We came to call the job “Impossible Flash” around the studio. The notion was to come up with an idea that would stress the Nikon SB-5000 system, push it hard, explore the limits, and come up with an interesting photo that pinged on these requirements. I’ve seen too many action movies, to be sure, Blue Thunder among them, and started thinking about lighting a chopper in the air.
But it couldn’t just be the machinery. There had to be a human element, hence the intrepid stunt actress, Kachina Dechert, out on the skid. Over NY. At night.
The key is the radio controlled aspects of the system. I can talk to those flashes, arrayed in groups, in the subject helicopter, from my D5, via a WR-R10 transceiver/WR-A10 combo, from 75 to 150 feet away, give or take. I can tell them to be TTL, or manual. I can shift their power, which is necessary when you have constantly changing (diminishing) levels of ambient light. We started fairly early, below, and flew into the night.
Key to the job is lighting Kachina. This was accomplished via two Lastolite Speed-Lite 2 Plus Soft Boxes, fitted with grids, which make all the difference. See below. Also check out this video on our YouTube channel, showing the placement of the lights:
All thanks on this job go to Lynn DelMastro, in our studio, who ultimately got us in the air with NYonAir, a tremendous flying outfit based in New Jersey. Their chief pilot, Tim Orr, flew Kachina, and he did the delicate airborne game of chess he needed to with our pilot, Christi Brown, who was guiding the shoot heli. Cali, our crew chief, flew with me, trading off cameras and lenses as I shot. Andrew Tomasino did a great job doing BTS stills, and Mike Grippi handled a lot of the rigging and placement for our lights. Sam Brown did her usual wonderful styling job, along with Deborah Engelsman handling the makeup.
As always, a team effort! More tk….
Video and blog post, couldn’t ask for more! Thanks Joe and team!
Incredible vision as usual from you. Technically amazing and logistically. . . gnarly! As always, deeply impressed.
“From 75 to 100 feet away, give or take.” That can’t possibly the max range for this system, can it?
Damn fine work from a great team. Kudos!
Impressive as usual, Joe… this one was over the top! Congrats to you and your team.
Thanks always good info!
Among all the other information, I noticed something and now I’ve got to ask: Where are you getting Frio cold shoes? Every indicator I can find seems to say they went belly up.
A new incredible project. Thank You
This can originate only in Joe McNally’s mind 🙂 Reminds me of changing a bulb atop Empire State Building or setting up a circus to test a camera.
3rd picture looks like you actually had 3 choppers in the air?
Great job, mister, as always. And, great respect to the whole crew.
“I’ll be in another helicopter..” – you don’t need to hear any more to know this is a Joe Mcnally shoot 😛 Love it. Fantastic result.
Such an awesome article!!
Thank you so much.
They did…we just were lucky enough to have a stash left over….
I’ve fired them easy up to 150 feet. I honestly forget what they say the limit is in the manual, but engineers tend to err on the conservative side of things. Conditions affect performance as well.
Wow. The thing that you have to go through is amazing!!
Amazing photos…
Joe, your problem is you never get to shoot any “Interesting” or fun subjects. LOL
Great work as usual.
Good Lord, Joe! Be safe out there!
Awesome shot!! Joe you are the best
Amazing pictures! Love your style!
Mind blowing
Hi Sir,
I am a pre-wedding photographer in Mumbai , India. I use a lot of speed light along with wireless trigger for my shoot. Seeing you take this work to another level is amazing!
A lot to learn from you.
Wow, Amazing
nice post
Incredible post. Really enjoyed the insight about speedlights. Interesting to see them pushed to their limits. I definitely understand why the radio controlled aspects of the system are crucial after viewing the images that came out of this shoot.
I like your ideas! photos are great!
Awesome shot!!
Awesome set of images, the light in some of them is incredible!!!