Direct flash?

[MarkoKovacevic]

Hey everyone,

Shooting a band tomorrow - while they play. Not on stage, at the same level as everyone else in a gym. A crowd of 100 or so. It was going to be outdoor, but its raining tomorrow. Will be shooting with Leica iii and Olympus XA. I was thinking, if there isn't enough light, to use a flash on the Leica and shoot it Weegee style. What do you think?

[Ranchu]

Band pics with flash is bad form, bugs them usually. Ask them first, if they're cool with it go for it, stay aware of dirty looks though, you might bug them more than they thought. You'll need to close down your aperture as you get closer, flash settings the same. Hard to get the feel of it without practicing.

edit: whoops, guess I'm a bit late...

[payasam]

What is the Weegee style, please? Does it have to do with using an unsynchronised camera with flash?

[Al Kaplan]

There will probably be others using flash. Use the lowest power setting on the flash usually works best, with a fairly slow shutter speed. You want to get some of the existing light too.

[easyrider]

Take the flash off the camera and put it on a stand or mount it somewhere and trigger with a peanut slave. Have a very small flash in the Leica hot shoe to trigger it. (see shot below)

OR

Just get some 800 ASA film and push it like mad.

Payasam -- Re Weege style: Weege was a NY press photog in the 1930s and 40s who shot with a Speed Graphic and a potato masher flash mounted on it. Great for crime scenes. Google him if he is new to you.

[payasam]

Easyrider, thank you. I know a little about Weegee. Just wondered about a Leica III and flash. Sync may have been added, of course. I thought it might involve opening the shutter on B (Z) and firing the flash independently.

[MarkoKovacevic]

What is the Weegee style, please? Does it have to do with using an unsynchronised camera with flash?

My IIIa has sync added, and works with electronic flash @ 1/20th.

[Soeren]

My IIIa has sync added, and works with electronic flash @ 1/20th.

Thats almost slow enough to let you put the camera on a tripod and paint with light :)
I'd rather shoot fast film than use direct flash. In fact I rarely use flash at all. If it is/was a gig there probably would be some kind of stagelight which normally will be bright enough, only trouble then is metering.
How did it turn out anyway?
Best regards

[MarkoKovacevic]

It turned out alright. I didn't like the look of direct flash, or the viewpoint of the 50mm lens.

[payasam]

Nothing to be done about the flash, except perhaps the limited but sometimes effective relief offered by a diffusing reflector. As for view-point, let's recall that Leitz once made a fast 73mm lens specifically for stage work, and later a faster 85mm.