Got the triggers into the pool last night.... LOVE THEM
A few thoughts:
* I still need to get used to the brilliant light sensitivity of the D7000... All of my 'head settings' have to be re-adjusted.
* Its still weird having to dial down the strobe power. *sigh* Love that feature on the L&M D200 housing
* I need to weight these rigs. No way these will work in Salt Water. In the pool, on the steps, they were tippy with just normal diving surge. In the buoyant salt water, with current and real surge? No way the Gorilla Pod and DS-125's are negative enough. Taking these to the Oil Rigs where the bottom is over 600 feet down will just get me into trouble. I need to weight these for sure
* This is going to be fun! The Ground FX will take a featureless dive over the sand and turn it into pretty cool fun. Especially if the sand is that undulating stuff... can't wait to add gels and other fun stuff.
* These trigger great when outside the pool on the deck. I love that. I've wanted to do some pool stuff (I've never shot in a pool before last night) and I can't wait to get back. Sure, the water is stupid... clean, still, warm, etc. But its gonna be fun trying some new stuff.
* I've already build out better ways to fasten the strobes to a diver. We built a band system last night when we got out that will make everything more secure. We dive with scooters - so stuff has to stay put at speed.
* My buddy and I are amazing communicators. 800 dives together over the last 5+ years. We think alike in all normal dive circumstances. We had to develop some new signs last night, as this is new. She's excellent in the water, but there is a precision we need for this to achieve the halos and the diffused light I really want with these remotes. The learning process will take a bit, and the journey is going to be a blast - but this does require an entirely new vocabulary.
I am SO looking forward to the new artistic capabilities this will bring. Thanks so much, Hedwig. I think I'm gonna grab a couple more.
-Ken
All mid-rez JPGs, no WB. These were just quick test shots of my first pool session, and my first remote strobe shots. There is amazing artistic potential here. Can't wait! This pool is lit by Skylights. The light was changing so fast on us as it was getting darker and darker. I finally found the light switch and turned on the room lights after a bit. It was silly how much things changed with the ambient light fading.
No remote strobes

Ground FX only - back mounted strobe

Back-mounted strobe, in addition to backward-firing strobe. There will be some neat visuals achieved using the GFX downward firing strobe over the slope of the pool. I didn't really leverage that last night - but getting a really cool symmetrical fade and different shapes will be fun to work on.

BEHIND THE SCENES
Confirmation shot. The strobes work! Shot 001!

Buddy rigged up. Strobe on her back, firing down between her legs for the GFX vibe I wanted. After awhile of firing the stationary strobe backward at the wall, I moved it a little deeper and turned it 180 to work on some Halo stuff. Still working on those... they're fun! The margin of error is much tighter, but the rewards, when i get it together, are gonna be fantastic.

Here's one of her with the juryrigged remote outfit. This is how we lit the ground effects.

The journey is here: Linky