Posts Tagged ‘light painting’
Funny and Comical, Bunny and Animal
We get our weekly-three pack of interesting Photography News underway with the fad du jour . . .
Funny and Comical, Bunny and Animal
If you’re under the impression that the ‘Funny Animal’ fad sweeping Instagram and the Twitterverse is a recent phenomenon, think again. Your great-grandparents were doing it, baby!
Earlier today ITV published a picture story, Newspaper archives reveal amusing pictures of animals shared since 1900s – and they’re showing us several actual newspaper images from the 1900s!
You can see a chimp dressed up like a toff (with top hat to boot) or you can see four chimps without any dressing up but having tea . . . like you and me!
A cat dressed up like a right royal lady is much more fortunate than a poor small dog forced into . . . a clown’s suit!
Credit the British Newspaper Archive for the, er, ‘donkey work’ behind this effort.
‘Underwater Waves’
Mark Tipple has an unusual photographic calling. He focusses “on the aesthetic of the waves from below or the body language of the people evading them,” reports Wired in Crash Into Me. The very first photograph in the 15-image album, snapped serendipitously, is the one that started it all for Tipple.
Though the first one was serendipitous, the photographer clearly has both, gobs of skill and gobs of guts to photograph what looks like an underwater explosion (descending on a diver).
Another image is pure abstract art comprising of big daubs of white plus fine brushstrokes in various shades of green.
Shooting up into the sun, Tipple has managed to create a reverse whirlpool effect in a cool blue image.
Without the cue of the diver, at first glance would you not have thought that this photograph was one of a grim, moody sky? As it is, Tipple has captured oceanic storm clouds, as it were.
This is Underwater Photography like you’ve never seen it before.
Doing it with Light
We’ll close on a ‘light’ note with Darren Pearson. PetaPixel has published a gallery of his ‘light paintings’.
Light Painting is another burgeoning trend; however, it is not a fad but a photographic niche. As such, there are many styles and techniques here.
Pearson actually makes drawings or sketches with light-sticks, usually humourous ones, in just the right settings.
Shouldn’t this particular style of ‘Light Painting’ more accurately be called ‘Light Drawing’ or ‘Light Sketching’? Check out the gallery and see if you agree.
Light Painting Hat-trick
Today we have a double feature from PetaPixel on Light Painting – in fact, one of the features is itself a double feature as it exhibits the distinctly different creations of Joanna Jaskólska and Zach Ancell. The second gallery exhibits the still different, dreamy, fantasy-like images of
Long exposure photo of a light show dance using finger lights. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
.
These are purely galleries, not how-tos. If you want some pointers on Light Painting, check out our post from a month back, Light Painting with Darlene Hildebrandt. You can combine the skills gained in that lesson with inspiration taken from these galleries.
Jaskólska asks her breakdancing subjects to do their thing with LED wands in their hands. The effect of bands of sinuous white lines is not exactly overwhelming. Had the breakdancers held taped multicoloured light sticks or sparklers, the images would have had a lot more ‘zing’ that would have complemented the breakdancers.
Ancell too shoots moving subjects but with a very different take. Not quite ‘Light Painting’ as commonly understood, he photographs atheletes in motion such that they give off superhero-like streaks lighting up their paths of motion! Now this is a concept that will have athletic goods suppliers knocking on Ancell’s door.
Light Painting as a term and a concept is probably best ‘illustrated’ by Jason D. Page’s creations. They are light paintings in that they are created with light, and they are light paintings in that they indeed resemble painted art.
The image of translucent dragonflies hovering in front of a swamp looks like a still from a Disney animated feature whereas the photo of an otherworldly woods is obviously painted with light (perhaps a little overdone for some tastes).
Head over to Page’s website for some more fantastical images, which have to be considered truly incredible images given that they are “captured to the camera in one single photographic frame [with] NO PHOTO EDITING used . . . .” One would be hard-pressed to create some of those images even with post-processing!
Light Painting with Darlene Hildebrandt
If HDR is yesterday’s craze then Tilt-Shift and Light Painting are probably duking it out to be crowned today’s craze. For those who’re inclined to give their vote to the latter, Darlene Hildebrandt presents the first of a multi-part lesson on Light Painting in DPSchool.
This article is unusually systematic and logical in its organization; it’s more like a chapter of a Photography Book than your usual tutorial.
First, Hildebrandt provides an outline of her tutorial’s contents. The systematic approach is shown by her setting out the equipment first and even dividing this into “The ‘Must Haves’” and “The ‘Really Nice to Haves’.” With a beginning like this you know the author is going to be thorough. (How thorough? This thorough: “a penlight or small flashlight [your cell phone can work in a pinch] to be able to check camera settings and find an item in the bottom of your bag . . .”)
On to Camera Settings where the author gets into the principles of the technique as she explains how to achieve correct focus and the use of Bulb – open-ended shutter speed. The most informative nugget falls in the ISO bullet point, however. Even though you’re shooting at night you’re advised “it is always best to choose the lowest ISO possible” to minimize noise and also bypass the wait that the long exposure noise reduction feature on newer cameras will entail.
Hildebrandt’s thoroughness transitions into helpfulness as she makes several suggestions on finding, and even devising, good subjects to light-paint on in the dark, especially if you’re a beginner.
The technique of actual light painting is the real ‘meat’ of this valuable tutorial. This section has information ready and available that one would otherwise learn only through much trial and error:– How close to get to the subject, how to achieve an abstract look, where to aim the flashlight, to ‘keep moving’ – all these tips and many more will get you from square zero all the way to square ten, so to speak, on Light Painting. Learning and applying these tips and tricks will almost surely make your first foray a qualified success.
Part 1 even provides a handy-dandy diagnostic checklist at the end so you can make any necessary tweaks and adjustments.
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