Bokeh and Flash

[sury]

I have posted photos in Gloom and Bloom thread where I used flash to cut off the "distracting" background during day time using inverse square law of light fall off with flashes.
Now I have taken up another experiment that is almost a blasphemy in some circles. I have used CZ135f1.8 lens and a flash. Yes a flash. My thinking was that using a flash on that lens means no bokeh at all. I had some flowers in a not so brightly lit area and took it upon as a challenge to get the bokeh the lens is supposed to give without underexposing the image. And at the same time use flash and not destroy the bokeh in the image. If I am not making sense, trust me, that is par for the course for me.
Used the flash to cut off the background, used the flash to softly lit the background without damaging the bokeh by not overwhelming flash. Found another use for HSS flash.

Here is the reference image. CZ135f1.8 at f3.2 and the expected bokeh.


This is with HVL20 on camera shutter at 1/250s (max sync speed). Bokeh is pleasant no where close to the first one, IMHO.



This one is using HVL58 in high speed sync mode at shutter speed of 1/320s f5.6. It took few tries but got the hand of it.

[jbtaylor]

Interesting experiment.
First seems best to me as the flash looks more like natural light.

[sury]

JT,
First is the reference image without flash. Perhaps, my WB needs to be adjusted in images 2 and 3 where flash is used. Hmm!!!

Sury

[jbtaylor]

My bad. Reading comprehension is not my bag baby.

[aster]

.

Hmm, I think the flash is causing either under exposure or over exposure. I'm not so sure about the impact of the direct flash light on a smooth bokeh.
If you can achieve the ambient light quality of the first photo for the flash-lit ones, I think you'll be fine. Bokeh, maybe related to the quality and type of lens, maybe, rather than the amount of light provided for the exposure?

Thanks for sharing your Fall Off experimentations, Sury.
Yildiz