Galaxy Quest [Rf Photo of the Day]

December 27, 2016

By Laura Brauer

Photo © Lev Kuperman

Photo © Lev Kuperman

Lev Kuperman, an Rf 30 Rising Star of 2014 and the co-creator of WRKSHP in Brooklyn, attended a workshop himself in New York’s Catskills called Camp Go Away where he created this experimental portrait. Believe it or not, this was in the early afternoon, on a “super cold and rainy day”—there’s no use shying away from seemingly inopportune weather conditions, is there?

“I recruited Ashley (the model) and Daniel (the lighting assistant) and we put garbage bags over the two Profoto B2 flash units we had rented to protect them from the rain, and headed outside to shoot,” Kuperman explains. “After a quick lighting test, I had Ashley run out and stand on the tree stump. I set up a flash directly behind her and the other one was positioned 45 degrees above her and camera right.”

The photographer shot at ISO 100 and clocked up to 1/8000th of a second for a shutter speed, and when the flash units lit Ashley, they also lit the surrounding rain, freezing them in the air like “stars in a galaxy,” Kuperman says. “We were outside for a total of 5 minutes and then quickly ran back indoors to warm up. My gear was soaked, but it was worth it!”

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