Behind the lens: How to paint with light

Robert  Bukaty recently produced a Maine Frame for the BDN of photos from Acadia National Park and its night sky. He used a headlamp set in it’s red mode to light various trees, trail markers and road ways

If you have a camera that allows you to control the shutter speed, you can make photos like this too. When it’s dark, which it often is this time of year in Maine, take your camera and a tripod and head outside. Set it up with a long shutter speed, 30 seconds or more will do.

Adjust your aperture wide enough to allow as much light as possible while still getting the depth of field that you want. Remember, the smaller the f/stop (number representing the aperture, the wider it is and the more light coming in and more shallow the depth of field.  You’ll need all the light you can get if it’s really dark.

Trip the shutter, then shine a headlamp or flash light back at the camera and move it around. You can write a word or make shapes. If you focus the camera on an object, in Bob’s case a sign on top of a mountain in Acadia, shine the light on the object you want to illuminate  for the duration of your shutter being open. It may take some trial and error but you should be able to make photos just like Bob’s in the slideshow above.

If you have “light painting” photos you’d like to share send them to bfeulner@bangordailynews.com and we’ll post the best on our site.

This photo was made using the help of two people shining their head lamps at Robinson Point Lighthouse Station on Isle au Haut during a project we worked on called "Six Miles Out." last February.
This photo was made using the help of two people shining their head lamps at Robinson Point Lighthouse Station on Isle au Haut during a project we worked on called “Six Miles Out.” in February, 2014. Brian Feulner | BDN

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