Light Painting

Recently I have been working on a photography project dealing with light painting. I first got exposed to this style of photography through flickr.com. I then joined groups dealing with light painting such as the joint light painting group and the Noctophotography groups to hear what other people were doing and the tools they were using. Once I had explored a little bit in the groups I decided I would go out and try to create one of these images myself.

I went out and bought a couple of colorized floodlights and a remote for my camera. At first I didnt have a clue of how to photograph these in any way, so I first set up my tripod and set the camera to the bulb setting with I think f/22 so I would get a crisp image and be able to use a long exposure. I found out really quick that these images are not as easy as it looks. Being able to see what your doing is probably the hardest part of the image because it is pitch black.

After experimenting more with the lighting and the exposures I soon got a hold of it and started heading out more at night to find some abandoned places to take these photographs. I found out that it is better to shoot in industrial places with machinery or old rusted out cars because it goes along with the theme of the pictures. I have been to a couple of different places now and have got about ten to twelve images that I am really proud of. You can check out all of my light painting photos on my flickr page here http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexcarpenterphotography/.

So before heading out to take some light painting pictures make sure you have a couple of different colored gels so that you can get some variety in your work and also you are definitely going to need a remote for your camera so you can get the sharpest image possible.

Here are a few links to a couple of my contacts on flickr that have some great light painting photos, check them out: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lostamerica/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/lostsoul/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/ineeddadrink/