Hi all,
I've hinted a number of times over the past year that I had a wedding to shoot
coming up. Well, it took a while to come around due to a number of technical
complications, but it's now history, and I've delivered the albums.
The wedding took place in Westminster, MD on the 19th. This was the day of our
first snowstorm! We got 6 inches, and it was a mess. But the devoted friends
and family made it with few casualties.
I used John Lind's wonderful wedding advice pages to heart, and over the the
past year assembled a number items into my collection for the purpose of this
wedding, and general use otherwise. (hey, need I explain? ;-))
For the shots at the bride's house I used my OM-4T loaded with Portra 160NC.
For lighting, I had a T32 firing into a 40 inch umbrella on the left. I was
getting f8+ light from it as measured by my newly aquired Minolta IIIF auto
meter ambient/flash. I set up a Sunpak 433D and 1/2 power on the right firing
into a Lumiquest pocket bouncer. This gave me f4+ light. I shot at f5.6 to f8
depending on how I placed the subjects. I used 2 lenses for this session, the
50/1.4 and the 35/2.8. The results were very nice (my novice arrangements
notwithstanding). Every shot was evenly exposed and I was quite relieved,
actually.
In the church, I had the OM-4T on a Stroboframe (got that in the spring) with
the flip body feature. I put the T32 on the BG2 handle and mounted it on top of
the Stroboframe with the adapter designed for handle types. I shot Portra 400NC
with the flash in TTL, mostly at f8, sometimes less depending on distance. What
a trooper! It was great. I used this with the bounce off the ceiling in the
waiting rooms for the bridal party and the groomsmen. I fired it dead on for
the shots of the procession and recessional.
During the ceremony, I had my OM-2 on a tripod in the back of the church
shooting a roll of Supra 400 with my 135/3.5. I shot at f5.6 and let the meter
do the work, resulting in 1/4 to 1/8 second exposures. Some with star filter.
These came out nicely.
For the posed altar shots, I used the 50 on the OM-4T, T32 in BG2 on the
Stroboframe and ran a TTL line to a handheld Sunpak flash off to the left a bit
and 3 to 5 feet closer. This combination worked very well. The church is pretty
large with much dark woodwork in a very traditional format. The flashes
provided very adequate coverage and recycled quickly. Never an 'under' reading.
At the reception, I returned to the single flash hookup. Again, the T32 met all
my expectations in TTL. The 50 was my primary lens, with a couple of shots with
the 35 on the dance floor from a chair.
I dropped 10 rolls off to Penn Camera and recieved stunningly good prints the
next evening. They process in house, and do enlargements up to 12x18. They took
the time to expose each print to show the skin tones as they should be. It was
a real pleasure to go through the prints. I looked over the negs and found them
to be evenly exposed, and was very happy to see the results in print. What a
pure relief! I was really concerned, having seen so many flash shots blown out,
but it just goes to show that when done by a decent lab, all is well.
I had one moment of panic. While the bridal party was having a reception line
in the back of the church, the flash refused to fire. After checking things
out, I discovered the flash had worked loose in the shoe of the BG2. My worst
fear was that the foot of the T32 had broken. I knew I'd be ok, though since I
had 2 Sunpaks in tow and a T20. I did the 'tighten up' and went back to work.
All in all, the experience, though a bit stressful, was really good. I actually
had fun and enjoyed using the Oly gear in a really special way. This was a gift
to the bride a groom, and I'm so glad it all worked out. I learned a lot, and
plan to keep working at it. The flash meter makes exposure selection
childsplay. The umbrella is a godsend. I plan to get another and work hard at
studio work. Short of modeling lighting, the process is easier than I expected,
and the results are rewarding.
Much thanks to John LInd for his website. His insight was priceless. Thanks
also to all the other folks that made comments to me and to the others that
have shared their wedding day concerns with the group. It pays to be connected.
As I get time, I'm scanning some of the negs. Hope to post some for show later.
-Mickey
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