Winter took a break in Utah last week. Temperatures climbed into the 70’s and people were out running and biking in shorts and t-shirts. Spring was here, so I thought it would be great to get out and shoot some trail running. It was a perfect afternoon when I called some local runners to shoot the following day. Of course, winter came back the next day with cold rain and dark clouds hanging over the valley.
Cloudy days are a great time to work with strobes. The strong light from the flashes balanced against the dark skies allows you to create really dramatic images. With that in mind I packed up my strobe equipment and met the crew at a local trailhead.
Here are a couple of my favorites from the shoot. For these shots I used two Broncolor Mobil 2 packs, 3 MobiLED heads with standard reflectors and 3 Pocket Wizard Flex TT5 radio transceivers in hypersync mode. I placed the heads far apart to give me space to shoot wide enough to capture the action against the ominous sky. Pocket Wizard’s hypersync mode allows me to sync at 1/800 sec (and faster) with the strobes, which not only freezes the action but also gives me extra f-stops to overpower the background and create a strong, dramatic look.
I’ve always claimed that there’s no such thing as bad light. No matter what the conditions, you can always create something cool, and adding strobes is always a great option. To take a twist on an old saying, “When life gives you clouds, make sunshine”.
