COMPLETION TASK 3.3:

LIGHT PAINTING

Light travels at 299,792 kilometers per second. That’s pretty fast. We are surrounded by light all day, every day, but we only ever get to experience it at this intense speed. Imagine if we could slow down light. What would it look like? What would happen if every beam, every particle, moved slowly through space instead of from point A to point B in a blink of an eye? Photography literally translates to writing with light and this is exactly what we will explore in this assignment titled Light Painting.

Part 1 | TUTORIAL

MATERIALS

You'll need a couple of things to make this work. First, we need to keep the camera still, so we'll be practicing how to use a tripod. We will also have to consider autofocus and its implications for light painting. To get the hang of it, we are going to take a few practice photos in the classroom, set up a tripod and snap some photos of light.

Part 2 | TECHNICAL

SHUTTERSPEED

This is essentially another shutter speed exercise, and just like with levitation, the wrong settings are going to make it difficult to be successful, this is really a pretty basic setup. With levitation, we were trying to stop time and stop motion with no blur so we used a fast shutter speed. This time though, we want to do the opposite. We want a long exposure, maybe 10 seconds long, during which time our light source will move in frame, creating our light trails.

Considerations include what your light source will be, how fast your light source is moving, how bright your light source is, and if there is any other ambient light to consider. Over and above that, it's trial and error and using the technique to make an interesting composition.

Part 3 | EXAMPLE

video and articles: exemplars.

Here are some excellent examples of the process taken by a mix of amateurs and professionals. There are also some tutorials that walk you through the process.

Part 4 | ASSIGNENT DETAILS

GO DO IT.

For this assignment you will submit 8 - 10 photos.
Use a combination of lights and camera settings to capture light streaks, (a technique commonly called 'Light painting') to augment the concept of a photo. You may use props. You may use any light source you deem fit. You may create the light streaks by moving your light source or your camera. You may capture things moving (e.g. cars, bikes, etc). Do your research, look at past classes and see where students have been successful before you. You might even try re-creating the 8 photos from the 'capturing motion' completion task but with light. Experiment.

OUTLINE

Using techniques outlined on the website and in class, and building your ideas based on examples we have discussed, take a series of photos that demonstrates light painting.

FLICKR / BODY OF WORK + SUBMISSION

This is a completion task, so you will be graded out of 3 marks. Your work should demonstrate variety of light source, variety of location and/or variety of technique. Your photos should not all be technically or creatively similar.

BRIGHTSPACE / SUBMISSION

Once you’ve taken your photos, follow the steps below to submit them.

upload images to Flickr and organize into an album named ‘LIGHT PAINTING’.
in the description, describe how the effect was created
submit the link to your album in the Flickr discussion
submit the link to your album to Brightspace > Assessment > Assignments > CT3.3 Light Painting