Page 54 - NyghtVision Magazine Volume 3 #1

54 THE MERLOT EFFECT

was it that I was doing? Why did this work? I tually, JD talked me into buying a reflector.
knew I had all the pieces of the puzzle—I just (“What do you mean we need a reflector? How
didn’t understand how they all came together. much more crap are we going to buy?” I said.
I kept thinking about what JD had said about “I’m telling you,” he said. And so we bought a
the sensor in the camera, and I kept thinking reflector.) I learned that I could use the reflec-
about his photo of Merlot. What did they all tor in interesting ways. I often positioned the
have in common? Never one to be shy about light in front of the reflector and let the light
experimenting, I began moving the light in from the reflector wash off the walls or ceiling
relationship to whatever I was photograph- and into the room. The results were stunning.
ing. The more direct light on the model or the Most of all, there were no more burned-out
subject of my composition, the worse the dam- faces or dresses... or anything else burned-out
age to the image seemed to be. So, I sat down for that matter.
at the computer and began to look back over
thousands of photos. here were additional,
If, I said to myself, I think about the vol- unexpected, benefits as well. For ex-
ume of light in the room on a scale from zero T ample, I could place a model in front
to 256 (where zero is absolute black and 256 of a window and get both the model and the
is absolute white), then the closer the black in world on the other side of the window clearly
the room is to zero and the white in the room visible—meaning I could duplicate what I had
is to 256, the more likely that portions of the called “The Merlot Effect” after JD’s photo of
image will be burned out. (This was why add- that model by the window. I knew I was right.
ing the lamp to the room had worked—it ef- If I thought about creating a photo the way
fectively “narrowed” the difference between the human eyes see the world, I would never
the blackest black and the whitest white.) Sure get what I wanted. I really did need to see the
enough, every image I reviewed that suffered world through the eye of the camera, as it sees
from being burned out in some shape or form the world.
suggested that this was in fact true. It was the last time I worked with isis—April
“So,” I said aloud, as though someone else of 2010. She wanted to work in a stairwell. Not
were there to listen to me, “never light the usually a problem. As I set up my PocketWiz-
subject, always light the room. It’s about the ard FlexTT5s I realized that the triggers—both
volume of the light in the room and how that my main and my backup—were dead. I sat in
relates to absolute black and absolute white. I the dirt on the landing above where she want-
don’t need a lot of light, I just need to push the ed to pose and said to myself, “Now what?”
black point up and the white point down.” Through the years, the basic methodology
that was developed in 2005 has become far
nterestingly, when I lit a more complex and detailed. I have learned
room in the burned-out house this way, to light scenes with a pair of Canon 580 EXII
Isomething else happened as well. The flashes, a reflector, and PocketWizard Flex
range of color, the depth of texture, and the units. Sometimes I use as many as four flashes,
intensity of detail all increased. I was creating all set to discharge as little as 1/64 full power.
better images with a 100-watt bulb. No flash. While we own strobes, I rarely use them for
No strobes. Just a standard lightbulb. Even- shoots such as these. It takes far too long to

nyghtvision magazine volume 3, number 1, WINTER 2013