Painting with Light

(A ghostie lit with a flashlight, then written on with a laser pointer).

So, as part of the understanding light course I just took at Metro College, one of the assignments was focused on Painting with Light. This is a very cool concept, where you leave your camera shutter open (on bulb, or B) in the dark and then you paint the scene with a variety of lights and coloured gels. Then close the shutter after many seconds or minutes, depending. It gives a very neat effect, and although the concept is simple, getting some decent photos takes considerable trial and error for the beginner. :-) Kim Gowdy came over and we wrestled with our tripods and tried different lights, colours and exposure times. We used laser pointers, candles, flashlights with and without coloured cellophane over them. It was a fun exercise............... not sure that I would do it every day, but neat to know about!

(lighting with a regular flashlight and one with red cellophane)

(lighting with red and gold cellophane held over flashlights)