A portrait in Gorinchem

Lately I have had little time to work on my blogs, but I have half an hour to spare now....

Yesterday my brother and I both didn't have to work so we agreed for a small stroll in the historic town of Gorinchem, which I only know from the water side, as we sail by a couple of times every year. Up till now I could never see the real beauty of the city.

Instead of making a lot of city photo's we chatted most of the time, but we found some time to make a nice portrait. My brother is the one in his family who takes the photos and complained he hardly has any pictures of himself. Well, I can help out with that...

We found a calm spot on the medieval walls with trees and a footpath in the distance. I mounted my flash in one of the tree branches with my new gorilla-pod, a half CTO gel on it, and shoot away under the trees and a clear blue sky behind them. In fact all photos are made with off-camera flash.

The rather harsh shadows may tell you that I did not use a softbox or shoot-through umbrella, to keep light output of the speedlite high. With a little shade at hand my Metz 58 held itself well and produced these nice shots without too much effort.

Learning points: keep an eye on the ever changing background: e.g. dogs, people, etc.

Equipment list: Canon 450D with a no-brand battery, Canon 85mm/F1.8, Hoya polarizing filter, Yongnuo remote trigger.
And remember to keep up your shutter speed! (not slower than 1/100s, but not faster than 1/200 due to the sync speed because we use flash without high speed sync capabilities).

Sometimes I wonder if the person in the pictures and I are related after all... or do you see any physical resemblance?

Back-lit by the sun (left) and front-lit by the flash (right). Note the nice highlights on the shoulders. Don't note the leg of the woman under the elbow. Don't note the crop which is too tight...

Tough guy.
Is that a phone in his hand?

Nicely shot from below, room for him to watch. I like.