Light painting, around the house

I set a personal project, to capture some painting with light images within the home. Although the weather in Hull has been nice, the rainy nights have put me off having to walk 5 miles out of town to capture some light painting images. I Don’t normally shoot in my house, but finding the right subject was important, making sure its interesting and that there is enough room to capture the image.

I was influenced by Crewdson’s work, his portraits of people in these bizarre and creepy locations, but i focused more so on the lighting of Crewdson, adapting this idea of this supernatural lighting that appears from unknown sources. I wanted to create images that turned Crewdon’s images into some psychedelic trip!

After purchasing some El Wire i was eager to create some sci-fi looking images, the El wire is recorded as this mist, which can look great when used with the right subject. Here i have tried to create a scene of menace, as if a hot flame had began within the wardrobe, which relates back to children’s nightmares of the monster in the closet.

To accomplish this image, I had to put the torch inside each draw and move horizontally to allow the light to be pushed out, and then recorded by the camera. The idea was to create an image that looked at how light can be captured inside containers, a theme which is recurring in these four images.

The idea was to show travel, and photography and their relationship, the subject location is a corner, relating to my desire to travel and photograph the world, while the colours are neon, and bright reflecting upon my appreciation for light, colour and how it behaves at night.

This image, was influenced heavily by Crewdon’s work, i imagined the fridge as being a portal, or creature that is living, and comes alive at night while everyone is asleep. I believe the colours, blue and green work well to create a horror/sci-fi appeal to the photograph.

Light painting

Previously, I have been developing my light painting, trying to focus more so on different lighting techniques, moving away from just lighting subjects and including different techniques to the process. Below are some of those that i have researched and practiced, the final images shall be put onto here after my next presentation.

 

Above is an image that shows development of colours, achieved by using gels and a torch, i have been able to expose each colour evenly, this meant having to spend time with each gel and work out how much time must be devoted to each colour. This is because some colours produce more light when being cast upon a subject, there for too much time could cause either burn out or under exposure.

The next image was achieved with El wire, something i am new too, i purchased my El wire of Amazon for £5 and the results out do the cost of the product, the result is a mist of light that illuminates an area while giving depth and atmosphere to an image. I wish i had known about this product when i was first introduced to light painting.

By lighting the inside of a container you can force the light out, creating this effect of a light source being contained within the subject, seeping out. While i was practising the technique, i used a green gel only and moved the light source around the inside of each draw for a few seconds, this is the finished piece. The lighting also exposed the room slightly to give a haunting and ghoulish atmosphere.

While recording a candle i accidentally moved the lens, making it zoom in slightly, while reviewing the image it became apparent i had recorded the candle in two states, one large and one smaller. I then practiced the technique more, zooming in from 18-105mm to capture two more defined states of the candle. This technique could be used to show size and depth that contrasts, applied to either a horror or dramatic subject to enhance a theme or mood.

While reviewing some painting with light images, i saw a few photographs of cars that showed the inside of the engine when the hood was closed. I was fascinated as to how these were achieved and so decided to place an object in a container that was large enough and set up my camera. I found that by exposing the subject while the container was open, and then closing and exposing the containers hood i was able to create the same effect.

 

 

Second Semester

Been very busy with the coursework and dissertation this year, so I’ve neglected the blog but have a few images to post from previous assignments. Focusing mainly on painting with light, i was influenced by a few Light artists such as, Nocturne, JanLeonardo and Troy Paiva.

The idea behind the assignments were to focus upon a specialized area, i chose painting with light because its a field of photography that a lot of photographers try out, but never really take up, and i thought it would be a great idea to develop this skill further because the outcomes can be fantastic. I hope to impress people with my understanding of light, and to develop the way i use and view light. When photographing at night, i see the frame as blackness, and i slowly introduce light as if working with marble and chipping away to reveal a subject.

Links to light artists websites

http://lightpaintingphotography.com/

https://www.flickr.com/people/light_painter/

http://lostamerica.com/

Below are a selection of images that demonstrate my development of painting with light, and act as a snapshot to show what it is I’ve been up to over the past few months.