This is a great example of what makes a photo of the week- the trick is a simple feeble grind on a small ledge but the way it’s shot makes it much more spectacular. The first thing I noticed was the composition- the rule-of-thirds is clearly adhered to and the way the sunlight is dividing the building almost makes a frame within a frame for the rider to be placed in. The subtle blue reflections in the windows really work with the red brick (also working with the rider’s outfit) and the even more subtle greens add a nice accent. The next thing I noticed was the strong rimlight (of course then I noticed the lightstand peeking out from under the rider’s left foot, but hey- that’s just me). That light pops him out amazingly from the dark brick background, in which he’s placed perfectly. The ratio of lighting (between fill and rim) is impeccable.
“The snow had just started melting here in Ontario, So me and some friends had been out riding most of the week testing some of my new flash equipment. It was mid day, the skatepark still had about a foot of snow so we went to find some street spots. This is a pretty well known ledge in Barrie’s downtown but it’s in an alley and on a fairly steep hill, so theres not a lot of footage or stills from the spot. Once we got to the spot I took a look around and picked my angle, I was feeling the half shade, half sun on the wall behind the ledge so I decided to shoot up the hill. Once I got my flashes setup, (yongnuo 500ex on 622c receivers) One behind facing toward the camera and one just right of Jordan on the ground just out of frame, Jordan did a few smiths that were cool but just weren’t working for the angle. As we were looking at the pictures a car came up behind us and I surely thought we were going to get kicked out, The man just rolled down his window and said “Oh sorry if I saw your flashes I would have gone the other way.” then happily carried on with his day. Which was a nice change from our usual meetings on private property, maybe it was the spring in the air. So I set my flash back up and Jordan and Landon started hitting the ledge again. I asked Jordan if he could try a feeble and it seemed to work good for the angle but my timing was a little off. It took a few tries to get the flash directly behind jordan as it kept being right between his legs, and we all know how shitty that looks. I moved my flash behind him a little bit to the right and he tried it again, and this was the outcome.
Rider – Jordan Gervais
Picture – Shot at ISO 100 1/500th f2.8 on a Canon 60D with a 50mm and Yongnuo flash setup.”
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