Light Painting with Sparklers and Some Low Light Photography

I love expanding my photographic abilities and learning new ways to be creative, it just isn’t as easy as it sounds some time.  Light painting photography seems to be all the rage now but it is something I tried when I shot my first photos of fireworks back in 1997.  It just looked so neat that I had to try it again and again before I finally figured out what was going on photographically.

What is really interesting is if you look at the definition of photography, it needs no other word (like “light”) in front of it to give it meaning.

pho·tog·ra·phy [fuh-tog-ruh-fee] noun
the process or art of producing images of objects on sensitized surfaces by the chemical action of light or of other forms of radiant energy, as x-rays, gamma rays, or cosmic rays.

In other words, photography is “painting with light”.  Without light in pure darkness photography actually isn’t possible, but add any light to anything, and you can record what that light does on a specific medium or surface.

Light Painting Photography

Light paint photography (more accurately called low light photography), or just “light painting” to use the trendy phase at the moment, uses just about the same techniques as lightning photography, or fireworks photography (see a few examples at How to Successfully Photograph Lightning // Equipment and Techniques, Auburn 4th of July Fireworks Celebration // Photos, or Do it Yourself Low Light Fireworks Photography).  Coming up I might write a how-to do light painting photography just for the few differences it has over the above posts, so stay tuned.

A recent photo shoot with b/ turned out to produce a whole lot of duds for the intended purpose, but it was loads of fun trying.  Below are two of my favorites from that particular night. I have several other “favorites” but will save them for later.  This is really one of the easiest forms of photography, for me, since you can control most all the variables and bring the technique down to just holding a button down for the “painting”.

One thing I mentioned above is to try something new and get creative.  I don’t know about other “creative” types (and I don’t really consider myself all that creative) but I need to have the right atmosphere and surroundings to get my brain thinking outside the box.  This was something we tried that didn’t work all that well for what we were doing, but taking the time to try keeps you thinking.

Catalyst08 – The Catalyst Conference in Atlanta

One other way to get creative, go to where the creative people go and learn from them.  In this case, this week, that will be the Catalyst Conference (see their really cool blog here) in Atlanta for me (and gotroot).  Catalyst is a leadership conference for what is the Church of tomorrow (see about), something I have been looking forward to for quite a while.

Tomorrow I will update this information in more detail and how to follow along.  I will be spending a good bit of my time photographing the event as well (sorry in advance to those going with me) and will post event photos here on Thrusday and Friday as soon as I can get them uploaded.  In the mean time, I leave you with some light painting.