Light Painting
What is it?
Light painting is a technique used in photography to capture the movement or exposure of a hand-held light source. There are 3 different light painting techniques 'light painting', 'light drawing' and 'camera painting'. Firstly, light painting needs a slow shutter speed which can be around a second or two, its using hand-hand lights to colour in parts of the content/objects in the image. Light drawing also requires a slow shutter speed same time as light painting, and it's potentially just shinning a light source to draw an image into the camera lens. It takes on the characteristics of a quick pencil sketch. In addition, camera painting is achieved by at night or in a dark room where the camera can be taken off the tripod but instead used as a paint brush. With this technique you can create shapes, patterns and abstract artistic images in the background by putting energy into moving the camera. Light painting can be experimented with in many ways and it doesn't matter where; for example- faces, bodies, buildings etc. With this technique you can be as wild and creative as you want to be and still have a good result.
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History
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As this technique couldn't be used in the more older centuries due to technical limitations, the first time light drawing image was produced was in 1889 by Etienne-Jules-Marey and George Demeny where they created the image 'Pathological walk from in front'. Gjon Mili- a photographer and light innovator visited Pablo Picasso in 1949, who introduced Picasso to his photographs of ice-skaters with lights attached to their skates. Immediately, Picasso became intrigued with his work and he began creating images in the air with a small flashlight in a dark room. Later these images became a collection and known as 'Picasso light drawings'. However light painting up to 1976 were classified as light drawings as there wasn't much difference between them and they hadn't experimented around with it as immensely. Nevertheless, in 1977 Dean Chamberlain used light painting to create his own image 'Polyethylene bags on chaise longue'. He was the first artist to actually dedicate his work to the light painting art form. Thereafter, Picasso and Mili's images were known to be the first sets of light drawings.
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Equipment
As we're in a more developed century we access to more sophisticated equipment to produce images. There are many light resources that we could use to create light painting image eg. light wand, fireworks, flashlight and torches, glow sticks, lasers and many more. The more thinner the light is but the more power it emits, it will create a sharper more clear image. Nevertheless, you would need a camera which has manual controls, or at least one that allows you to adjust that shutter speed. 'Shutter speed' means how long the shutter is open to allow light in. The most common type of camera when using this technique is an digital camera or a DSLR. However, you can still achieve an image with a film camera as well. To make sure that your image doesn't come out blurry or un-sharp, a tripod is required to maintain the stillness of the camera. As light painting exposures can range from 5 seconds to over an hour. Also, a flashlight may come in useful when doing light painting, as flashes can be used to introduce colour into the scene of a light painting photograph, thus it could also be used to freeze motion as Gjon Mili did in the late 30's. Even though, doing light painting may require a lot of time and equipment, the end results are amazing and really interesting.
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Video on Light Painting
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Brief summaryThis short video shows the way in which some students from Boston University in America explore this technique of light painting (and also double exposure). They mention many tips for capturing a good image; for example- the darker your surrounding gets the better as you can have a longer shutter time therefore you can play with different tricks. There are many different sources used in this video eg. wands, torches, sparks and also the natural light. Also mentioned in this video is that you can be as imaginative and creative as you want. One of the things they designed with a wand was a bicycle where two people were on it, and also one where they captured the entire movement of the sparks flying out. This video has influenced and inspired me to use this technique in many ways and keep playing around because every image will be different.
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Man Ray
Born August 27 1890 in South Philadelphia and died November 18 1976. He was an American modernist artist who spent most of his career in Paris, France. He produced many different works in a variety of media. Nevertheless, he was best known for his skills in photography and was renowned fashion and portrait photographer.
He developed his artistic skills during childhood where he began getting influence from local art museums. He studied at 'Brooklyn's boys High school' from 1904 to 1909 which provided him with solid grounding in drafting and other artistic techniques. Ray was offered a scholarship to study architecture but chose to pursue his career as an artist. Furthermore he developed into becoming a professional painter which he then earned a lot of money as a commercial artist and being a technical illustrator. Later on in his life, he began living in different parts of the world where he also received more inspiration. Firstly in New York, he was influenced by the 1913 Armony show and galleries of European contemporary works. Then, in 1915 he had his first solo show of paintings and drawings after he had taken up residence at an art colony in New Jersey. Thereafter, he began experimenting more and more with art. |
'some examples of his light painting works'
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''I paint what cannot be photographed, that which comes from the imagination or from dreams, or from an unconscious drive. I photograph the things that i do not wish to paint, the things which already have existence.''
-- Undated interview, circa 1970's; published in Man Ray: Photographer 1981.
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John Hesketh
A contemporary artist that experimented with colored lights and filters to make extremely complex and exciting images.
In 1985 artist John Hesketh took his camera into his backyard and began working on his first light painting series 'Homelife'. The subject matter of this series were objects in his everyday home life. He works with really extravagant and bold colours which bond together which makes the composition seem really chaotic. He uses colour filters in his work where he separates one colour from entering into the camera while he is light painting. Some of his images, such as his "Question of Faith" and the "Ascension" shots, are complex and filled with symbolism. Others, such as his "Tricycle" shot, work because of their simplicity. Hesketh lives in Anaheim California and continues to explore his light painting process with his latest light painting series “Los Angeles”. ''I walk through a scene painting light, often leaving hints of human presence or the need for one. The simple, yet intense use of color mimics the loose nature of dreams -- lacking everyday details -- generous in symbolism.'' |
'examples of Hesketh's work'
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Michael Bosanko
A light photographer which began playing with light unexpectedly in 2004 whilst he was in Greece and shooting an image of a moonlit landscape. Thereafter he discovered that by putting the camera into long exposure he could move the camera in his hands and use the moon as a light source to write out a word. He's really passionate about his works and even steps outside the box and experiments with this technique in many ways as he says ''The environment; my canvas, is all that's left behind, exactly as it was before my arrival. Filling an environment with 3 dimensional 'brush strokes', vibrancy, energy.. turning the ordinary into the extra-ordinary.. these are some things that drive me; fuels my passion.''
Bosanko also has a passion for travelling, therefore he discovers new landscapes, cities and many other things that gives him more inspiration. He is also really keen on the atmosphere and environment that's surrounding him. In his website he quotes ''Mother nature plays a part; Earth, wind, fire and water; all have strong effects on my imagination.'' Nevertheless he also appreciates the works of many photographers eg. William Eggleston etc. Ever since that moment Michael has had great success with light painting photography, he has created images for several commercial clients and been published in numerous magazines. ''My inspiration comes from expected and unexpected avenues.'' |
'examples of Bosanko's work'
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Light Painting tutorial by Bosanko
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Brief summaryThis video is by Michael Bosanko and he briefly shows the way in which you can achieve a light painting image. By watching the short video it shows that it isn't that difficult to achieve yet the ending results are rather interesting and special.
There's not much that you need; equipment- a camera, cable release, tripod, torch and most importantly an idea of what you're going to take. In conclusion, from my research about Michael Bosanko and watching many videos about him I've received a lot of inspiration; because even though he didn't actually know that much about this technique in the first place, after he has grown an interest in it and produced numerous of magnificent work |
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Assessing and grading myself.
From this piece of homework on light photography, i would grade myself a 'B1' this is because i have 'developed thoughtful ideas based on increasingly detailed research. Nevertheless, as our tasks were to research 3 artists from Mr Nichols website, i found this quite difficult to get a higher grade; as there wasn't a much information that i could find about some of the artists. Therefore, i did some of my own research and found an artist i felt i could learn more from and be more inspired. Moreover, throughout this research i have also included two short clips about this technique and many examples of the works by the artist. This research has really increased my knowledge of light photography and i hope i can use what I've learnt when experimenting with the technique. So, to get an 'A' grade in the future, i would have to 'develop sophisticated ideas based on detailed research'.
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First experiment on light painting
These are the set of images that we as a group have produced based on the technique 'light painting'. We had the opportunity to go into the dark room to experiment, and were also given a few light torches, varying in colours. As it was our first time, it was hard to know what the correct settings should be so we kept trying and trying. We also tried some multiple images.
CompositionIn most of our images, the composition consists of one or two people as we wanted to focus more on the painting rather than the subject. The figures with a poised facial expressions were central in the composition, so that the top half of the body could be seen. Moreover, we tried to fill up the whole image, so there wasn't much space in the image wasted. In some of the images, the figures were still and frozen whilst a few were moving around within the image playing with the light. We also tried different levels, so that the two figures were sitting on the floor creating an image. The background in our first few images weren't as appropriate as there was too much light due to the white cupboards, therefore it was visible and the light source wasn't obscure. Thereafter, we wanted to change our position to a black background so that the elements in the image would be more clear.
SettingsThe settings throughout our images weren't constant, therefore we kept changing it as we needed to improve. In our first few, we needn't to use the flash as we captured the light trail rather than the figure. Therefore the settings were on f10 and the shutter speed for 10 seconds. However, later after analysing the images we realised that the background and the foreground incorporated too much light, therefore we had to lower the aperture to f5.6. Still, with the same amount of time, we achieved better light painting images.
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Constrains/restrictionsOne of our main constrains was the lighting in the image. As we didn't have a solid black background, there was a lot of light bouncing of other objects which wasn't convenient. However, even with the black door as a background that we used, it wasn't wide enough, so there were some sections of white or the yellow strip which wasn't convenient. Moreover, as we kept experimenting with the aperture and settings, we weren't able to focus as much on the subject matter and being as creative on the technique as we would've been. We tried many many times, even changing the positioning of the flash and camera but still our images didn't come out as successful. Also, because we kept moving, some images weren't in focus.
ImprovementsThere are many improvements i feel we could make the next time we experiment with light painting. One of the obvious ones, is our background, it would be better if we used the black backdrop, or either an isolated room with not much excess equipment. As a result, the images that we produce would be better. Also, we could also improve our creativity, by creating different patterns or trails with our light source. Moreover, by analyzing the images in more depth we could figure out the settings that would be more adequate for our experiment. Lastly, by making sure the figures were in focus before we take the image so it's clear.
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Evaluation on 2 images
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Second experiment on light painting
Evaluation of 2 images.
In the lesson, we were arranged in a group of 9 and were placed in the studios where there was a black back-drop. Thereafter, we placed our camera on the tripod and made sure it was on manual. By setting it on manual, it allowed us to control the aperture, speed and light sensitivity (ISO). We set the aperture on F4.5, the ISO on 100 and the shutter speed for 8 secs. As our surroundings were relatively dark, we had to have a low aperture so that more light was able to pass through the lens. The composition of this multiple image photograph, is capturing the movement of Theo jumping above of Natalie. We used the flash to show his movement, moreover i feel that it has been quite successful as the space in the image is used quite well. In addition, the focal point was mainly on the person on the floor, she is clear and there is clearly a lot of light that's exposed on her. To improve this this image, we could've set the aperture a little lower, therefore Theo's figure would be more distinct.
Looking back at the images we produced with this technique, i feel that there are some successful but some not as well produced. The one on the left is one i feel that i could improve a lot on. Firstly the composition of this image consists of a figure and some light trails created with the light torches. The figure is to the right hand side of the composition however, isn't really clear as she isn't focused. To improve, we could set the camera so that the figure was central in the composition to show she is the subject of the image, also by making sure that the figure is in focus before pressing the shutter. On the other hand, one positive thing i like about this image is the combinations of the colours, i love how the white is more luminous and the purple and the green are quite vibrant as well.