Practice, practice and more practice. And a super long post.

My last trip to Tahiti was more than therapeutic. First, I got to remember what it was like to just float in crystal clear water, in a lagoon and not being afraid of finding myself 100 miles down current, and just enjoy the WARM water. The only thing missing? My hubby :-(

But don't get me wrong, it was a lot of shooting. But this was the perfect opportunity to work/practice on a few things . For that, I want to thank the willing volunteers for their time and patience :)
Ok, so practice for what you may ask. I'd be the first one to admit that I'm far from perfect. So I picked what I thought I really needed to learn and there it went. Well, considering that noon time (aka super bright overhead sun = raccoon eyes) and pitch dark- or to me more like any LOW light situations, are the two extreme lighting conditions for a photographer why not take the time to work on those. In other words, situations that I used to flee away from. I mean, like the plague.

NOON

Not too shabby when using my shabby flash right?








and not being afraid of shadows???


But then again, its always nice to go back to my "comfort zone". In the shade with a super reflective surface, in this case the ground.


And of course my favorite type... backlighting.






Now on to the other evil...Haha. Well, it was actually a combination of reflectors, then off-camera lighting. Where Norris graciously shared his almightihood (?) on the topic. Again, thank you for Heiani and Hina for volunteering. I was about to scan an old class photo proving how long I've known Heiani, but then realized that meant showing what I looked like when I was 9yrs old (not a pretty sight- Haha). Anyhow, what troopers they were. I mean between the mosquitoes, flies and cold water...and the constant chatter between photogs-which in retrospect must have seem so boring to them. Ha. They were really patient.
It was definitely a lot of fun and most of all a big learning session! Glad that Moe was able to come too.












The following pictures incorporated the OCF while still using natural light.














I promise it wasn't an utter torture. At least I hope :)










Finally. Crowds or things that you cannot move. What better place than the local market right?
Thank you Mele, Josh and Poehere.


















It was quite a big learning curve and it was good to not be under the pressure of " I can't mess up" if you know what I mean. The whole concept that it was ok to make mistakes? So refreshing!!! I'm still "on vacation" (aka editing mode) for a few days. But I'm excited to get back to shooting :)
Thank you again all of you for teaching me, letting me practice, and most of all, have fun :)