MALCOLM DARE – Behind the Shot

View fullsize

Professional photographer Malcolm Dare recently pushed the Fujifilm GFX 100 large format camera to the max to get a shot of a vintage Porsche. He tells us what went into making this image.

What were the main challenges of this shoot? 

The main challenge was that the Porsche was in a garage surrounded by other cars. It would have been impossible to light the car conventionally as the ceiling was low with no room to hang a bounce, plus there were a lot of things around that would reflect in the car. 

What I wanted to achieve was to light the car beautifully and show the area the car is in, and this needed to be done at night. I lit the car using a paint light technique, which required multiple long exposure which I then composited in post. In total I used about 20 different shots to create this image. The average length of each exposure was 20 seconds.

How did the Fujifilm GFX100 perform?

The camera performed extremely well. I liked this shoot as it put the GFX100 to the test in many ways. It needed to be very stable with minimal movement to help with compositing in post. This is where the fact that it’s mirrorless helped. 

I also shot tethered as I did not want to have to touch the locked-off camera once I started shooting. Being able to control the camera in capture one was a great benefit. The batteries were able to last the duration of the shoot, while the colour and consistency of the images were crucial.

After shooting for the day and night with the camera on a variety of subjects I realised this camera would be able to perform the majority needs that I would require from a camera system.

Were there things that the Fujifilm GFX100 allowed you to do that would not have been possible otherwise?

I think the ease of use and all the information that you are able to capture is what really impressed me. What makes the GFX100 really impressive is you have the quality and workings of a medium format camera with the functionality and ease of use that a 35mm DSLR offers you.

Instagram: @malcolmdare | Facebook: @DarePix | Website: darephoto.co.za