GENNEXT Broncolor TAKING THE NEXT STEP by Anita Anti
I first heard about broncolor when I was in the Ukraine. In my home city there's a high end photo studio which uses some of its equipment. broncolor was always considered as a highly professional light amazing quality and great performance. Every young photographer dreamt about owning one.
I found out about Gen NEXT contest this winter accidentally. While browsing the internet and searching for photography contests I found broncolor’s Gen NEXT call for submissions. I was unsure at first whether I should enter it or not because I usually don’t use that much of artificial light in my work. But applying was free of charge and after some hesitation I eventually sent 3 photographs on the LAST day. After a month or so I received a phone call from Joel Mayer, the broncolor representative.
I'm a natural light shooter mostly. I love it's diffused character, mood, how it lights everything around. I like to play with finding good spots and using a reflector. Of course there are times when the natural light is not enough. Before I received my broncolor equipment I used simple speedlight flashes, a monopod and a white umbrella. It’s a pretty cheap and easy to handle kit. It is good for beginners, narrow and close spaces, when you need to move around with your light source a lot or you if you need something quick to arrange and assemble. It requires an assistant to hold the monopod though.
But I’ve come to the point in my photographic career when I wanted something more. I wanted to experiment with light, make it more cinematic and I needed more professional equipment for big projects and photoshoots.
When I was choosing the broncolor equipment for myself the priority was the ability to work on location, because I almost don’t shoot in studio. Something light and mobile, ideally with continuous light. That is when I realized there’s nothing more perfect for me than the broncolor Move 1200 battery powerpack with two MobiLed flash heads.
The first thing I wanted to do when I got my new equipment was to test it. I was so excited that I unpacked it and did some shots of myself right away. Well I could have taken pictures of my husband but he was too shy to pose. And I'm not that bad of a model after all :)
I used the Move 1200 pack with one MobiLed flash head, a continuous light adapter and a silver umbrella. The light turned out beautiful.
I've already had a chance to shoot with my Move 1200 kit on location in Crystal Caves which I'm longing to show to you soon. It was such a great experience! The power pack is fantastic. I have no idea what I would have done without it while in the Caves. It’s very light, small and portable, just perfect for a tiny girl like me. The Move 1200 has super quick recycle time and flash durations, the build is solid and stellar. The flash heads are small and omnidirectional which is extremely useful when the flash is high up. I also love the little extra customizations in the menu options like the ability to conserve power by having the pack shut down after a selectable period of time. Everything else in this kit is top notch as well including the RFS transceiver which can control the flash power remotely, the rolling backpack and soft case comes in very handy while on location.
My journey with broncolor lighting has just started but already i feel like i have taken the next step in my career as a photographer. I can't wait to share all the things i'm going to create with their gear on the Gen NEXT blog and hopefully inspire others to "gear up" as well!
