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We are, slowly but surely, reaching the end of the year. I began to see the signs announcing winter a few weeks back when I planned a few early shots in Bordeaux. Warming up at 6 am wasn't an easy task for the three ladies who worked with me two mornings in a row. Three performers, three pole artists... But I'll get back to this particular session later. I was just happy to make the trip to Bordeaux to shoot pole dancers because I don't have that many occasions to do so. Pole dancing is a demanding, complex sport and an artistic discipline. Strength, endurance, flexibility, grace amongst a bunch of other qualities are necessary to make it a professional performer. Some of the best complement their training with contemporary dance classes, some even had classical training beforehand. They borrow skills from plenty of other disciplines and train like athletes. We are far from that stereotyped strip club image that most people have in mind when it comes to pole dancing. I didn't know much about pole and had to get as much information as I could back then to know a little more about it. In 2014, I finally decided to take the step and set up my first Pole dance photoshoot with an artist in Le Havre (France). Penny - April 2014 - Le Havre (France) The pole itself is an important element (obviously) and, at first, I had trouble framing and composing my shots with that “bar”. But I quickly got used to it and we quickly started having fun and playing with it as well as the environment. I truly loved that shoot. Even though looking back at these shots, there is a lot I would have done differently today, it is nice to see how my photography has evolved. It took months for me to work with another pole artist. Unfortunately for me, this time we didn't have a portable pole with us so we had to improvise on spot. Nothing was planned that day. We had to pick up the artist at the train station, had a quick bite, and then headed downtown. For this 2nd step in the pole world (and ironically this time without a pole) I had the privilege to work with Marlo Fisken. This is when I realized how skilled a pole dancer could be. You can see how rich her background is in each picture. This shoot left me wanting more. I know what she is capable of and I still feel today that we could have done a lot more. Unfortunately, we never had the chance to meet again... For my 3rd step in the pole world, I met Fitness bikini artist and performer Sammy Lee. A unique physique and a unique style. We had a bit more time on our hands so we worked with and without the pole. Sun was hitting hard that day so I brought with me a Broncolor Move and a Para 88 just in case. It sure came in handy for a few shots when I had to balance out the light or fight against the sun. We tried a few things, playing with unusual angles. This one was a lot of fun ! I couldn't talk about my pole dance shoots without mentioning Anastasia Skukhtorova. For those who follow me, I had the opportunity recently to work inside the National & University Library in Strasbourg . A few shots had to be done on the roof, and although we didn't get to bring a pole up there, we managed to create some interesting pictures. You can see the entire shoot in video and the resulting pictures in my previous article . CLICK HERE FOR PART 2 !

This is part Part 2, head to part 1 before continuing . I'm now kind of addicted ! Artist & performer Yvonne Smink contacted me a few months back and told me that she loved my work. Due to conflicting schedules, it was impossible for us to meet until recently. We managed to set up something in the city of Bordeaux (France). An outdoor shoot with not only Yvonne, but with also Eefje Van Ingen, and Allegra Bird ! The city of Bordeaux and the tourist office were kind enough to grant me access to the Jardin Public and the ruins of the Palais Galien. We scheduled our shoots at 6 am and had two mornings to make epic pictures... Yvonne Smink The main difficulty, when shooting outdoors... The fluctuating weather! You have to get used to the constant change of light quality, adapt for each shot, and always be aware of any changes. I alternated between shots taken in full shade and sun, and this time, no strobes to help me out... I was solo, alone with my camera! Going for that natural contrasted look sometimes can give good results. The light was hard, which gave hard shadows, but somehow it worked on a few shots that day. Allegra Bird Working with pole dancers is an amazing experience. You can get a wide variety of shots with one artist. I wish I could shoot more pole performers, but I guess this is due to the fact that I never clearly expressed my will to work with them before. I officially integrated these dancers into the “InMotion” series. I will get the word out now and hope to create more with pole artists next year! Know any performers around you? Spread the word! Huge thanks to the people from the tourist office and of course the city of Bordeaux for letting us shoot there.

The Nightmare! It is one of the things I love... and hate! Backgrounds are an important part of my photography. Having the manhattan bridge as a backdrop, playing with the lines of a staircase or a building, and seeking symmetry is, amongst other elements, a common thing in my photography. This is why I always lookout for new places for my shoots, trying not to use the same location twice and seek unusual ones or find a way to break the dullness of a commonplace. Martina Heimann - New York Nhật-Nam Lê - Strasbourg Shakirudeen Adewale Alade - London Finding the place is a thing, shooting there is another. For outdoor locations, the task is fairly simple, shooting indoors is another story. Most of the time you will need a permit to access the location. The other bad news is that some of these places are available for photographers... but you have to rent them. You can somehow negotiate according to the type of work you will do there but most of the time, rates are already well-defined for a variety of situations, and they're not cheap. I'm not a studio guy, I usually shoot outside because of the pleasure of constantly changing the environment I work in. So I tend to have the same approach when I shoot inside. One solution to make an indoor shoot on a budget for most of us is to do it illegally. Jump off fences, avoid security or cops, get in with minimal gear and shoot as fast as you can. Personally, I cannot get anything done properly in these conditions. Will a brand finance and follow you in these conditions? I doubt... And don't even think trying to hide this from them. I prefer the official way. If I cannot get my permits, It's simply not a place for me... at least for now. So I prefer to move on. I've worked in other countries and It's funny to see how it can work out fast in some of them, and be very slow in others! In Stuttgart, I got access to the Stadtbibliothek the week I arrived in town. In Strasbourg, it took almost a year to set up the photoshoot inside the National and university library , and in Montreal I got permits to shoot inside the world trade center within 2 weeks. Nicole Smith - Centre du commerce mondial (Montréal) You often got to do with what they can offer you. I finally had access to the Institut du monde Arabe (IMA) in Paris, a place I wanted to work in for months. When I finally got feedback, I had restricted access to the building. I was a bit disappointed at first but I quickly changed my mood when I knew I was going to work with 2 incredible artists there. After almost 2 years of working on the series “InMotion” I can approximately say that I got rejected 50% of the time. And for the ones who accepted to meet me or simply answered my emails, half of them proposed me crazy renting rates. It's time-consuming, but it is a very important element of my photography. Dozens of emails, and phone calls, to finally meet the people in charge, visit the location and then match everybody's planning to settle a proper time slot for the shoot. But I guess I can cope with the low rate of success because it's worth it. Of course, your chance of having access to your dream place will be greater if you shoot “Time for print” (TFP) and agree to not use the pictures commercially. But hey, we're talking business here. You cannot make a living out of TFP shoots. Maybe one day I will be famous enough to make international brands finance all my shoots and when this day will come the obtention of adequate authorization will only be a matter of cash. Until this day comes, here are a few pictures of the IMA session, featuring Lyria Van Moer and Valentine Nata Ramos . I hope I will get back there someday with a “Carte blanche”.

A lot of people categorized me as a dance photographer. I can't blame them because I still work regularly with dancers and more than 70% of my work has been dedicated to them. From classical ballet to hip hop, I still love creating and imagining new scenes with dancers. But at the beginning of this year, I was craving for more and didn't want to be only considered as a dance photographer. So I started to diversify my activity and my work started to slowly open itself to new other projects. Crossfitters have crossed my way earlier this year, fitness competitors , and pole dancers again recently . But this year's biggest discovery for me was the circus world. The possibilities of creation with these artists are infinite! I loved the experience so much that I even started a new gallery on my Facebook page. Let's go back in time together and see how it all started. Nhật-Nam Lê and Paul Herzfeld - Pont St Martin à Strasbourg Alba Faivre is a Chinese pole artist and is the first circus performer who accepted to follow me on this crazy adventure. I needed a unique view of the city. A friend had a huge balcony and I thought it would be great to do something up there. The hardest part was to convince my friend to let us install a 14 feet Chinese pole for our shoot. After a short negotiation, she kindly accepted, and we were up to her building at 5 am under 5° a few weeks later to make our pictures. Alba Faivre - Strasbourg, February 2015 Nhật-Nam Lê is an alien, trust me... The 1st picture was an idea that I had in mind for weeks and I thought that nobody would be up for it. Nhât is also a Chinese pole specialist and he did not hesitate a second for this one. I often have to hold him back when we work together. The same goes for picture number 2! Although I stated that the best solution was to get the proper authorizations for a shoot in a previous blog post, since we were outside and only making a few shots, I preferred playing hide and seek with the police. For the last 2, I still don't know which one I prefer. We shot the night version first and, a few weeks later, I asked Nhât to make another version during the day... Which one do you prefer? Nhật-Nam Lê - Strasbourg March 2015 I had the chance to meet Edouard Doye and Virginia Danh for an improvised photo session around town. No pressure, just having fun, trying stuff in the wild. Virginia Danh and Edouard Doye - Strasbourg, April 2015 Montreal has a strong circus community and amazing artists. I couldn't miss the chance to meet a few of them when I was there. Thanks to Edouard Doye, I met this beautiful Duo : Charlotte O'sullivan & Nicolas Jelmoni - Charlotte's apartment in Montréal, June 2015 Nicolas gave me my first experience with the Cyr Wheel, and I must admit that it wasn't easy : And before I left Montreal, thanks to Nicolas and Charlotte, we set up a quick session with the beautiful contortionist Nicole. Nicole Winter - Centre du commerce mondial Montréal, June 2015 Amongst all my crazy ideas, one of them was simple... Set up that massive 14-feet Chinese pole inside the bibliothèque nationale universitaire de Strasbourg (BNU) . It started as a joke, became a fantasy, and finally became a reality. I dedicated a full blog post to this project : This is only the beginning! My last experience with circus performers was with Fabian. We missed each other in Montreal and got the chance to finally meet in Strasbourg during a short afternoon. Fabian Galouÿe - Strasbourg, August 2015 A lot of projects are on hold right now, I hope that I will be able to realize them in 2016. I just can't wait! A huge thanks to all these amazing artists that have worked with me so far... Thanks for trusting me, thanks for making the pictures beautiful!

London was my best trip this year, but also one of my worst experiences. Why? Simply because this trip happened when I started having back pains due to a spinal disc hernia pressing on one of my lumbar nerve roots. This resulted in a Sciatica that literally paralyzed me during half of my stay there. Imagine yourself lying on the floor for 3 days, looking at the ceiling unable to move. Having my back flat on the floor and my legs slightly bent was the only position that made me less suffer. I took painkillers and tried to force stretching every morning. It helped me a little because, after 2 hours of warm-up, I was capable of getting up and walking! I just could not stay imprisoned in my room, I had a few shoots planned and unfortunately, I had to cancel half of them. Despite the pain, with my body warmed up, my pain killers, and a bit of adrenaline, I was able with my partner Marlène to maintain 3 of the photoshoots that I will forever remember. We first met Adrianna Lizardi a young dancer from the National English Ballet. Good prep is always a plus for a shoot, but unfortunately here we had to improvise in a city that I do not know. We wasted a bit of time looking for places that suited us, but pulled out a few interesting shots: Adriana Lizardi I basically worked with the only light available... No flash excepted on the last picture where I needed a little help from my Canon Speedlite. Our 2nd shoot was with dancer, Contortionist Shakirudeen. He was one of the reasons I really wanted to make this trip. Just watching him warming up is entertaining. My and my ruined back were quite impressed by his performance. Shakirudeen aka Bonetics For this picture, I will make the story short... Simply because this picture is a snap of Shakirudeen warming up. We didn't have the time to do anything more because we got kicked out by a security guard. To my knowledge, the queen's walk is a public space. Everybody was taking pictures around us. I was only equipped with a DSLR and Marlène had, in her hands, a small tripod and my Canon Speedlite. Some of the people around us even had better equipment. But I guess this guy was having a bad day, and without really explaining to us why, he told us to stop shooting and walk away. After a few minutes of arguing, we decided to leave. Our 3rd and last shoot were divided into 2 parts. One happened downtown and the other outside London. For the first part that happened downtown, it was the first time I ended a shoot with a few pints in a Pub. I and Marlène had the chance to meet 2 lovely souls, dancer Bridgett Zehr and her husband Jack. The 2nd part was probably one of my favorite photoshoots of this year. The place is unbelievable and despite the awful light we created really interesting scenes together. This trip ended how it was supposed to... Back in France, went to the hospital, had 2 Lumbar Epidural Steroid Injections, and was unable to work for 3 weeks. I'm feeling a bit better today, I started to work again and I'm now trying to catch up on all the work that wasn't done during a month. Hope I will be able to come back to London in better condition. Bridgett Zehr

It has been almost 2 years now that the "InMotion" series was launched... So many things have changed in so little time, I can't wait to see where all this is going to lead me in the months coming. Although I started working with a wider variety of artists recently, I still come back towards dancers after a while. I explored the circus realm this year, had my first experience with crossfitters and fitness athletes, and also met a few pole dance performers on my way. Although I loved trying new things and exploring new grounds, I always returned to dancers and, particularly, to ballet photography. This wasn't part of a plan. From the very beginning of this project, I met more ballerinas than any other type of dancer. I never wanted to be categorized as a ballet photographer and still don't. Things unfolded naturally and I didn't want to go against it. So, I followed this path that led me to where I am today. Fascinated by the commitment and hard work of these athletes (yes I used the word athlete) I quickly became addicted to playing with forms and lines in an attempt to create, with these artists, beautiful and striking images. I was influenced by a few dance photographers and, if I had to name three of them, I would choose with no hesitation Dane Shitagi, Lois Greenfield, and Luis Pons. If you know these photographers you will see how their respective styles differ. I have a personal vision of dance, I've been building my style for almost 2 years now. I never really took the time to look back on my work this year, and since Ballet represents a big chunk of my work, I decided to share a top ten of my ballerina pictures so far. So how am I going to proceed with this list? Nothing complicated. I'm going to simply take into account your likes on Facebook and Instagram. So, basically, these should be the pictures you favored to this day. For those of you who just discovered my pictures, you might see some photos for the first time. For the others, it will be a nice way, to sum up, 2 years of work with ballet dancers. In addition to this list, I will share a few unpublished pictures from these sessions. I will also share my personal list because it happens that we do not share the same point of view. 1/ Bridgett Zehr - London (UK 2015) The most popular ballerina pic so far on my Facebook! You should definitely check out the blog post dedicated to my trip to London with the full gallery of our 2 part photoshoot. As a bonus, here are 2 unpublished pictures. 2/ Miriam Kacerova & Roman Novitzky - Stuttgart (Germany 2015) I'm still struggling these days trying to find dancers who would like to pursue this duet series. Miriam Kacerova is one of the dancers with whom I loved to work with. When I knew that I was going back to Stuttgart for a weekend, I just couldn't go there without meeting her again. Roman Joined us this time and we shot together with one of the most popular pictures that I've shared on Instagram and Facebook. We made several photos that morning, here are 3 exclusive ones only available on my website. 3/ Juliet Doherty - New York (USA 2014) Juliet Doherty (New York) – It is just impossible for me not to talk about the photoshoot I made with Juliet. I'm not surprised to see her in the top 3. It felt easy from beginning to end, she was professional and efficient. I didn't have to say much, she understood me right away. And the result is just fantastic. I like every single picture that we made together, and If I have the opportunity, I would definitely shoot with her again. These pictures were all shared on Instagram and Facebook but never on my website: 4/ Adriana Lizardi - London (UK 2015) I met great artists in London and undoubtedly, Adriana was one of them! She's also part of the blog post that I made a few weeks ago alongside Bridgett Zehr. Be sure to check this out! (THE LONDON EXPERIENCE) 5/ Juliet Doherty - New York (US 2015) I said everything about Juliet! The fact that she has 2 pictures in the top 5 says it all! Click here Continue to part II : Ballet photography, your best so far (part II)

Welcome to part II! If you haven't read part I please do : Ballet Photography, your best so far (Part I). And we are continuing with the 2nd part of your top 10... 6/ Miriam Kacerova - Stuttgart (Germany 2015) Miriam is in the top 5 in a duet photo with Roman. I did a few solo shots during that same morning and you guys seemed to like the only one I shared. 7/ Lyria Van Moer down - Institut du monde arabe à Paris (France 2015) I waited a few weeks to be granted access to the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris. Although we had limited access, we gave our best during this full day of the shoot. Yes, a full day because I didn't only shoot Lyria there but Bgirl Valentine also joined me that day. The result is 2 pictures that end up in the Top Ten. You can check out the full galleries here: ??? 8/ Lyria Van Moer - Institut du monde arabe à Paris (France 2015) 9/ Bridgett Zehr - London (Uk 2015) If you read part 1, you know that she is your favorite ballerina pic so far. I wrote a full blog post on my trip to London a few weeks ago. You will find the full gallery there: The london exepreience. Exclusively for my blog here is a shot I never shared anywhere else from the same session : 10/ Alizée Sicre - Parc de Bercy à Paris (France 2014) We've reached the end of our list! I'm happy that Alizée made it in your top ten as it is also one of my favorite pictures. It's been a year now, I went to Paris a few times this year but I never got to meet her on another project. Maybe in 2016? As I only shared her pictures on social media here are the most popular ones that we did together : So what do you think? What are your favorites? If you follow me on Facebook and Instagram, do you think there are other pictures that should have made the list? I love this top ten, still thankful and honored to have worked with these amazing artists. Check out the last part where I share pictures that I love but didn't make this top ten list! Find out my personal selection in the final part.

If you haven't read part I and part II please do so ! This time, it's personal. I've chosen the following pictures for different reasons. Some of them hold a special place in my work. A few happened abroad in a city that I love: San Francisco. I rarely shoot men so I had to talk about the 2 that worked with me so far. I also wanted to talk about the dancers with whom it worked right away and that I would love to work with again. Wonderful memories made possible with "InMotion", a sweet look over my shoulder on my past work. 1/ Rochelle Rankin San Francisco (USA 2014) A part of my job that I love the most and that I would like to do more often... Travel! I love this city, the food, the people, the vibe... My English isn't as fluent as it used to be and Rochelle talks very fast... ha, ha! Communication was easy though as we barely had to speak. She knew right away what I was looking for. It was hard to choose one in particular from this series. They all have something special, but here is my personal top 3 (+1): 2/ Pascal Molat in San francisco (USA 2014) Principal at the San Francisco Ballet, I never thought that such a dancer would ever accept to pose in front of my camera. We missed each other when the company was in Paris, and when I knew that I was going to San Francisco, I just thought that I might give a call. I'm so happy that we could finally make it! Pascal showed us a few spots that he liked. It was our first time in Sf for me and Marlène so it was nice to have him showing us around. I love these pictures can't believe a year has passed already. 3/ Kevin Yee Chan inSan Francisco (USA 2014) Another dancer that I missed, at the time he was part of the Opera National du Rhin in Strasbourg. When I knew that he was in San Francisco during my stay there, I had to meet him somehow. Very few men have asked to work with me and, when I still did collaborations, none of them were thrilled about making pictures. For those who wonder, shooting exclusively women is not a choice. 4/ Sarah Hochster in Strasbourg (France 2015) Working with Sarah is always special. We met only twice, and I wish we had more opportunities to work together. It just worked... The only problem is that we're both perfectionists, and our shoots could go on forever trying to fix the tiniest details! I chose a few of my favorite shots and an unpublished picture from one of our shoots. You can find our past work together in previous posts here: A year in review , and here: Closer to the edge (full galleries and behind-the-scenes videos). The following pictures are my personal favorites and as a gift a never-shared before picture from our first session. 5/ Vanesa in Montréal (Canada 2015) Vanesa is just incredible! One of the shoots that I anticipated the most before my trip to Canada. Communication was easy, she's professional and is such a beautiful dancer. I love it when things unfold smoothly when everything makes sense and works right away. This is what I felt when working with her. Experience and maturity matter on a shoot. I wish all my sessions were as easy. Down below is a never-shared before picture... A behind-the-scenes of our work together is available here: First shoot in Montréal . I really hope that we will have the chance to meet again. Underneath are unpublished pictures of this photoshoot. So this is it! What are your thoughts? I will probably continue to work with ballet dancers in the future but I might do it less often. I have this feeling recently that I have to diversify my work to keep the spark alive. I'm scared to get stuck in a creative slump in my photography, that's why I'm looking out for new challenges and new projects. I have a few ideas in mind that I would like to materialize, but they will wait until next year... Don't go too far!

My first steps into the Ring ! A missed rendezvous a few months ago was finally concretized last week. Our schedules didn't match until recently. 2 hours head to head with international Fighter Steeve Valente K1, Muaythai, Kickboxing and Full contact World Champion... and he's from Strasbourg! As an action photographer, this was a work I could not refuse. We met in his gym located outside Strasbourg in a neighborhood named l'Elsau. I had to figure out a way to minimize the environment and get inside the action. For this job, I brought a kit lent for 2 weeks by Elinchrom with me. An ELB400 with a 70cm deep octa a quadra hs and the new Skyport hs. Lightweight, it was perfect for me as I had to work quickly. Used to work with one light and with Speedlites in Hypersync, this kit was perfect! It took me no time to get used to it. The idea was to blackout all the surrounding light and focus on the fighter. Working in Hypersync allows me to go past the 1/250th of a second normal limitation that we have with regular strobes. This gave me more freedom artistically. It allowed me to play with shutter speed, ISO, and depth of field. We were shooting inside and, although the idea was to have a dark background, I couldn't go too high with my shutter speed. At the same time, I had to be at least above 1/800th of a second to freeze Steeve's movement. After a proper warm-up for our athlete and a short discussion on what we would do together, we were ready to enter the ring and make epic shots. Picture N°1 My assistant placed the strobe slightly above their head. I wanted to have that dramatic "split" look on Steeve's face. Gear : 5D mark III / 24-70mm mark II ISO 400 1/1600th F3.5 ELB 400 + Quadra hs + Skyport hs + Rotalux deep octa 70cm It's been a while since I haven't shared diagrams of my lighting setup. For those of you who are on a budget, and need professional-looking shots with only one light, here is how I did the 2 of them. Picture N°2 At first, I wanted the light to face Steeve, but I needed some light on the side. By bringing back the light at a 45-degree angle, I was able to light a part of his left leg in the back and keep desired shadows. Gear : 5D mark III / 24-70mm mark II ISO 400 1/1600th F3.5 ELB 400 + Quadra hs + Skyport hs + Rotalux deep octa 70cm To make these images, the setup will have lasted less than 2 hours. Professional and efficient, Steeve made it easy and proposed a lot of ideas along the way. For a first step into the ring, I'm quite happy with the results. I'm looking forward to shooting more fighters in a near future.

Dans le Journal l’Alsace ! Ici la version web sur le site de L’Alsace.fr :  Haze Kware, l’œil de la diversité

I do not think that there is a tool that can adapt itself to all and to everything. You have to choose the ones that fit your needs. We do not work the same way, and our visions of photography differ. For me, the most important thing is: « Can I get the job done ? Am I able to achieve what I have in mind with the tools that I have ? ». I'm an action & dance photographer (at least that's how people qualify me when they look at my portfolio). When it comes to working with artificial light, I've always worked with Speedlites. They're simple to use and easy to carry. The only problem is their lack of power and the slow recycling time. I had in my hands more powerful lights, but they're often too heavy and bulkier. A few weeks ago, I had Elinchrom's ELB 400, the brand new Skyport HS and the quadra HS. A kit that, now, has its place amongst other contenders in the hyper sync portable strobes department. No comparison will be made here. We will only focus on this kit. I only had them for 2 weeks. I've used it recently on a boxing photoshoot with fighter Steeve Valente , but I needed to test it further out in the field with the regular work I make. Anna Maria Maas - Place de la République in Strasbourg (France - November 2015) Finding different artists and performers in winter for outdoor shoots and getting authorizations for indoor locations wasn't simple. But we managed to sync our plans and got at least, one hour with each one of them to play with the kit. This will not be a geeky technical review, but just my return of experience on what this kit has to offer for a photographer like me. Virginia Danh - Aubette in Strasbourg (France - November 2015) What was my first impression? First of all, the built quality. I'm going, to be honest, here, It feels a bit too plasticky for me. I want to be reassured. I want it built to last, and not be afraid to break it every time I have it in my hands. It didn't break during these 2 weeks, so the whole thing is sturdier than it looks like, and people around me know that my stuff goes through a lot on my shoots. But I just wonder if this would last through time. The second thing that comes to mind when I hold it is: « Wow, this thing is lightweight and small, and my back will sure be thankful for that ». Unlike other well-known brand, head and unit are separated. Connected by a cord, you can use the ELB400 and its battery as a counterweight on your light stand, avoiding having all the weight on top of your light stand. Set up is quick and easy and, with the new Skyport HS, you can control and see everything you do on all the strobes connected to your device! No more traveling back and forth from your shooting point and strobe, you can see and manage everything from a distance on the Skyport's screen, and that's a huge plus. I wanted to try multiple consecutive shots at a high output power to see how it performs. The intensity and reaction diminished progressively and this was not a surprise, but it also dramatically changed the color temperature after 5 to 6 shots. I rarely do this, but for those of you who do and need to shoot in burst mode, you might consider this. I didn't have any problems with my muay thaï shoot , remote and unit behaved perfectly. But misfires can happen if your ELB400 is not visible. I kept it under 50 meters from me, but sometimes the unit was hidden by a wall because I didn't want it in my shot. This caused a loss of signal, and I had to rescan for my ELB400 to make it work again. Fortunately, it happened only on a few shots because I still haven't found a strobe capable of working through walls. In this picture, the Rotalux deep 70 and ELB400 are hidden behind the 2nd wall. Fanny George - Barrage Vauban in Strasbourg (November 2015 - France) So why is this kit so appealing for photographers like me? Is it just the fact that I can carry it everywhere? What is all the fuss about? I said it earlier, I often use Speedlites. If you do too and need more power, I believe that this kit is for you. With bigger lights, we used to be stuck at around 1/250th of a second. Our camera was unable to sync with the flash above this shutter speed. If you went higher, it would cause unwanted black bands on your picture. ( Understanding Hypersync ) With the Skyport Hs, Quadra Hs, and ELB 400 you can go up to 1/ 8000th! This opens a new world of possibilities where you can play with aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. Robin Ohl - Aubette in Strasbourg (November 2015 - France) Shot at 1/1000th F2.8 ISO 800 I used a 70 – 200mm on this picture at 3.2. I wanted to have that dark contrasted environment. With that aperture, I had to avoid having too much light coming in so I raised my shutter speed at 1/500 : Valentin & Monica - Pavillon Joséphine (November 2015 - France) Another use of this is to keep the details of a nice cloudy blue sky. To have a correct exposure on Fanny and to keep the sky like it is on this picture. The use of a strobe for such a result is inevitable : Fanny George - Barrage Vauban in Strasbourg (November 2015 - France) Shot at 1/1000 F2.8 ISO200 The Hypersync was for a long time restricted to Speedlites, and with the lack of power, you had only one solution: use multiple Speedlites. But as my goal is to bring the minimum gear with me, this solution does not make any sense. In almost all the pictures of this article, I worked alone without any assistance. I had a sciatica a few months back, and with a heavier kit, it would have been impossible for me to work alone. Jean Baptiste Le Jay - Petite France à Strasbourg (Novembre 2015 - France) Shot at 1/1000 F5.6 ISO320 Luckily for us, new tools are arriving regularly to make our work easier. Apart from the "shooting through walls" problem that I mentioned in the first part, and if your work doesn't depend on being stuck in burst mode, this kit is a killer weapon. I would have loved to work with it a bit longer though to see how it behaves in the long run. According to others reviews on the web, this kit works flawlessly. If I have the opportunity to work with it again, I will be glad to share a 2nd opinion. Last but not least, let's also mention that it is one of the most affordable pieces of gear on the market. This is something important... If we can deliver quality results without breaking the bank, it's another huge plus! For the quality of the light, I will let you judge, here are all the pictures that I made with the Elinchrom kit, all in one gallery : So folks, It all depends on your work. Personally, it would perfectly suit my needs. I'm a one-man crew on a lot of my photoshoots, and I walk a lot. So I have to pack light to work quickly and efficiently and also to preserve my back. Hypersync is a must-have for me, so this combo looks like a winner. I would definitely seek feedback from travel and other action photographers like me in the long run with this. If you decide to own this kit, I can tell you that it won't be a bad decision. I would like to thank the event department of my beloved city, Strasbourg, and M. Deputy Mayor Mathieu Cahn for their help. Thanks to Elinchrom for letting me use their gear and post an unbiased review. Thanks to Kelvin Pro for sending me everything last minute, you guys rock! I would also like to thank the incredible performers that joined me on this one: Fanny George, Virginia Dahn, Cécile Adamow, Anna Maria Mars, Monica Barbotte & Valentin, Robin Ohl, Jean Baptiste Le Jay, and Steeve Valente.

A few hours before the countdown, I wanted to share a few more pictures made this year ! It is obvious that I do not put all my work on the web. But to finish off this fantastic year I wanted to share a few of the ones that I personally like but didn't make it to social media. Wishing you all the best for this new year to come! Happy New Year!