Re: [Leica] off-topic: painting w/light

["David Medley" <dmedley@whidbey.net>]

Ferdinand,

Try painting with small hot lights or even different sizes of flashlights.
With practice you can get very controlled with your light. I can remember
painting the inside of things like large warehouses and auditoriums with
handheld floodlights and sometimes it would take hours and hours to get the
shot. Results can sometimes be very dramatic but you can light things that
would take megawatts any other way. Painting has made somewhat of a
comeback recently in product photography and the equipment I have seen has
been very specialized  and quite expensive. For interiors use tungsten film
and buy a relatively inexpensive photo flood with a long extension cord.

Keep you and your light moving. Use a small aperture and a steady tripod.
If you can get an assistant to cover the lens while you are moving into
another position it will help. Just make sure that they don't move or touch
the camera. Keep as much ambient light out of the area as possible and use
only your controlled light for the exposure. As you get more practice you
can sometimes use ambient light for the right effect, but by that time you
will know exactly what and when.

It will take practice and you may be disappointed with your results at
first but don't give up. Some of the images can be very satisfying,
especially when someone asks " how did you ever do that". 

This is one of those techniques that you just need to go out an practice
and practice and practice.

Good luck

Cheers,
David Medley
Whidbey Is.   WA
USA
dmedley@whidbey.net

- ----------
> From: Jeff S <segawa@netone.com>
> To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> Subject: Re: [Leica] off-topic: painting w/light
> Date: Tuesday, February 03, 1998 7:20 AM
> 
> I have had luck by using this technique:
> 
> Determine the exposure setting which will give you a dark image, but not
so
> dark as to hide interesting, distant picture elements.
> 
> Now paint the foreground subjects!
> 
> I used a Nikon SB16 flash handheld, but probably any ole Vivitar 283 or
> whatever will do nicely.
> 
> Jeff
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ferdinand U. LuDo <fld@mozcom.com>
> To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
> Date: Tuesday, February 03, 1998 1:49 AM
> Subject: [Leica] off-topic: painting w/light
> 
> 
> >hello luggers:
> >
> >our club photo contest for the upcoming month involved a tecnique known
as
> >"painting with light". Involves using the camera at bulb and at the same
> >time you paint the object with light. Does anybody know how to go about
on
> >computing the exposure time/aperture values, etc??
> >
> >Would greatly appreciate some info on this. I'm thinking of using the M6
on
> >this, placing it at bulb.
> >
> >Thanks.
> >
> >Ferdinand
> >