Vintage Aviation and 30s Shoot in an Abandoned Wind Tunnel Workshop
(Part 3)
Another workshop, led by professional portrait photographer Andrew Mason, in Farnborough
Written on the 6th of August, 2026
During the workshop, I had the opportunity to work with model David Galea, facing a new challenge: balancing a flash with continuous lights. I was drawn to the one-light flash setup for its striking contrast, but the venue’s large size meant that a single flash, due to the inverse square law, resulted in a dark background. To brighten both the background and environment, I considered raising the ISO or lowering the shutter speed. Increasing the ISO required me to adjust the flash power—a technique I was not yet comfortable with—while reducing the shutter speed risked introducing motion blur. Ultimately, I decided to enhance the background later in Adobe Lightroom. In the end, I kept a mix of images: some with a dramatic, high-contrast look and dark backgrounds, and others with brighter, lower-contrast backgrounds. Both styles offered unique visual appeal.
David Galea (Fighter Pilot)
The Gear I Used
