Flash-free Christmas!

[johntobias]

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going to be sticking to available light this Christmas!   50 f1.1 and 35 f1.4. 

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[jaapv]

And so you should. Flash kills atmosphere.

[pico]

15 minutes ago, jaapv said:

And so you should. Flash kills atmosphere.

We could disagree once again, regardless it is good. I like subtle bounce flash indoors which fills the unfortunate shadows of usual home lighting. Perhaps your country has more aesthetic lighting. Ours, the USA is stupid for interior lighting.

 

[lct]

I don't use flashes for Xmas either. Feel more natural with fast lenses to me. YMMV. ZM 50/1.5 on digital CL here. 
No motion blur issue. 

[knisely]

We live in Oregon and the light is beautiful up here, both inside and out. I believe it is a result of the steep angle of the sun. Definitely a no flash environment. 

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[erl]

Flash and it's use used to be a very common scenario. That's pre digital and pre faster film/sensors. Direct flash on camera, other than for fill, is patently ugly. Used off camera skillfully it was and still is a very viable technique, requiring experience at judging angles, intensity, etc. I earned a good part of my life juggling multiple flash heads in this way. I embraced faster lenses and faster sensors gladly and have gone mainly 'available light'. What a relief! No batteries and cables and stands to fuss over. I have just invested in a very portable trigger system for the price of a a couple of beers. I can control up to 3 battery operated (yes, I'm back into batteries!) flash units placed anywhere within a good shooting range again. I now only indulge that system for my amusement. When push comes to shove, I am a convinced 'available light' man.

[hoppyman]

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8 hours ago, jaapv said:

And so you should. Flash kills atmosphere.

Maybe a bit simplistic Jaapv! Not all available light is good and not all flash is evil 😉
 

[jaapv]

Of course it is simplistic and the way you use your flash  for glamour is brilliant, Geoff.

But I do think that an occasion like Christmas, at least on the Northern Hemisphere, with candles,  close indoor gatherings, tree lights,  etc. cries out for available light. Flash is certainly detrimental to that kind of mood. Your Southern Christmases are totally different .

As an aside, my main flash use is to even out high contrast situations in the daytime

As a second aside: I used to use flash as well for Safari night drives. I still even have a teleflash system lying around somewhere. It got me great records of sightings, but not one memorable photograph. Now I only use available (spot) light. I get far fewer technically acceptable images -maybe two or three per trip- ,  but those are print-worthy keepers.

[johntobias]

As Leica fans, we all appreciate wide aperture performance and the lovely 'bokeh' we can get...I'm with Jaap  and think if you are lucky enough to live where the winter light is good, flash has no place for atmosheric family shots...I'm lucky (unlucky) and live in Scotland , roughly +54 degrees so we get some great 'golden hours' of light

anyway folks...Merry Christmas and all the best for the coming new year ! 

 

John

[lanetomlane]

Seasons greetings to everyone. I didn’t use flash over Christmas; come to think of it, I didn’t use a camera, just enjoyed the good wine, food and being with family.

[ramarren]

I only used flash with my Polaroid SX-70 this holiday. The Leica CL, M-D, and Light L16 were all capable of doing a good enough job using available light, with their incredible sensitivity and wide dynamic range. SX-70 film is only ISO 100 and has very limited latitude/DR: you need a flash to get enough light indoors as well as to lower the contrast in select outdoor exposures. Got some nice photos with all of them so far.

And more to come ... Happy New Year to all! 

[Brian C in Az]

On 12/20/2018 at 3:52 PM, pico said:

We could disagree once again, regardless it is good. I like subtle bounce flash indoors which fills the unfortunate shadows of usual home lighting. Perhaps your country has more aesthetic lighting. Ours, the USA is stupid for interior lighting.

 

That statement is very true and also very false. Lighting in a house would depend on so many factors, of which, only one is not adjustable.

#1 What direction is the home facing?  

#2 What size windows?

#3 How many windows?

#4 Which direction are the windows facing?

#5 Curtains? Shades? 

#6 Homeowners choice of lights and lighting?

Other than the direction the home is facing, everything is controllable and can be altered. So if your house is stupid for lighting, then who is to blame?

[Brian C in Az]

5 hours ago, lanetomlane said:

Seasons greetings to everyone. I didn’t use flash over Christmas; come to think of it, I didn’t use a camera, just enjoyed the good wine, food and being with family.

That is what the holidays are for, spending time with family and being thankful for our many blessings.

We took a nice 3 mile hike in the afternoon and had a great Christmas.