10-minute "Quick & Dirty" one light portraits – on location. Aug • 2009

Mary Phillips photographed on the Hudson Valley Rail Trail in Highland, NY on Thursday, August 13, 2009. Phillips is known as the trailkeeper of the picturesque 2.5 mile paved path. Times Herald-Record/CHET GORDON

Yesterday I was faced with cloudy skies most of the day for another outdoor feature assignment for our “Go” section, which appears on Fridays. A schedule change with the subject put us out on location at a converted railroad trail or “Rail-Trail” in our area, which made for a few nice portraits. I used my ‘quick & dirty’ lighting kit, quickly putting up one small strobe on a stand, and aiming it through a shoot-through umbrella. It’s a Canon 550EX strobe, powered by a Quantum 1 battery & fired by Pocket-Wizards. Here’s a few from that take as well as the same set-up a few days earlier in the late afternoon light, for a portrait of four recovery center staff members. (below).

As we toured the grounds, and they brought the reporter and I to the back of the building; seeing that late afternoon sunlight filtering through the trees, I knew this would be a signature image for the story – but I knew I had to work fast.
Fortunately their facility had a heavy duty ladder on the loading dock that I could utilize for this image. Also posing them on the inlaid stone labyrinth is mentioned in the story. -cg.

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