Call out to BM Photographers

Tuatha · Post by **Tuatha** » Thu Jun 17, 2004 8:30 pm

I've been thinking about shooting some film while at BM this year and am curious as to what techniques other photographers have used in the past,
here are some of the questions I have.

-Do you prefer to go digital or SLR if digital how do you combat the Memory card size problem?

-What do you find are the best techniques for night time shots? Long exposure times or flash, if flash what sort of range do you find works best on the flash,

-How do you deal with the Dust problem, how abrasive is the dust?

-35mm or Medium Format?

I know that it will depend on the type of shots im trying to get im just curious of what people have found to work in the past and what hasn't. Also any other Techniques people have found to work that the would like to share please do!

DeadlyKungFu · Post by **DeadlyKungFu** » Thu Jun 17, 2004 9:16 pm

flashes at night reflect off the dust and ruin the shot every time, don't bother to bring one, the dust is always in the air, even 'inside'. Maybe an indirect flash would work better (anyone?).

memory problem - there's thousands of pics of the man and the large, obvious stuff, take pics that truly interest you and trade pics with people after the burn, tons of quality digital pics out there.

digital or SLR? - whichever you care less about getting fragged on the playa. Never take anything out there you don't want to break, then again, it's such a great place for toys, it's not a bad way to go out. I like digitals because of the size. When I had an SLR I was always too aware of it, BM is a place to PLAY, not to be careful, but I get the vibe that the camera IS your play.

The dust is abrasive but very fine like talcom (watch your lungs), maybe the worse thing is that it's alkali (akin to acid) and can etch into things. Vinegar is great at neutralizing the alkali dust (an acid added to an alkali creates H2O and some type of salt depending on the alkali, effectively 'neutralising' the alkali). A daily rubdown of the gear should be fine, and keep them in cases when you're not shooting. From what I've seen it etches into plastic but metal stands up fine. Bring cans of air to blow the cameras out.

Now that I think about it, when changing SLR film, you WILL get playa dust into the camera body, there's no avoiding it, the stuff is always in the air, that may be the kicker to go digital.

I don't know formats but BM has to be THE most photographic rich environment I've ever seen, if you dig photography always keep two things with you, water and a camera.

Post by **AntiM** » Fri Jun 18, 2004 6:36 am

I have an old Minolta SRT (three actually if you count the SR-1). The SRT 100x thing was so beaten and abused that a trip to the playa was nothing. Odd thing, some years I take pictures with it, other years I use a Kodak point and shoot which gives me amazing pictures. I do take my digital, a Mavica which uses floppy discs, big camera, good pictures, but not film quality, advantage is that it avoids the memory stick problem. flash mostly sucks so I rarely take night photos, too busy to fool with the timer stuff.

If you like a "real" camera, pick up something like the Minolta on ebay. They're tanks, easy to clean and if you ruin it, well, there's a hundred more on ebay for under fifty bucks. Mine has been dropped, sat on, thrown, snowed under, attended beach parties repeatedly, lived in environments so humid my shoes mildewed overnight, even puked on ... basically anything a drunken sailor can do to a camera. Well, except I think it still hasn't been violated, but I did leave it alone wth some pretty shady characters .... I'm quite certain I didn't take THOSE pictures!

photogenically,
anti m

midgetsonparade · Post by **midgetsonparade** » Fri Jun 18, 2004 10:04 am

-Do you prefer to go digital or SLR if digital how do you combat the Memory card size problem?

I bring both. I carry a small inexpensive digital point and shoot everywhere I go for snapshots. If you are worried about the memory problem buy another card or set your camera to a lower resolution. I also plan out times when I go out with my film SLR and try to get nice well thought out shots. I usually shoot with my SLR during early morning and late afternoon. That is when you are going to get the best looking light.

-What do you find are the best techniques for night time shots? Long exposure times or flash, if flash what sort of range do you find works best on the flash,

What are you doing? If you are just shooting friends and taking snapshots just use a flash. I know there is a lot of dust in the air so it ruins shots at times, but you will ruin shots anyway if you try and take a long exposure without a tripod. I find if you are using a flash try and be about 4 feet away from the subject. If you get too far out the light fall off from the flash will be very noticeable and you are more likely to make all the dust in the air show up. If you are using say an old SLR without a flash, use a tripod and take a few long exposures just to see how they look. Just google night time photography to get some good tips and generic exposure times.

-How do you deal with the Dust problem, how abrasive is the dust?

Keep all gear in your bag until you need it. keep your bag in a very dust free place like your car. At the same time keep your film in a place where it will not bake. You degrade the film when it gets hot. If it gets hot enough you can ruin the film. I put my digital point and shoot in a zip lock bag in my backpack because I carry that everywhere. Other than that bring a can of air and hope your camera doesn't die. The dust isn't as abrasive as you think but it gets into EVERYTHING.

-35mm or Medium Format?

I use 35 just because medium formats are so expensive and you don't want them to break. I love the grain on a medium format, but it is too much of a hassle to bring it out there and worry about it.

jbelson · Post by **jbelson** » Fri Jun 18, 2004 1:16 pm

Shooting at night with a flash is almost useless. What I did was try and only shoot when around something that was pretty well lit, and turn the flash off.

As for the dust issue, digital might be better because it doesn't have as many exposed moving parts such as an interchangeable lens. I was able to keep my digital pretty much dust free. just stored it in my pocket when not taking a pic.

As far as memory, you should just buy a large memory card. The investment is well worth it. Not just for this event, but for every time you might use the camera a lot. I took over 300 pics in 4 days and used up 2 memory cards at 4.0 megapixal resolution. That size picture prints up great and is the most popular foto album on the shelf.

shitmouse · Post by **shitmouse** » Fri Jun 18, 2004 1:40 pm

bit OT,

i bring my leonardo pinhole camera out ever year and get some amazing poloroid shots. t-55, and t-100. -(one has a hi-rez film neg).

i don't take extra precautions with monitoring the heat and my film, so i've had some really cool random shots come out.

--(course the camera will never be the same after going to the playa).

Tuatha · Post by **Tuatha** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 5:51 pm

Thanks

I Figured a flash would be pretty usless out there except for taking snap shots, and ill have my digital for that,

And im not to worried if my 35mm doesnt survive as long as the films do :)

Canned air is a very good idea ill be sure to grab some before hitting the playa

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 6:35 pm

Bring a spare camera. Or two.

Load one with fast B&W film. Helps you choose your victims... er, subjects... based more on character than garishness.

Steven bradford · Post by **Steven bradford** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 9:53 pm

Flash is mainly useful for day shots, for fill.