Artistic photography in the dark

[clickclick]

I saw some shots from an artistic photographer once and it looked amazing. I was wondering how he did it as I would like to have a play around with that myself! Ha ha. It may be really hard but im so curious. It looked like a black photo with swirls of light in it - sort of like when you swing your sparkler around. Im a complete noob and dont know your technical terms but basically i figure he left the shutter open for ages without movement on tripod and used a torch to create the swirls of light? Anyone have any ideas on how to do this or what settings?

[kmaisch]

Hey Clickclick.

Trial and error basically :) In the dark, put your camera on a tripod, set it to Manual mode, set the shutter speed to 30 seconds, and start with the widest aperture (smaller F-stop numbers).

Hit the shutter, then jump in the frame with a torch or sparklers or something... swirl them around and wait until you hear the camera click off after 30 seconds :) Then see the results.

If its too bright, bump the aperture up a bit. If it's still too dark, you'll need a way to extend the shutter speed (with a remote on the "Bulb" setting). Or increase the ISO.

Here are some cool examples: http://digital-photography-school.com/25-spectacular-light-painting-images

I think in some of these examples, they've also used the Flash at the end of the exposure to illuminate something else (like a person).

Kim

[swifty]

See this thread:
http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showthread.php?t=37619
AP member Shane.R is a master at this style of photography.
But u got the concept right. Long shutter speed on tripod + a source of light to create your 'art'. You're only limited by your imagination.

[clickclick]

thanks heaps guys, that's fantastic.. will read up on it after my holidays! * Edited- Site Rules state classifieds (Buy/Sell or trade) most only be discussed in classifieds - Admin * still no luck!! Anyway, will post my experiments when i get started. cheers again for the info... :)

[reaction]

you wouldn't believe how many bad shots it takes to get 1 good tho

[OzzieTraveller]

G'day CC

This is one of the 'night-games' I put my students to on a Level-2 photo workshop
- and yes, it takes a bit of practice to get a good 'keeper'

What I suggest for you is :cool: :cool:
1- go out to your local $2 shop and buy a packet of sparklers, and a bicycle LED front & rear light set (ones that flash as well as shine)

2- before dinner one night, set up camera on tripod in back yard, set focus to manual, place a marker on the grass and pre-focus on it, set aperture to f5.6, set shutter to "30-secs"

3- after a dinner where you consume lots of good food & wine ...... :) get your dinner companion/helper to help here ...

4- set camera's self-timer to 2-seconds, while the helper lights the sparkler

5- run and dance like a mad-chook over the top of your marker

6- exchange sparklers with bicycle lights, 'on' and 'flashing'

7- keep going till all sparklers are burned and batteries are flat
8- and by-the-way, you are not expected to have fun with this exercise ...... :umm:

Regards, Phil
ps [Kane - you might like this as an idea too ~ naturally there are more variations as well]

[[ kane ]]

G'day CC

This is one of the 'night-games' I put my students to on a Level-2 photo workshop
- and yes, it takes a bit of practice to get a good 'keeper'

What I suggest for you is :cool: :cool:
1- go out to your local $2 shop and buy a packet of sparklers, and a bicycle LED front & rear light set (ones that flash as well as shine)

2- before dinner one night, set up camera on tripod in back yard, set focus to manual, place a marker on the grass and pre-focus on it, set aperture to f5.6, set shutter to "30-secs"

3- after a dinner where you consume lots of good food & wine ...... :) get your dinner companion/helper to help here ...

4- set camera's self-timer to 2-seconds, while the helper lights the sparkler

5- run and dance like a mad-chook over the top of your marker

6- exchange sparklers with bicycle lights, 'on' and 'flashing'

7- keep going till all sparklers are burned and batteries are flat
8- and by-the-way, you are not expected to have fun with this exercise ...... :umm:

Regards, Phil
ps [Kane - you might like this as an idea too ~ naturally there are more variations as well]

Oh yes -done this few times -lots of fun.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3306/3485997640_9b9c3c59de_d.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kanegledhill/3485997640/)

Thanks
Kane

[milesy]

love that effect Kane.....never tried it but would like to some time

[Shane.R]

Hey Clickclick.

Trial and error basically :) In the dark, put your camera on a tripod, set it to Manual mode, set the shutter speed to 30 seconds, and start with the widest aperture (smaller F-stop numbers).

Hit the shutter, then jump in the frame with a torch or sparklers or something... swirl them around and wait until you hear the camera click off after 30 seconds :) Then see the results.

If its too bright, bump the aperture up a bit. If it's still too dark, you'll need a way to extend the shutter speed (with a remote on the "Bulb" setting). Or increase the ISO.

Here are some cool examples: http://digital-photography-school.com/25-spectacular-light-painting-images

I think in some of these examples, they've also used the Flash at the end of the exposure to illuminate something else (like a person).

Kim


Interesting to see some old pix, the sceond last photo in the link 'BrentBat' (the blue light source provided by me:D) BrenbtBat usually works with enviromental light and has produced fantastic work. (he runs work shops up in Sydney)

Sparklers are fun and I still use them - but ya gotta love the steel wool :eek:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2569/4042444908_a1317a2e39.jpg

[clickclick]

thank you all for the info.. cant wait to give it a go once i start! Love the pic too kane but cant seem to see the bottom (flickr) one shane.

[stapes11]

This can create some really amazing photos, but as said before it can take many attempts before you are happy with the shot.
Just have a good play around