Satos and Pulso L at Pride Bangkok 2023
In the current month (June 2023) we were on the road in Thailand with the new Satos power packs and some Pulso L lamp heads, taking advantage of Pride Bangkok taking place at the same time to spontaneously test the new units under tropical conditions.
For the first series we installed ourselves on a pedestrian overpass and used a large street between shopping centers as a background. The temperatures of 36°C were high enough, even in the shade, to call the shoot a heat test at the same time. The extremely high humidity towards the end of the rainy season increased the perceived temperature to 41°C and was therefore a real test of endurance for the team.
The daylight was very bright (we started taking pictures at 14:00). I wanted to underexpose the ambient light by a good f-stop and also shoot with the aperture wide open - both to clearly separate the models from the background. So I worked with aperture 3.5 and shutter speeds around 1/1000s. The HSS function of the Satos (in combination with an RFS 2.2 radio shutter release) allowed the use of flash even at these fast shutter speeds and exposed the models in the shadows very evenly.
Towards the end of the shoot, we ventured into the hustle and bustle of the parade. Satos, Pulso L, photographer and assistant were now also in the sun. We were no longer shooting in HSS mode but in standard mode with a shutter speed of 1/200s. I varied the working aperture between 4.0 and 8.0 to compensate for the different distances between light and object.
After more than 4 hours of photography, around 190 exposures (at high power, but without modelling light), the battery charge was still at 73%.
The Satos was fully convincing even in these tough conditions. The fast flash recharge times from the batteries (and at high light output!) were essential for this fast, dynamic and sometimes chaotic shoot.
