit on the bumper.
Doing this reduced the light from above , behind , and to his right hand side ( camera left ) resulting in an obvious and controlled direction of light rather than his head being evently lit in all directions.
Using my Sony A7RIV on a tripod and my 85mm G-Master lens I took a series of headshots with Dai simply looking straight down the lens but now wearing some fantastic reflective and tinted sunglasses.
I tried a few shots using the FJ200 in the Rapid Box Switch Beauty Dish and bouncing some light onto a reflector which Dai held horizointal to the ground in front of him to bounce some light up onto his chest and beard.
However, I ended up going with the natural light as positioning Dai on the rear bumper under the car boot lid produced superb light with great direction.
These were the dialled in settings:
Manual Mode , f/4.0 , 1/125sec , ISO 160
And this is the final retouched portrait …
Genuinely loved every minute of this …
Getting to hang out and have a mini road-trip with my mate Anthony Crothers , catching up with and photographing Dai , working on the edit and to top it all, being out and about in the fresh air surrounded by stunning scenery.
What’s not to love about that?
Cannot wait now for the next adventure!