2 Ride the World: Simon & Lisa Thomas' Global Adventure on Two Wheels
Traveling in and of itself is a very rewarding experience. Some of us are lucky to be able to travel the globe to visit new places and witness other cultures. However, sometimes there are bumps in the road along the way. A missed flight, lost luggage, language barriers, etc... Not only have Simon and Lisa been traveling for a record setting 17-years now, but they're exploring the world on motorbikes!
They brought along some Lume Cube lights with them on their journey and were able to capture incredible photos of the places and people they saw, but they also gave us the inside scoop on how these shots came to fruition. Keep reading to learn more about how each of these shots came to life.
"New Mexico offered us one of the oddest but coolest camp spot’s we had in a while, at the ‘City Of Rocks’. This simple shot was late into the evening on our first night. This was a quick and simple set up, using our Lume Cubes. The issue was of course the string of camp lights we’d hung to give us light when we ate. To provide some catch lights to the foreground we used two cubes, one out of shot behind the rock formation on the right and another out of shot on the left and pointing upward to catch the tree branch’s. They were set to medium output and we used a five second exposure."
Detailed camera settings:
- Camera: FUJIFILM X-T3
- Lens: XF16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR
- Shot at: f5.6
- ISO: 640
- Speed: 8 seconds
- Post Edited: LUMINAR 4
"Now and again we love to just show off the bikes and the low setting sun on the right of the bikes gave us a great backdrop. With the camera (Fujifilm X-T3) on a tripod we simply held the two Lume Cubes set to low power in our hands and painted the bike with light for a fraction of a second."
Detailed camera settings:
- Camera: FUJIFILM X-T3
- Lens: XF16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR
- Shot at: f2.8
- ISO: 12800
- Post Edited: LUMINAR 4
"Another snap shot at the City Of Rocks, where, for once the stars came out and actually aligned to where we needed them to be! This was a relatively straight forward shot with our buddy Dave holding a Lume Cube (set to low output) out of shot and to the right of the main image. The Lume Cube was on for 4-5 seconds of this fifteen-second exposure."
Detailed camera settings:
- Camera: FUJIFILM X-T3
- Lens: XF16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR
- Shot at: f2.8
- ISO: 12800
- Speed: 20 seconds
- Post Edited: LUMINAR 4
"This was a two Lume Cube assist image. We used one Lume Cube with a colored filter and set to low output, and placed that out of shot, and low to the ground on the right. I then held another set to medium output and without a filter in my hand at chest height. The result is this great soft but obvious lighting, but the star filled sky still shows up beautifully."
Detailed camera settings:
- Camera: FUJIFILM X-T3
- Lens: XF16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR
- Shot at: f2.8
- ISO: 12800
- Speed: 20 seconds
- Post Edited: LUMINAR 4
"Another example of three Lume Cubes set to dim and used at ground height and out of shot."
Detailed camera settings:
- Camera: FUJIFILM X-T3
- Lens: XF16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR
- Shot at: f2.8
- ISO: 12800
- Speed: 20 seconds
- Post Edited: LUMINAR 4
"Wandering the dusty streets of Old Havana, you’re spoiled for photographic opportunity, but this one was special. I found this lady sitting on a doorstep and posing for photo for cash.
I love to shoot portraits but I also find it very uncomfortable to just roll up to a strange and start taking their picture. I also, typically don’t pay for posed shots. But, this was a lady I desperately wanted to photograph. Her face is full of characterful and attitude. Even after agreeing to pay her, she refused to budge and move into the light for a shot. Lume Cube to the rescue. I ended up having Lisa my wife hold a Lume Cube about four feet out of shot and pointing toward the subject. We used a blue filter and a diffuser to soften the light. Got to say, I love the result."
Detailed camera settings:
- Camera: FUJIFILM X-T3
- Lens: XF16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR
- Shot at: f2
- ISO: 200
- Speed: 1/1700
- Exp. Comp: -1.33
- Post Edited: LUMINAR 4
"This was shot in the hopes that it would get on the cover of a Motorcycle Magazine that we write for regularly, and it did! I knew I needed the drama created by the landscape, sea and the storm behind Lisa (my wife) as she blasted up this hill on her BMW F800GS. The issue was getting enough bright blue light onto her to be able to freeze the shot and have her stand out as the main subject of the photo.
The solution was a little extreme. I ended up using all eight of the Lume Cubes we carry, setting them to maximum output and balancing them on the rocks behind me. I actually lay on the ground and shot upward to capture this shot. For me, the set up time was totally worth it."
Detailed camera settings:
- Camera: FUJIFILM X-T2
- Lens: XF16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR
- Shot at: f8
- ISO: 160
- Speed: 1/1100
- Exp. Comp: -0.67
- Post Edited: LUMINAR 4
"This was an impromptu early morning shot of someone’s bike, camped near to us in the UK, on a recent visit. Again, I didn’t want to simply have the bike silhouetted by the sun. There’s so much detail and interest in the engine, the chrome and the design of this retro styled Triumph, that I needed have it play a part of the final shot. I used just a single Lume Cube set to low output and used a clear diffuser on it. I just held the Lume Cube and painted the bike with it. I loved the low contrast and color of this image."
Detailed camera settings:
- Camera: FUJIFILM X-T3
- Lens: XF16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR
- Shot at: f2.8
- ISO: 160
- Speed: 1/2700
- Exp. Comp: -2.33
- Post Edited: LUMINAR 4
Want to see more of Simon and Lisa's adventures? Be sure to follow them on Instagram.
