Bull Running - use of outdoor flash at night

[guy_mansford]

Tried some shots of the bull running in the Basque are of

France/Spain. This is where young bloods (and one girl) prove their

bravery by being chased through the streets by bulls. Black bulls

taken against crowded backgrounds from cramped barricades were a

nightmare. Flash tends to freeze the movement producing very static

pictures. Slow sync and rear curtain doesn't work well with a black

bull. I tried this slight zooming one with a slow speed which focused

things a little - but the bull isn't too obvious. Any ideas?

[tom_sapienza]

Sorry, Guy, I've got no advice, but I just wanted to say that your image on my 19" monitor made me dizzy -- I like it! As far as making the bull more obvious, the best way would be to not take pictures when someone is in front of it. Snarky reply, but with this shot it's the truth.

[fotografz]

Beg to differ on this one Guy. It is possible to get shots at night,

even of darker objects. You need a fast lens, a slow shutter

speed, and some second shutter flash, all working together.

 

The example I've posted here is from a series for a client called

"Fire Fabulon". I used a Nikon D1-x with a 28mm/1.4 ASPH

wide open at 1/10th of a second to capture as much ambient

light as possible (as well as the swirl of fire). The flash was set

at 2nd shutter EV-.1, and served to freeze just part of the picture,

giving an impression of more sharpness than possible at 1/10th

of a second. If I had used flash normally at a normal shutter

speed the fire would've been over powered and the image would

have appeared static. If I didn't use the flash, the entire image

wouldv'e been blurry.<div></div>

[struan_gray]

This is one of the few examples of the zoom-while-exposing look

that I have seen where the zooming actually adds anything

meaningful to the photo. There's a great feeling of giddy

sickness and movement.

 

I saw the bull immediately, but then I had read your text. Bull

running pictures are everywhere in the European press each

year, so it's a theme which is immediately recognisable to me.

That's not a criticism, more a reason why you have no need to

show the whole bull. You can indulge in a more impressionist

presentation without having to worry that viewers simply won't get

it.