“Necessity is the mother of invention”, so they say, and a worthy mantra for any photographer. There’s no better proof of this then when David Robinson recently mounted an Elinchrom ELB 400 strobe-capable flash system onto an octocopter for a Red Bull mountain bike shoot.
This insanely brilliant idea came to Robinson two and a half years ago when he was first given a tour of Red Bull’s equipment gallery. According to Robinson’s statement on the Elinchrom blog “. . . amongst the plethora of cameras and endless walls of lenses, I was shown a custom Octocopter. Designed to carry such cameras as RED's Scarlet, at a time when the only cameras flying around at this time were GoPros. ”
Robinson saw an opportunity to solve a conundrum that had been plaguing him for a while. As a biker, he had found that mountain biking didn’t lend itself to easy lighting. A combination of the distance required to get a cyclist’s action in frame and the obstruction of the slopes themselves meant that regular standing lights would either be in the way or in a blocked position. There was the option to blast the scene with powerful lights from afar or a hotshoe flash but that equally wouldn’t match Robinson’s aesthetic.
/YouTube
However, the drone would allow lighting to be placed in the exact position Robinson would like. Unlike many commercial drones, this giant Octocopter would be able to carry the payload easily.
“The form factor, in that it's a separate pack and head system, allowed us to distribute the weight optimally in the center of the drone,” said Robinson. “With a head weighing in at a mere 250g, it's no problem if this is off axis as the drone self-levels itself. ”
Using a Skyport PLUS HS transmitter, Robinson was able to control the flash settings from afar, including use of the Hi-Sync. He claimed that this latter feature, “[allowed] me to reign in the ambient light, allowing the rider to pop. ”
David Robinson /Elinchrom /Red Bull /YouTube
The video shows the success of this experiment, with Robinson managing to get some exquisitely lit shots, including an entire jump blend of images taken using rapidfire capture, working in tandem with the flash. It’s his opinion however that though the shoot might not meet his exacting standards, it shows incredible potential as a future tool.
Robinson said, “Technically, everything worked as expected, and in that respect as a proof of concept it was a success. The next step for me is to take it to another sport where it will make more of an impact!”
David Robinson /Elinchrom /Red Bull /YouTube
He has suggested that technological advancements will allow even greater use of drones as lighting tools, perhaps even to create basic three-point lighting set ups. Robinson may be correct but for now issues of battery time and noise are still a problem. The Octocopter he used for instance, has a flight time of under 30 minutes before needing a total recharge. There’s also the issue of cost, since a single load bearing drone of this type costs upwards from US$2,500.
However, this is yet another example of how drones, once sneered at in photography circles are quickly becoming essential elements of a shoot. The power to be anywhere and everywhere has its advantages.
David Robinson /Elinchrom /Red Bull /YouTube
You can see more of this shoot on the Elinchrom website. To find out more about David Robinson's work you can check out his Facebook and Instagram.
. digitalrev.com2016-11-22 03:00