5 minute read

Lights, Bikes, Action!

Aaron Anderson used FUJIFILM GFX100, lasers and strobes to make these amazing portraits of cyclist and trainer Noah Collins. Here’s how…

“During the pandemic, we were all looking for ways to stay creative and do something different,” says photographer Aaron Anderson. “While I was on Instagram one day, I noticed a friend using a studio which had all these crazy lights and lasers.” That space, Eddy Sound in Colorado Springs, usually manages huge shows and stage productions, but the lockdown put all that on hold. Then, the company had a great idea. Why not turn its warehouse into a studio, allowing creatives to use some of its amazing gear in their work?

Inspired to try it out, Aaron needed a subject. “I’d been talking with athlete and coach Noah Collins, founder and CEO of endurance coaching company RyseOn,” he says. “We’d been planning some photos together for over a year, without ever quite finding the right vibe. We didn’t want to do just another ‘cyclist in the studio’ look, but when the possibility of combining Noah and his bike with these laser effects came along, we were both really excited.

“The thing is,” Aaron cautions, “most photographers are freaked out by the prospect of working with lasers. I’m no different – and with good reason. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you can easily fry your sensor.” Fortunately, Eddy Sound is certified in using this equipment, and ‘safe zones’ are created during these projects, where lasers won’t cross the camera and potentially damage it. “I certainly don’t recommend anything like this if you’re unfamiliar with lasers,” Aaron advises. “And you should always have someone on set who’s been trained in their use, as well as keeping the lens cap on your camera, or pointing it at the floor when setting up. That way, you don’t accidentally walk through a laser on your way to the safe zone.

“But enough of the scary-sounding safety stuff,” he laughs. “Our next challenge was to get the lasers and strobe lighting balanced, so they showed up together in an image. Step one is to add haze – and I mean lots. With lasers, you really need to have something in the air, otherwise all you see is where they strike a solid object.” The trick, according to Aaron, is knowing the right amount of haze and where to place your lights. “It can be complicated. If you have plenty of haze, like we did, you can’t really position lights from the front. All that does is light up the haze and obscure the subject.” Instead, Aaron positioned lights above, and beside, Noah and his bike for most of the shoot, so they came through to the camera perfectly.

Cyclist posing on bike in front of blue LED rig

“The next part was the trickiest – and it involved making sure the lasers weren’t overpowered by the strobes,” he says. First, setting the lasers’ color to complement the design of Noah’s jersey and shorts. Aaron then added gels to the strobes, so they would be similar to the lasers. “Second, was figuring out that the lasers showed up best around 1/80 sec and ISO 320-640,” Aaron explains. “One of the closest things I can liken it to is photographing fire, which typically looks best between 1/30 and 1/125 sec, and adding strobes to match that. At those slower shutter speeds, a huge advantage I had was the FUJINON GF23mmF4 R LM WR lens, which makes it easier to avoid camera shake. At longer focal lengths, you’re likely to see it a lot more. We then had to bring the power of the strobes right down,” Aaron continues, “setting them to somewhere between 0.1 and 0.5 output. What’s great about that is not only are you getting subtle light that feels like it could be from the lasers themselves, but flash duration is extremely short at that power level, helping with any motion blur from slower shutter speeds.

“When you take all of that careful setup and couple it with GFX100, you get the images you see here,” says Aaron. “Ever since I started using this camera, it’s pushed me to try different things. Its ability to capture color is way beyond anything I’ve seen.”

Cyclist leaning over handlebars in front of orange LED wall

Also helping Aaron was GFX100’s incredible dynamic range. “I tend to underexpose by about a half stop, then bring it back in post, so I know I have the details,” he says. “I also feel comfortable pushing the ISO on this camera more than I ever have before. We were only shooting between 320 and 640 ISO on this project, but it looks like ISO 100 on other systems. I’ve always believed that your tools are only as good as their ability to help you create the image you see in your head – and GFX100 not only helps me do that, it actually pushes me to think bigger and crazier.

“In fact,” he continues, “making images like these is the reason I got into photography in the first place. I was enthralled by pictures that could stop people in their tracks, or show them something they’d never seen before. Starting out, I just wanted to make cool stuff like that, but it took me years of experimenting – and really bad pictures – to get where I am today. That always reminds me of an idea from the public radio personality, Ira Glass, which he calls ‘the gap’. He says that when creatives start out, they have great taste, but what they make doesn’t always reflect that. But, as long as you realize those deficiencies and accept that you need to work hard, you’ll get to where you want to be. I am definitely a testament to that!”

Part of that process, Aaron says, is finding projects that inspire you, as well as cameras and lenses to make those ideas a reality. “That’s what led me to work with athletes, especially those competing at Olympic level. What many people don’t realize is that a lot of world-class athletes train right here in Colorado Springs, so you could be sitting in a coffee shop next to one of these amazing people and not know.” He continues: “Just like them, I was trying to grow and push myself through personal projects, and it was only when I married this idea of combining visual impact with telling really cool stories, that I really started to find that growth.

“It’s important to say this, because I know there are many out there who think we somehow magically become good at something – like you’ve either got it or you haven’t – but that’s just not true. It takes years of work, and typically the first few are the hardest, before you really start to see the fruit. Don’t give up, and dream big, it’s gonna be worth it!”

To learn more about Aaron Anderson and his photography, visit andersonvisuals.com

Cyclist in gold shoes sat on bike in front of bright, blue lights

FUJIFILM GFX100 and FUJINON GF23mmF4 R LM WR are available now at your nearest FUJIFILM Authorized Dealer. Learn more and read the full specifications here.


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