Comments on: Tomasz Tomaszewski Explains Shooting in Total Darkness

By: Philip

Philip — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 21:32:54 +0000

Somewhat pointless to the matter, but I think he was holding an SB-800 because of the extra battery holder sticking out.

By: Simon

Simon — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:00:03 +0000

just to add… really awesome shots

By: Simon

Simon — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 14:58:12 +0000

I think lighting is ok in relation to natgeo stories because they are more about story portrayal than breaking news

However that last image of the injured man is too perfect and seems to be lit with strobes so i personally think it is staged… I don’t have a problem with that if it’s intentional but i didn’t read that edition yet so who knows.

I could be wrong :)

By: Carl Bertossi

Carl Bertossi — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 11:04:00 +0000

Very great pictures, great low lighting technique.
I hope that we will see this gallery in UK and other country.

By: William James Ingalls

William James Ingalls — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 09:02:52 +0000

@Patrick Hall IDK, I think using multiple strobes to create depth sounds like artistic license to me. Far from the basic bare or diffused flashbulbs of old. I just think that the way he spoke about it made me inclined to think of it as not photojournalism. Also he brought in more than one light source, meaning that he had multiple angles of light and multiple levels (flashpowers) of light.

This can not be compared to indoor sports photography, in an arena all of the strobes are on the same plane and are the same flash power, my problem isn’t that he lit the subject, it’s that he brought in an ‘ecosystem’ of light that was foreign to the subject and location. Let me be clear, He’s an amazing photographer and a master of light, but calling this set of photos photojournalism crosses the line for me.

Thank you for posting this article, it keeps me thinking!

By: James

James — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 22:49:15 +0000

I have followed Tomasz for a number of years now and love his work. They way he is speaking is like this is some new technique or radical way of shooting, could be true in the photo journalistic field, but like others have stated he could have cut the time in half by just saying I shot it Strobist style….lol

By: Sans

Sans — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 20:53:04 +0000

Great video, stunning images, but also amusing that the whole thing boiled down to ‘there wasn’t enough light, so I shot it strobist.’

By: Patrick Hall Admin

Patrick Hall Admin — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 18:44:12 +0000

This brings up an interesting point William. I know real photojournalists follow a strict creed of not altering reality aside from maybe some levels and color correction (WB correction). However, I never knew that creative lighting was not part of a photojournalist’s palate. I mean if people are doing their own thing in front of a camera, does it matter if you lit it with on camera flash bouncing into the left wall or if there was a softbox there? I would think as long as it isn’t scripted then it’s still photojournalism. How else could you possibly take a photo in pitch black if you aren’t able to bring light with you? And would indoor sports photographers who use installed lighting in the rafters not be considered photojournalists because they did not use natural light? I don’t know really.

By: Donnie Bell Design

Donnie Bell Design — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 14:39:35 +0000

That is very revealing and in depth. I find his technical approach just as interesting as his personal approach to his subject.

By: IPBrian

IPBrian — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 13:41:48 +0000

Sorry I realize David spells his last name Hobby, I typed wrong and didn’t pay any attention to spell check! LOL!