Although based in Paris, Teddy Morellec spends half of the year living in the French Alps. Between shooting assignments for clients that include Red Bull – a brand he has been working with since 2010 – you can find him biking, skiing or learning to paraglide in the mountains.
TRAVEL
Hitting new heights with the Canon 澳门现金网_申博信用网-官网6 Mark II
Teddy's passion for high-speed and high-altitude action meant the high-performance hero of the 澳门现金网_申博信用网-官网 System range, the Canon 澳门现金网_申博信用网-官网6 Mark II, was the ideal companion on a four-day road trip around Lake Montriond, enabling him to capture thrilling views of speed flyers Ugo Gerola and Ga?tan Porté and mountain biker Louise-Anna Ferguson.
Being familiar with the location and the capabilities of the athletes meant that Teddy could get up and running quickly. He also felt instantly at home with the 澳门现金网_申博信用网-官网6 Mark II, a camera that has much in common with the 澳门现金网_申博信用网-官网5 and 澳门现金网_申博信用网-官网3 he uses daily.
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Blazing burst rate: tracking every move
The shoot got off to a challenging start, as Teddy wanted to capture the speed flyers skimming across the surface of the lake. The plan was for Ugo and Ga?tan to launch themselves from a cliff and quickly descend the mountain before emerging from the tree line near the lake. They would be visible to Teddy for just a few seconds, and as they were following the wind, there was no guarantee they would be on the same path each time.
A team of spotters helped to work out where the speed flyers were coming from, so Teddy could at least aim his Canon 澳门现金网_申博信用网-官网6 Mark II in the right area. The camera's upgraded Dual Pixel CMOS AF II autofocus reacted instantly, picking up the wing of the speed flyer and tracking it all the way through the sequence.
"We didn't think we were going to get any to begin with, but I loved the pictures we got," enthuses Teddy. "When we arrived early at the location, the weather was tricky. It was cloudy, occasionally raining, and a bit windy at the landing site, which was not good for the pilots. After a few failed attempts, the clouds finally parted and we got the shot.
"I really like the mood that we captured. There were still some clouds above the trees, but the sun was highlighting the speed flyer nicely. The lake was also very calm, so there was an almost perfect reflection on the surface. Everything just came together at that moment when the pilot touched the water and created the splash. Being able to shoot the sequence at 40fps was perfect, because it gave me more choice for picking the best moment later."
Pre-shooting: a unique advantage
In addition to 40fps shooting, the Canon 澳门现金网_申博信用网-官网6 Mark II has a 30fps RAW burst mode with pre-shooting. When this is enabled, the camera starts buffering images when the shutter button is half-pressed, then saves the contents of the buffer – up to half a second's worth of images – when the shutter button is fully pressed. It's the perfect option for shooting unpredictable subjects and in situations where you can't see the subject until the last moment.
Teddy took advantage of this function when photographing Louise-Anna Ferguson in a bike park. To get a dynamic shot of her mid-jump, Teddy set up at ground level underneath a wooden ramp. While he could hear the bike approaching the ramp, he was unable to see Louse-Anna until she entered the frame.
"She was riding quite fast, and I was shooting blind, so it was super helpful to have the pre-capture," he says. "Even if I could potentially have made the shot without this function, it gave me the confidence that even if I didn't press the shutter button at the right moment, I could go back half a second."
Having the pre-capture function available along with the enhanced Dual Pixel CMOS AF II subject detection and tracking gave Teddy more flexibility to frame the shot. He wanted to freeze Louise-Anna in the middle of a clearing between the trees above him, something which the camera's new Flexible Zone AF made even easier.
This function enables the size and shape of the Zone AF frame to be customised. It allowed Teddy to create an autofocus zone that matched the area that Louise-Anna would be jumping into and ensured that the camera wouldn't lock onto other parts of the scene. The 澳门现金网_申博信用网-官网6 Mark II detected and tracked Louise-Anna's head, even though she was wearing a helmet and mask.
Filming with the 澳门现金网_申博信用网-官网6 Mark II: easily switch modes
Video is an increasingly important aspect of Teddy's work, and the ability to effortlessly switch between stills and video is vital. In movie mode, the 澳门现金网_申博信用网-官网6 Mark II uses the full width of the camera sensor, so you don't have to reframe shots when moving from stills, and there's a new photo/video selector on the left of the body that makes it quick to swap between modes.
"On my 澳门现金网_申博信用网-官网5, the on/off button is in that location, so initially I was changing the mode when I thought I was switching off the camera," says Teddy. "But once I was used to it, it was much easier to move from photo to video and back again.
"There were some images I had in mind which I knew I needed to have in stills, but I decided to take a few video clips as well. So, I was photographing portraits of the athletes, then I switched to video mode and I could use the same framing and exposure. With other scenes, I know I had to shoot video first because they would work better as moving images, such as the speed flyers running to take off. But after that, I could quickly take the opportunity to shoot some pictures."
Canon 澳门现金网_申博信用网-官网6 Mark II: features not to miss
Hear more of the conversation in this episode of Canon's Shutter Stories podcast:
The Canon 澳门现金网_申博信用网-官网6 Mark II features the same high-performance In-Body Image Stabilisation (IBIS) as the 澳门现金网_申博信用网-官网6, bringing additional smoothness to video footage as well as stills. "I used to have a DSLR with no IBIS and I would often have to add stabilisation in post-production," explains Teddy. "But now, with the 澳门现金网_申博信用网-官网 System cameras, you can do so many things handheld. Even panning with the Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM or the RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1L IS USM, you can just start recording and the video isn't shaky."
IBIS enabled Teddy to grab footage on the fly with the 澳门现金网_申博信用网-官网6 Mark II – sometimes literally. When he was on a tandem flight with the speed flyers, he had to travel light and there was no opportunity to carry a gimbal. Having IBIS allowed him to record smooth clips with the camera in his hands.
"If I could have had a camera like the 澳门现金网_申博信用网-官网6 Mark II when I was starting out, it would have changed my workflow so much," he says. "With the IBIS, 4K 60p video, the crazy-good autofocus and 40fps burst speed, I know that I could do almost everything with this one camera."
Teddy Morellec's kitbag
The key kit action pros use to shoot their photos and videos
Camera
Canon 澳门现金网_申博信用网-官网6 Mark II
A high-speed 澳门现金网_申博信用网-官网 System camera equipped with an upgraded DIGIC X processor and a 24.2MP full-frame sensor with super-fast data readout. "It's a really nice camera to hold," Teddy says. "The build quality is great and it's lightweight. The 24.2MP resolution is enough for everything too, and it's what I have on my 澳门现金网_申博信用网-官网3. As for the speed, I didn't even know 40fps was possible – I used to be happy with seven!"
Lenses
Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM
Teddy used this lens while shooting in the bike park. It's a versatile, compact L-Series zoom that includes a 5-stop Image Stabilizer and dual Nano USM motors for responsive continuous focusing for both video and stills.
Canon RF 24-105mm F4L IS USM
A high-quality all-purpose zoom lens that covers a useful range of focal lengths for video. "I normally use the RF 24-70mm F2.8L IS USM," explains Teddy, "but I went for the RF 24-105mm F4L IS USM, as it would be able to cover a larger range for the lake pictures."
Canon RF 15-35mm F2.8L IS USM
A fast ultra-wide zoom that incorporates three Aspherical and two UD elements for biting sharpness, as well as a 5-stop Image Stabilizer. "If I want to be fast and efficient on a job, I take three zoom lenses: the RF 15-35mm F2.8L IS USM, RF 24-70mm F2.8L IS USM, and RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM. You can cover almost everything with those."
Accessories
Canon Directional stereo microphone DM-E1D
Get professional quality audio using this microphone that slides onto the multi-function shoe of cameras such as the Canon 澳门现金网_申博信用网-官网6 Mark II, 澳门现金网_申博信用网-官网3 and 澳门现金网_申博信用网-官网7.
Canon Mount Adapter EF-澳门现金网_申博信用网-官网
The Mount Adapter EF-澳门现金网_申博信用网-官网 enables you to use EF and EF-S lenses on 澳门现金网_申博信用网-官网 System cameras without any loss of speed or quality.
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