Lighting On the Salt Flats with UPAA!

There is hard light. And then there is the diamond edged, stiletto-like sun that careens relentlessly across the Salt Flats of Utah. The cracked, lifeless earth seems to have the only appropriate response. Just, you know, give up.

But photographers like to tilt at windmills, so a hardy group of UPAA photogs gathered out there in the big nothing and set about making pictures. It was fun. I was teaching out there, and honestly it was the first teaching event I’ve ever been involved with that included being filmed by a drone, which was kind of cool. There were, maybe, a hundred or more of us out there, all working under the umbrella of the University Photographers’ Association of America’s annual get together.

Shot the banner pic with a Profoto B10X Plus, and was accompanied by a lovely dancer, Chelsey Carlson. We ran it the other day on Instagram, and I discussed the notion of letting the dancer just be the dancer, and try not to constrain them overmuch. I was shooting wide as you can see, and her arm drifted a bit into the no fly zone of a NIKKOR 14-24mm, but it didn’t trouble me overmuch. I wanted her to feel comfortable in the air, and do what she does best. Had a question on the lack of shadow, and that is courtesy of the raw power of the sun. One would think that using a 500ws flash would create some kind of subject shadow, but the sun was so fierce that the bubbling cauldron of the sun literally ate the shadow up. And my angle of the flash was flat to her. It was not pitched as one might ordinarily do with a dancer.

It was a wonderful faculty to be included on. Greg Heisler, Dan Winters, Rod Mar, David McLain, Melissa Lyttle were members, and I don’t even want to begin counting how many years of experience we have amongst us, not to mention the variety of skills and inclinations. The atmosphere was very giving, open and honest, with all of the participants sharing information and stories. I’ve worked with the UPAA before, and they do an amazing job of supporting the mission of university photographers, who have very unique jobs. Given the varied aspects of campus life, they could be called upon to do portraits, shoot sports, do illustration work and still life, and produce compelling visual narratives about the life and times of higher education in America.

Also did some studio-like work, in a large cafeteria, and was able to blackout the background via f/stop and shutter speed which allowed my friend Derick Turner, the Michigan State photog, to deploy his wide range of wonderfully mischievous expressions. Two light portrait, shot at f/2 with a 50mm NIKKOR, f/1.2.

The event was a terrific learning experience for all concerned, and a highlight of last year. I was able to sit with Greg Heisler and Dan Winters, two of my idols in photography, and basically just shoot the breeze in the company of a couple hundred photographers. Pretty cool. They both are amongst the definitive photographers of our time.

Needless to say, at some point in the future, I’d do it again! Great environment. Lots of support and learning.

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