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Thread: Lighting up an underground football field with no electricity... HOW???

  1. #11

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    Re: Lighting up an underground football field with no electricity... HOW???

    Tex Helm's Carlsbad Cavern Big Room shot used 2400 #2's for 55 million sq. ft. So Meggaflash 300's likely four for 55,000 sq ft. They will fire from 6 volts. 110,000 average lumens. About 6 million peak. If he sets off enough bulbs the ground may glow. Can you tell I love his opportunity. I still remember my last shot with a #2. Caused a helicopter search for the reported plane crash. Everyone saw the huge flash in the middle of the golf course.

  2. #12
    Tin Can's Avatar
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    Re: Lighting up an underground football field with no electricity... HOW???

    Just one #2 caused that much ruckus?

    Quote Originally Posted by gleaf View Post
    Tex Helm's Carlsbad Cavern Big Room shot used 2400 #2's for 55 million sq. ft. So Meggaflash 300's likely four for 55,000 sq ft. They will fire from 6 volts. 110,000 average lumens. About 6 million peak. If he sets off enough bulbs the ground may glow. Can you tell I love his opportunity. I still remember my last shot with a #2. Caused a helicopter search for the reported plane crash. Everyone saw the huge flash in the middle of the golf course.

  3. #13

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    Re: Lighting up an underground football field with no electricity... HOW???

    Sneaky photo bug sailors on the back nine of the golf course after way too much refreshment.. or just enough. Really a bad idea on a communication station guarded by Marines. But the 35 mm golf course at midnight shot was awesome. We did slip away in the darkness.

  4. #14
    mortensen's Avatar
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    Re: Lighting up an underground football field with no electricity... HOW???

    Wow! Thanks for all the replies, everybody - much appreciated... where to start...
    well, first of all, I do not imagine the entire room to be fully lit Having the room fade to black before you can see the end of it, would be great. I would, though, prefer not to get an over contrasty 'flash' picture dominated by deep shadow... and I can only imagine that is difficult to achieve using flash, haha. Is there such thing as a 'soft' or heavily diffused flash?
    @gleaf, Randy Moe: the flash bulbs sound great and it's a tempting, ol'skool option, but I feel much more inclined to persue what Darren Kruger suggest - not least because my local photo pusher rents profoto battery packs and strobes. Talked to them today - the battery pack should fire around 200 times on one charge. That should cover the day including tests on digital...
    @Kirk:... which brings me to you, Kirk - I will of course bring a digital (Sigma DP2 Merrill, the only digicam I have). Attached picture was from my visit last friday. 20s, f5.6 iso 160, heavily compressed histogram in raw-conversion. I wasn't holding the torch, which partially explains the huge highlight splotch. And, well, it gives you an idea of the room. Nothing special architecturally (the smaller ones are, though, designed by danish architect Ib Lunding), but I think that is equally interesting. For me, the sheer scale of the room and the fact that it was designed for freshwater, not people, is what interests me. There is no sign of human scale anywhere, apart from the staircase (which I can happily leave out of my shots).
    @Vinny: you are right - composing and focusing is a real issue. I will have to use one or two torches... I have tried 'similar' conditions before, when shooting in an empty gasholder (50m cross section, 110m tall, lit by skylights, tar oil on the inside... impressive place, which they unfortunately blew up one and a half year ago). Attached image is two 4x5's stitched, 115 Grandagon on Linhof TK45S

    best,
    lars

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  5. #15
    jp's Avatar
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    Re: Lighting up an underground football field with no electricity... HOW???

    You do what you want, but I'd put a human in these you've shown. 2nd one calls for a blond female dressed in red with red lipstick staring intently at the camera or facing away from the camera, beckoning you toward the light.

  6. #16
    mortensen's Avatar
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    Re: Lighting up an underground football field with no electricity... HOW???

    ... hahaha not quite what I'm after

    I did step into the frame in the gasholder

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  7. #17
    bob carnie's Avatar
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    Re: Lighting up an underground football field with no electricity... HOW???

    I am no expert on this but if this was something I was going to do, I would listen to Kirk as this is in his wheelhouse.

    But as a layman I would shoot tethered to a computer and paint with light any damm way I could think and watch the progress on the screen.
    I think it would be tons of fun to do such a project.

    Or I would let natural light work for me.

    I did print a show for Steve Evans Distillery project where he used 8x10 HP5 film , and just the natural light coming into the rooms, he heavily overexposed the film and I drop processed in PMK, these were some of the nicest neg's I have ever made for someone and they really printed well.

    I think both methods would work well.

  8. #18
    Jac@stafford.net's Avatar
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    Re: Lighting up an underground football field with no electricity... HOW???

    Quote Originally Posted by mortensen View Post
    would, though, prefer not to get an over contrasty 'flash' picture dominated by deep shadow... and I can only imagine that is difficult to achieve using flash, haha. Is there such thing as a 'soft' or heavily diffused flash
    ]
    Yes. That is the perfect characterization of flash bulbs without reflectors.

    What is your objection to considering them?

  9. #19
    mortensen's Avatar
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    Re: Lighting up an underground football field with no electricity... HOW???

    I have no objection to considering them - I just simply don't know the difference you are describing because I always shoot with natural/available light. Renting a battery pack and a strobe just seemed much easier to me. But hey, I shoot film and drum scan, so if the bulbs are better than anything else, I'm on it!
    Please enlighten me and link to beautiful references! I'm all ears.

    What equipment do I need and how is it done?

    @ Bob: thanks for advice. I am an architect and I primarily shoot architecture, so I feel quite at home, thanks But of course I listen to Kirk's advice as well

  10. #20
    Kirk Gittings's Avatar
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    Re: Lighting up an underground football field with no electricity... HOW???

    The low ceiling space I would shoot by light painting it with a continuos light source like a powerful flashlight (and lots of batteries), a high asa film etc.. You move the light around in a big circle at each location to soften the shadows-no way to do this with strobes-it creates a huge light source. Otherwise the pillars will cast awful raw confusing shadows. The high ceiling one I would do with battery powered strobe-at least two with 2000 WS each and be prepared to do multiple pops.

    I have used #2s before and even with Polaroid I wasted so many bulbs it became cost prohibitive.
    Last edited by Kirk Gittings; 13-Jan-2014 at 18:25.
    Thanks,
    Kirk

    at age 73:
    "The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
    But I have promises to keep,
    And miles to go before I sleep,
    And miles to go before I sleep"

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