I have a fondness for photographing so-called “light-paintings” and sometimes they are the only keeper shots I return with if the available light doesn’t have the magic quality. Here are two different scenes illustrating why sometimes a light-painting can bring an otherwise flat scene to life. (NOTE: for these particular images the moon was in its first quarter and therefore contributed to the overall scene – I prefer no moon for these shots but sometimes my free time doesn’t align with those preferences).

DISCLAIMER: In no way do I present myself as an expert on this technique – or anything photographic. Rather, I present these images and technique to illustrate how I capture light-painting images. Hope you enjoy 🙂

This first pair of images of boulders (1a and 1b) were taken roadside – I desperately wanted to shoot this from the private ranch on which they are located but was denied permission. Nonetheless, I found the subject/scene sufficiently interesting and returned and found this composition, without trespassing 🙂

The second pair of images (2a and 2b) were taken later the same evening as the pair above.

Image #1a:

A ‘blank’ shot (no light-painting) to determine the exposure I wanted for the sky and to check the composition. VERY ordinary!

Rockpile Ranch 2AM-114640_7D
Canon 7D with Canon 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 lens. f5.6 for 25 seconds at ISO 3200.
© Andrew and Allison McInnes/2AM Photography. All rights reserved.

Image #1b:

Resultant light-painting image.

Rockpile Ranch 2AM-114641_7D
Canon 7D with Canon 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 lens. f4 for 30 seconds at ISO 1600.
© Andrew and Allison McInnes/2AM Photography. All rights reserved.

For the fence posts ‘painting’ I used a  MAG-LITE  ® with a home-made snoot to reduce light spill on the surrounds – approximately 3 seconds of light-painting. The boulders were ‘painted’ for approximately 27 seconds using a Brinkmann Q-Beam ® 3 million  candlepower spotlight (rechargeable and inexpensive at approximately $40). This image was taken at 7:50 PM. Color temperature for 1a and 1b was 4000.

Image #2a:

A ‘blank’ shot (no light-painting) to determine the exposure I wanted for the sky and to check the composition. As such no light was added to the scene. Again, VERY ordinary!

Davis Mountains State Park 2AM-114643_7D
Canon 7D with Canon 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 lens. f4 for 20 seconds at ISO 1600.
© Andrew and Allison McInnes/2AM Photography. All rights reserved.

Image #2b:

Resultant light-painting image.

Davis Mountains State Park 2AM-114647_7D
Canon 7D with Canon 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 lens. f5 for 30 seconds at ISO 1600.
© Andrew and Allison McInnes/2AM Photography. All rights reserved.

After the ‘blank’ shot I made a slight adjustment to the composition to reduce foreground and increase sky/stars. For the external ‘painting’ I used a  MAG-LITE  ® with a home-made snoot to reduce light spill on the surrounds – approximately 25 seconds of light-painting. The interior was ‘painted’ for approximately 2 seconds using quick pulses from a Brinkmann Q-Beam ®. This light was used because of its inherent warm color, to simulate the glow from a fire. This large light is what I typically use when the subject is not immediately proximate. This image was taken at 9:20 PM. Color temperature for images 2a and 2b was 3200.

Any comments or thoughts are appreciated. My appreciation to Ken Zoller for his locations “guiding” by cell-phone 😉

I am soon to post a photo-blog that highlights some of my light-paintings – please stay posted 🙂