Time Savers in the Field

[Stephen Willard]

I use all of the above, and my success rate is still less then what I would like.

To help my yeilds, I have also resorted to what I call predictive shooting. When I arrive in area I intend to work for a week or two whether by llamas or by car I line up about 15 to 20 shots during off hours ahead of time. Some are morning shots, some are evening shots, some are sunrise shots, and the list goes on. I work through all the details of each photograph such as perspective, composition, camera movements, lens, required DOF, aperture settings, and tripod settings. It is not unusual for me to spend two or more hours constructing a predictive shot. All of this informations gets logged into my database on my Palm Pilot including the GPS location, and a simple digital point-n-shoot image of the composition. So when exceptional light all of a sudden materializes I race to one of these spots I think will best exploit the moment and in a matter minutes I am ready to pull the trigger.

I was just in Ridgway Colorado when the light punched the through the clouds one evening and in three minutes by car I arrived at one of my predictive spots and in few minutes thereafter I nailed the it. This sort of thing happened three times while I was there and each time I nailed it, but on my fourth try I did get a speeding ticket so I did not get that one. Oh well.

Currently I have over 300 predictive compositions throughout Colorado I have not taken yet. On my way home from Ridgway I was passing through Nathrop Colorado and a storm was breaking up. The light and clouds hovering below and above the 14,000' peaks was amazing. I remember two years ago I had prototyped a predictive composition there. I pulled out my Palm Pilot looked it up and raced to the spot. I will not tell how fast I drove, but it was close to 2X the limit. Jumped out of the car, let me see 4x10 panoramic, 720mm lens, tripod at standard height, no camera movements, and f32.0. There were horses in the field that was light by golden fall light. The Cottenwoods surrounding the field were close to full fall colors, and they were glowing. The mountains were jet back (northern aspect) with fresh snow on them, and the clouds were backlight with brilliant light streaming through. I nailed that one with six sheets of film just to make sure.

I would say that predictive shooting has by far resulted in much higher yields for those in the moment shots then anything mentioned so far on this string for me. The biggest problem with just wondering around and waiting for something to fall out of the sky is you still have to compose and construct the composition and that is what takes most of the time. If you can do your homework ahead of time, then I believe you will greatly increase your chances of photographing exception moments with exceptional compositions that will result in amazing images. At least that is what I have found for me.

[CXC]

I don't worry about it; if I miss the shot, I miss the shot. I don't run for buses either.

Geert, another technique to avoid interruption is to use an iPod. It doesn't make any sense, but people are much less likely to interrupt you when you have earphones on than when you are only adjusting a camera. Actually you don't need to listen to it if you don't want to, nor even carry the player itself -- just wear earphones with the line stuck into a pocket. I learned this technique in a drawing class.

[Graham Patterson]

I have a couple of thoughts for after the exposure:

Document what you did and why so that you can actually learn from the exposure. Being the fastest 'gun' won't help if you miss, and keep on doing it!

Second-guess yourself with a second exposure - do not try for finesse against the clock. You were probably right the first time, anyway 8-)

[Josh Z.]

Document what you did and why so that you can actually learn from the exposure. Being the fastest 'gun' won't help if you miss, and keep on doing it!

On that note I keep a small notebook in the camera case. I often write down my perceptions of a place in general, and record specific notes about a specific exposure or set of exposures.

I think I've found the most useful thing I write down is how I metered (ie spot meter off of what) and interpreted to come up with my exposure, but the specific settings are unimportant.

The problem I've often encountered is not having the time to do so right when I take the exposure, and later I of course doubt if I remember everything. Has anyone tried using a custom form booklet that can speed this up, and make it more viable to do right when you make the exposure?

[PViapiano]

Keep a Mamiya RZ67 in your back seat, ready to go ;-)

[Frank Petronio]

another things is to always shoot wide open, at 5.6 or whatever, saves a lot of time and makes for more interesting shots

[photographs42]

Like most of us, I like to work slowly and methodically but when an opportunity arises that must be handled quickly, my philosophy is get what you can as quickly as possible. Then if you have time, refine your set-up and do it again.

As many have said, being prepared by knowing exactly where everything is and being able to set up your camera and tripod without consciously thinking about it allows you to think creatively while acting mechanically. The most important tool at your disposal is your mind. Don’t relegate it to mundane tasks by not being prepared.

Perhaps the best investment I have made is a Bogan “thing” that attaches to my tripod legs and when the tripod legs are spread, the “thing” creates a three compartment bag that holds all kinds of stuff like film holders, lens caps, ground glass protector, meter etc. It’s secure, it’s clean and it’s always in the same place. When working quickly it’s invaluable.

Jerome

[windpointphoto]

I will not tell how fast I drove, but it was close to 2X the limit.

IMHO no, none, not one single photograph is, or ever has been worth dying or killing someone else.

[Slade Zumhofe]

All great advise!

It's amazing how fast I can set up and shoot if I have to and how slow I can be if I don't have to....yet I can't tell the difference between the two images in terms of quality--take that anyway you want

I do many of the things everyone has mentioned but here are a few of what I consider very important to really shooting fast if needed:

1) Everything I need to photograph is in one f/64 bag and everything is always put back in "its" place including putting lenses back fully open.
2) If in a huge hurry, do a quick meter of the shadows and then shoot--reload and shoot again. Then decide if there is time to really study the scene and what to do with the highlights.
3) This is the BEST advise for quick shooting--I mark my camera bed with a small paint dot of different colors corresponding to each lens. Each lens gets a mark at the infinity position and at the hyperfocal position. There have been many times I have had to set up--move the lens to the hyperfocal--stop down--one quick fire with the meter at "some" shadow--and shoot! Then the light was gone.

Other than these.....practice, practise and more practice--setting up the camera, chosing the correct lens and setting up in the right spot. Spend an afternoon in your backyard and do time and time again getting a routine down--helps immensly.

[Brian Vuillemenot]

Some great tips to mull over, but I think the most important is just to practice and shoot as often as you can. A couple things not yet mentioned that I incorporate into my photographic routine:

1) I use a Horseman metering back that slides in behind the ground glass and meters through the lens. This way, I don't have to worry about filter factors, bellows extension, etc. After doing some test shots with Velvia and adjusting the ISO dial appropriately, it's dead-on about 95% of the time. This frees a lot of mental energy to concentrate more on aesthetic rather than technical considerations when the light is fleeting. I'm surprised that more people don't use these- it really makes things easier, and you can bring along a spot meter as well for tricky situations.

2) Another tip is to get to a site early, before the "magic hour" light, and start shooting to warm up. That way, you can be all ready to go once the light gets good, both in terms of technical considerations as well as seeing the good shots. After warming up with a few shots, I usually can make an image every few minutes during the golden hour.