DM51
Flashaholic
^ 
oo: What on earth are those hollow blue hemispherical lights sitting on the straw bales??!!? :huh:
oo: What on earth are those hollow blue hemispherical lights sitting on the straw bales??!!? :huh:
Looking for a spotlight for Photgraphic lightpainting
- Thread starter dta116
- Start date
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I've been shooting landscapes for over 30 years, but just started light painting about a year ago. Done properly, it can produce some spectacular results. Like many folks on this forum, I've got quite a few lights. I only use one of them for my light painting - a lowly $60 Led Lenser P7. I much prefer it to my $300 lights due to it's unmatched versatility with the adjustable focus. If your beam is too focused and powerful, the beam itself will actually be rendered on the image. If the beam is too soft, insufficient illumination will result. If the beam is too floody (wide), you may end up lighting up subjects that you are trying to keep out of the picture. The P7 is perfect because I can adjust it just right to avoid all of these issues. Below are 2 examples of light painting shots I took last April in Arches National Park near Moab, Utah. Both images were shot at about 3:00am using my P7.
"Stargate"
"Balanced Rock and Milky Way"
"Stargate"
"Balanced Rock and Milky Way"
DM51
Flashaholic
WOW!! JDM, those 2 pics are amazing! 
WOW!! JDM, those 2 pics are amazing!
Dear DM51,
Thank you for your kind words. Thank you also for all of the work you put into this forum. It's because of people like you that I can come to this place and learn so much! Hopefully these 2 pictures will show photographer/flashlight enthusiasts that they don't need a ton of money to have fun with light-painting.
dta116
Newly Enlightened
JDM, Would you please share the exposure info? SmugMug will not process any EXIF on stored files.
Thank you for the great shots.
Thank you for the great shots.
dta116,
Both images were shot wide open (f/2.8) at 30 seconds, asa 3200 on a 5DMKII. I tried some longer exposures, but at exposures greater than 30 seconds I started getting star trails. The star trails can be a cool effect, but it's not what I was looking for. I waited until just after moonset at 2:40 am to make the shots. I didn't want any light pollution from the moon to diminish the visibility of the stars or the Milky Way. Focusing was very difficult because Canon lenses do not have hard stops at true infinity. At f/2.8 there is no room for error on the focus. It took me a few iterations before I finally got it right.
It's kind of weird being out late at night in the middle of nowhere all alone. Every sound I would hear caused my imagination to run wild. I can't wait to get out and do it again though. Good luck with your light painting dta116 - have fun!
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dta116
Newly Enlightened
Doug, The focus issue is one of the reasons I always carry a keychain light so not to bother fellow Photographers when it is pitch black and I can't even see my hand. It helps check the settings and focus after dark. ....Been there..Done that...
GREAT Photos, JDM; of one of my favorite parks...altho I've never been there at 3 A.M.! I thought they closed the gates at sundown.
I've done some light painting, mostly using electronic flash. Whoever said watch those artifacts was right. MOVE that light! I found out the hard way when using a flashlight in conjunction with my electronic flash, to take photos of freeway roadbed damage. A definite " learning experience"!
If I were trying that again, I would probably use an incand MagLite for throw and power, maybe lightly diffused, with the camera white balance pre-set at Incand. That may be too small for your projects, tho. TRIPOD!
I think if you can do most of the manipulation in-camera, you're ahead of the game.
My thing was to dress in dark clothing, plan what I wanted to light, then walk quickly through the exposure area with my electronic flash, IF the exposure was long enough. 30 sec. is obviously not enough, unless you are really fast! A willing assistant helps, like my voice activated, carbon-based remote...my granddaughter.
I've done some light painting, mostly using electronic flash. Whoever said watch those artifacts was right. MOVE that light! I found out the hard way when using a flashlight in conjunction with my electronic flash, to take photos of freeway roadbed damage. A definite " learning experience"!
If I were trying that again, I would probably use an incand MagLite for throw and power, maybe lightly diffused, with the camera white balance pre-set at Incand. That may be too small for your projects, tho. TRIPOD!
I think if you can do most of the manipulation in-camera, you're ahead of the game.
My thing was to dress in dark clothing, plan what I wanted to light, then walk quickly through the exposure area with my electronic flash, IF the exposure was long enough. 30 sec. is obviously not enough, unless you are really fast! A willing assistant helps, like my voice activated, carbon-based remote...my granddaughter.
I've got to get me one of those........
