I love a good challenge, especially when it comes to photography. And one of the most challenging and — for me — creative aspects of being a photographer is playing with light. There’s one truism that’s hard to avoid in photography: you have to have light. Some situations just don’t have enough, and/or what it does have lacks quality.
I shot the Sogade party last year at the Blacksmith’s Shop; this year it was at the Terminal Station. The light at the former was great to work with, and the venue was a bit more intimate. Terminal Station is a much bigger space, and the overhead lighting was just too yellow. I think when the lights were off — as they were after dinner — it was probably worse. Add to that my general journalistic approach, and I had, like I said, quite a challenge.
Still, armed with my trusty strobe and fast zoom, I did my best. I used aperture priority for most of the later strobe shots, just so I could capture some detail and some movement. Naturally, the posed shots came out the best, but the lighting was too low to get real good studio quality portraits. I think I need two things: (1) a higher ISO would help, especially on the newer sensors; (2) an assistant to hold a strobe where I need it.
Each gig is a learning experience. I did get some cool shots, and I managed to experiment a bit. Here’s a small sample.
The rest of the gallery is password protected, but if you know the Sogades, ask them for it.
I’d like to also thank the Drs. Sogade for the kind words about my photography, particularly Dr. Bola Sogade. Thanks for asking me to be a part of your event again this year. Hopefully next year, I’ll bring my assistant.
