In the mine

[Manfred M]

Well yes and no. The 400 year old Sado Kinsen gold mine was turned into a museum and had life-size figures (some animatronic ones) demonstrating the mining techniques used during the Edo period.

Here are a few shots of the displays; all of which were shot with bounce flash using an SB-900 Speedlight.










[url=https://flic.kr/p/xmBWcU]

[Shadowman]

Very lifelike captures.

[Mike Buckley]

I've never seen an exhibit like this. Thanks for sharing!

[Rita]

Hard to tell that the figures are not real.

[Manfred M]

I've never seen an exhibit like this. Thanks for sharing!

Neither had we. Apparently the complex has been submitted to UNESCO as a World Heritage Site candidate. Apparently the mine operated from 1601 through to 1989.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativeli...esco.org/fr/=&

We were also told that the money made from the admission fees was being used to tend the graves of former miners, that do not have relatives to tend them.

[JBW]

If you ever get over to Jolly Old England they have the same idea but with coal mining. Just curious are they 'panning' for gold in the tubes?

[Manfred M]

If you ever get over to Jolly Old England they have the same idea but with coal mining. Just curious are they 'panning' for gold in the tubes?

This was hard rock mining, albeit with simple tools. The deposits were relatively close to the surface, so the shafts were not particularly deep. They had a fairly sophisticated pumping solution using a many staged system of Archimedes screws that were hand operated. I understand there were a couple hard rock mines in South and Central America that are approximately the same age.

[bnnrcn]

Hi Manfred. Very interesting series , thanks for the images and the info I have a question , how did you bounce the flash ? On the wall or did you use a reflector or what? I want to buy a speedlight for my landscape shots and I started watching videos about speedlights, that's why I'm curious about the matter.Would a dome diffuser work in those conditions as it is easier than bouncing the flash?

[Manfred M]

Hi Manfred. Very interesting series , thanks for the images and the info I have a question , how did you bounce the flash ? On the wall or did you use a reflector or what? I want to buy a speedlight for my landscape shots and I started watching videos about speedlights, that's why I'm curious about the matter.Would a dome diffuser work in those conditions as it is easier than bouncing the flash?

These were definitely bounced off of walls. I had two reflectors along in my camera bag, but would have been useless in the shooting situation. These figures were all located in caves and the entrances had overhangs, so traditional light modifiers, that some 80% of the light up and the other 20% forward would have ensured little light from the flash would have gotten to where it was needed.

Direct flash would have been too "hot" on the subject and would have seriously dropped off further into the structure, so bouncing the light off the tunnel walls was my only real option. This had three main problem; first of all the tunnel rock was fairly dark, so it was not a great reflector. It was uneven, so I had no idea how the light would fall, and thirdly, the rock was not neutral coloured, so the light from the flash picked up a warm colour cast.

The first two problems were solved by changing where the light struck the tunnel roof and walls, trying to find the best light. Once I found a good place that gave me the quantity of light that I was after, I used flash compensation to vary the quantity of light (I was shooting iTTL mode). Each successful shot took somewhere between three and six test shots and not all of my tunnel shots were successful.

The colour cast was solved in PP. The problem here was dealing with the skin tones versus the warm tones (the mines illuminated by candle light). I corrected the walls the way I wanted them to look and then with a layer mask and the cooling filters in Photoshop, brought the skin tones to look more natural.

[rpcrowe]

Excellent images and a great explanation of your techniques. I have always recommended that a hotshoe flash should be included in any travel kit - just for occasions like this!

I always carry one or two; usually a full-size hotshoe flash and the 270EXii. The little Canon 270EXii is a great addition to a full-size hotshoe flash in a travel kit because of its slave ability and exceptionally light weight!

It is great that this museum allows photography. Many in the USA and Europe do not!

[Manfred M]

It is great that this museum allows photography. Many in the USA and Europe do not!

Many in Japan do not either. We were okay at the Toyota Automotive Museum and the SCMaglev & Railway Park, but it was not permitted at either the Ghibli Studios Museum nor at the Noritake Museum.

[bnnrcn]

Thanks for the explanation Manfred Flash photography seems difficult but I will certainly get into it one day .

These were definitely bounced off of walls. I had two reflectors along in my camera bag, but would have been useless in the shooting situation. These figures were all located in caves and the entrances had overhangs, so traditional light modifiers, that some 80% of the light up and the other 20% forward would have ensured little light from the flash would have gotten to where it was needed.

Direct flash would have been too "hot" on the subject and would have seriously dropped off further into the structure, so bouncing the light off the tunnel walls was my only real option. This had three main problem; first of all the tunnel rock was fairly dark, so it was not a great reflector. It was uneven, so I had no idea how the light would fall, and thirdly, the rock was not neutral coloured, so the light from the flash picked up a warm colour cast.

The first two problems were solved by changing where the light struck the tunnel roof and walls, trying to find the best light. Once I found a good place that gave me the quantity of light that I was after, I used flash compensation to vary the quantity of light (I was shooting iTTL mode). Each successful shot took somewhere between three and six test shots and not all of my tunnel shots were successful.

The colour cast was solved in PP. The problem here was dealing with the skin tones versus the warm tones (the mines illuminated by candle light). I corrected the walls the way I wanted them to look and then with a layer mask and the cooling filters in Photoshop, brought the skin tones to look more natural.

[rpcrowe]

Binnur...

I am not sure what brand equipment you use but, flash with Canon, and I am pretty sure with Nikon, is pretty easy. In fact the flash does a great part of the work for you - at least the exposure portion.

In the "old days" of manual flash, bouncing was pretty difficult. You needed to calculate the distance between the camera and the surface off which you were bouncing, add the two and then divide that distance into the guide number for the flash (there were always two guide numbers - one for working in feet and the other for meters). Additionally, you might need to open up a stop or two if you were bouncing off a dark surface. Then you might have an effective f/stop!

Today, the camera/flash combination does that figuring for you!

Bouncing and using a diffuser/reflector can provide excellent lighting as this group of shots by Manfred proves. I use a Joe Demb Flash Diffuser Professional as my diffuser/reflector while other photographers like the Gary Fong Light Sphere (or a Chinese knock-off of either).

Here is some information on Demb and Fong products as well as a quite good tutorial on using flash:

www.dembflashproducts.com
http://www.garyfong.com/tutorials
http://neilvn.com/tangents/flash-pho...hy-techniques/

[Manfred M]

Thanks for the explanation Manfred Flash photography seems difficult but I will certainly get into it one day .

Actually it is scary until you start working with it, and once you figure that out, it's really not that hard.

In any flash shot there are two or three sources of light:

1. Direct flash (light emitted by the flash that travels directly to the subject;

2. Indirect flash (the component of light from the flash that reflects off the surrounding walls, ceiling or floor; and

3. Ambient light (the impact is dependent on your ISO, shutter speed and aperture).

The other thing to remember is that direct flash is a small light source = hard light and indirect flash will be a large light source = soft light,

[Wavelength]

A great story...... really liked the images

[IzzieK]

All very nicely shot and processed...I thought the first one was really a person posing...can't tell until I saw the rest of them...