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

[mortensen]

Okay, I need some serious advice, fellow LF'ers.
I have the wonderful opportunity to photograph two enormous out-of-use freshwater reservoirs just outside Copenhagen - the largest being 11.500m2 (approx. 124.000 sq feet) and 9m ceiling height.
But, the only light source is the top latch, approx. 2m2, in one corner of the truly immense room. And there is no power supply down there.

What are my options?
- 'light paint' the room with multiple, powerful flashlights during long exposures?
- rent a small generator and 1-4 powerful lamps? (which would that be, btw??? I have no experience with lighting a scene like this...)
- some magic trick I don't know of...? (the probably won't allow me to use fireworks down there...)

Thanks in advance...

[Tim Meisburger]

Cave photographers still use flash powder sometimes, but as you say, they probably would not like that.

[Tin Can]

Look up cave photography with flash bulbs, if you were in Chicago, we could do it with the bulbs I have.

I can't wait to see what you do and shoot.

Okay, I need some serious advice, fellow LF'ers.
I have the wonderful opportunity to photograph two enormous out-of-use freshwater reservoirs just outside Copenhagen - the largest being 11.500m2 (approx. 124.000 sq feet) and 9m ceiling height.
But, the only light source is the top latch, approx. 2m2, in one corner of the truly immense room. And there is no power supply down there.

What are my options?
- 'light paint' the room with multiple, powerful flashlights during long exposures?
- rent a small generator and 1-4 powerful lamps? (which would that be, btw??? I have no experience with lighting a scene like this...)
- some magic trick I don't know of...? (the probably won't allow me to use fireworks down there...)

Thanks in advance...

[gleaf]

Large format. Defacto Copal not a press shutter. So you can set position, exposure etc for Strobe or flash bulb power. Then you can not only paint the space with the strobe series or flash. Can have shutter closed while relocating flash point ( or the dark slide ) so ambiant from the hatch is no consequence. Be careful of contrast issues. Worst negatives in my life were white epoxy coating inside an underground fuel tank. Only contrast was the natural fall off of the source with distance and shadows from pipes and ladder rungs.
They still make # 2 & # 3 equivalent flashbulbs. Company is in Ireland if I remember. We are speaking BIG 7 inch tall medium screw based lightbulb sized critters. 48 to a case. Bulbs about same price as a sheet of 8 x 10 if old foggy cells remember rightly.

[gleaf]

Http etc. meggaflash.com

[Jac@stafford.net]

Flash bulbs without reflectors. Edison / Mazda base for ease of deploying several over an area.

Most good flash meters with a cord connect option can read flashbulbs. Do a test or two and you are good to go.

[Kirk Gittings]

However yoU do it you are going to need either Polaroid or a digicam to check your lights.

Are these interesting architecturally or just huge empty boxes? To do this right is a ton of work. If its just a box............

[jp]

I'm pretty sure a generator won't be allowed underground / enclosed space even though it's a big place.

[vinny]

composing/focusing ought to be fun with those flash bulbs

[Darren Kruger]

Okay, I need some serious advice, fellow LF'ers.
I have the wonderful opportunity to photograph two enormous out-of-use freshwater reservoirs just outside Copenhagen - the largest being 11.500m2 (approx. 124.000 sq feet) and 9m ceiling height.
But, the only light source is the top latch, approx. 2m2, in one corner of the truly immense room. And there is no power supply down there.

What are my options?
- 'light paint' the room with multiple, powerful flashlights during long exposures?
- rent a small generator and 1-4 powerful lamps? (which would that be, btw??? I have no experience with lighting a scene like this...)
- some magic trick I don't know of...? (the probably won't allow me to use fireworks down there...)

Thanks in advance...

battery powered strobe. See if you can find a place that rents them. Profoto makes a few types of battery pack for their strobes that have a lot of power but are heavy. Lumedyne also makes small battery powered strobes. If you small on camera flash, you can also use that to paint with (just be aware of where you are and what shadows might be created.)

-Darren

(class assignment from a few years ago taken with the Profoto battery system and a really long sync cord)