After spending the last two weeks reviewing shutter speed and aperture, I’m excited to introduce one of my favorite photography techniques- Light Painting. I learned how to light paint about a year ago in a course at the Rhode Island School of Design. This art form takes a lot of trial and error, a working flashlight, a camera that can be set to a really slow shutter speed, a tripod, patience, and a great poker face. On top of all this it helps if you can get a model that can sit really still. I tried to do this with my younger cousins and they couldn’t stop laughing so a lot of the pictures came out blurry. If you have all of these things than you’re ready to get started.
How to Light Paint:
1. Set up your tripod and model in a room that can be made completely dark (any extra light can ruin the shot)
2. You’re going to want to set your shutter speed to something around a minute, or if you have an extra set of hands and have a BULB setting, then have that person hold down the shutter button while you’re “painting” and when you’re done let go.
3. This is where the trial and error comes in to play. Because the shutter speed is slow you’re going to want to bump up you’re f-stop to something around 11, but this number can be adjusted after your first shot if it comes out too dark or light.
4. Set up your model in a position that he or she will be able to hold for at least a minute. Then turn off the lights, turn your flashlight on, and make your way to the camera to press the shutter button.
5. Once the shutter is open you have to work quickly. If you’re working within a time limit on your camera it might take a few tries to get used to the time period.
6. Keeping your back to the camera slowly “paint” your model with the light from the flashlight. You’ll want to keep about one to two feet away with the flashlight. By staying over a certain area longer than others you can get highlights and visa versa for shadows.
What’s Happening: When the shutter is kept open it picks up on any light that shows up in front of it. Although to the human eye the only thing we can see is in the direct beam of light, the camera almost “remembers” where the light was flashed so that when the shutter finally closes you have an image of all the areas the flashlight exposed.
Once you’ve got your first shot and adjusted your settings you can repeat the process. After you get the hang of the whole process it becomes a lot easier and you can begin to get more creative. Below are some examples.
Notice how the face on this one is really blurry. This is what
can happen if your model moves when you’re in the middle
of painting.
Challenge of the Week: Try light painting. Please ask me if you have any questions. This can be a confusing thing to learn so if I didn’t make something clear just let me know, and I’ll do my best to explain further.
Happy Photographing!
Cate
Last week I brought up the topic of Polaroid cameras, so for this week I figured it was only appropriate to delve deeper into the world of film photography. If someone would have asked me a year ago what I thought about film photography I would have responded with something like, “Why waste time with film when almost everyone is using digital?” Now 12 months later I would have so rudely responded to my one-year-younger self by saying, “Because it’s the basis of all photography!” Simply without film there would be no digital. The history of photography falls into the hands of film photographers. For hundreds of years film was used and it paved the way for so many other other art forms, such as Polaroid.
You may ask what changed my mind about film and it was two classes of black and white film photography. Having to actually load my film, develop it, and then make prints was one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done (photography wise). Now-a-days almost anyone can pick up a digital camera and take a picture with it. Even my very technologically impaired mother can take pictures, upload them to the computer, and even attach them to an e-mail. Digital cameras have really opened the doors to photography. Prior to digital it was expensive to buy film and have it developed. Digital cameras allow immediate results with a lot less baggage. Don’t get me wrong digital cameras are a wonderful thing, but it’s also important to learn what photography is really about instead of just letting a piece of technology do everything for you.
Through the two classes that I took I was able to really understand the reasons why I change my shutter speed and f/stop when taking a picture. I have to know what I’m doing behind that camera or else I’m going to end up with a wasted roll of film and a whole lot of disappointment. I recommend diving into the ocean of film photography if you seem somewhat bored with digital or you’re up to a challenge. Really nice film cameras can be picked up for next to nothing. Even try looking on eBay for really old cameras. The older the camera, the more manual it’s going to be and the better your pictures will come out, because you’ll have more control over what goes on.
Although more and more people are switching to digital I plan to keep a steady balance of both types in my life. Knowing about both shows that you’re really serious about photography and that you’re willing to put more effort into the subject. Like I said before almost anyone can take a picture with a digital camera, but with film you need some basics skills to produce quality photos.
Challenge of the Week: Film, film film! Learn about it. Try it. Love it.
Happy Photographing!
Cate
Over the past few months the art department at my school has been doing a overhaul complete with the purging and purchasing of goods. Luckily most of the students have welcomed the out-of-date art supplies and scraps with bright eyes. One of those students being myself. We’ve been given wood carving tools, art boxes, and in my case a practically brand new Polaroid camera. As my teacher explained that because I liked photography more than anyone in any of her classes and that I would appreciate the camera most I could fell 15 pairs of eyes burn through my back. Of course I accepted the gift with open arms, but I will admit I felt bad for the other kids in the class. Nevertheless I wasn’t about to give up the camera so I allowed the animosity to burn bright in the room for the rest of class.
I waited till I was home that afternoon to open up and inspect the royal blue bag labeled Polaroid. Inside there was one silver Polaroid camera, 2 packs of expired film, a CD, and an instruction kit. Knowing what I do about film I was bumbed that it was expired but have continued to use it anyway at the chance of maybe getting one decent picture. Now I have a pretty planted foot in the happenings of the photography world, so although I was extremely happy to receive a Polaroid camera it’s coming at a bad time. In 2001 the Polaroid company claimed bankruptcy and although the production of cameras and film didn’t stop it was announced earlier this year that all Polaroid production would be stopped by the end of this year. Already I have order 10 boxes of film costing about 120 U.S. dollars, and I plan on buying a lot more before the film becomes extinct. (If you plan on stocking up on film like I do make sure you put it in the freezer to preserve it.)
What I want to know is who here is a Polaroid user? Who has never heard of Polaroid? Who doesn’t really care? Polaroid’s instant film has been around for around 50 years and revolutionized photography before the introduction of digital. Are people going to miss this company, or will it just fold into the flaps of time like so many of its great predecesors?
Challenge of the Week: Do some research on Polaroid, and tell me what you think of it.
Happy Photographing!
Cate
Have you ever seen the music video for the song “Dirty Little Secret” by the All American Rejects? If you have than you know that in the video there are all kinds of people holding up signs that have secrets on them. These secrets weren’t just made up or taken from random strangers on the street, they came from a blog called PostSecret. If you haven’t seen the video than you can watch it here.
PostSecret was started by a man named Frank Warren. He describes PostSecret as “PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard”, or in other words write you deepest secret on an anonymous postcard and decorate it however you please. When you’re done you can send the postcard into Frank and every Sunday he picks about 20 secrets he received that week and posts them on his blog, PostSecret.
PostSecret started out by Frank leaving blank postcards in museums and art galleries. He expected few to find their way back to him, but the trend picked up and now he receives hundreds of postcards each week. Although only 20 or so secrets make it up on his blog, he has published four books that are filled with secrets. Each week when I read the secrets I laugh, cry, and think. The secrets that people send in are sometimes ones that I never realized I had. Frank gives people a place to bury the skeletons that dwell deep with his or her closets, and you’d be amazed at how many people have the same skeletons. The PostSecret community makes every person feel welcome and not alone.
Recently Frank has been on Good Morning America and also traveled to dozens of colleges across the country. Everywhere he goes he brings with him stories about how he has touched different people’s lives. PostSecret is such a wonderful piece of tranquility in a world that is filled with judgment and isolation. Everyone is welcome to join the community of PostSecert and everyone should.
Challenge of the Week: Think about all the secrets you have bottled up inside yourself, now think of how freeing it would be without them. Try writing down some of your secrets and sending them into PostSecret. It can never hurt.
Happy Photographing (or in this case secreting?)
Cate
Within the past two years online social network sites have been growing larger and larger. Myspace seemed to kick off the trend followed by Facebook and others. What’s great about these sites is that young artists like myself are able to post their art for the whole world to see at ease. Each site has their pros and cons so I thought I would give a brief description of each site and then leave it up to you to try them out.
Deviant Art
Deviant Art is an online social network that caters to almost every kind of artist. Whether you like to take pictures, write poetry, cartoon, or create graphic design masterpieces, Deviant Art gives you an easy-to-use site for all art types. The “devious” group of artists on the site is always willing to share feedback and help make your art the best it can be. Deviant Art also has a lot of really neat things to download whether it be paintbrush templates for Photoshop, or backgrounds for your computer, Deviant Art is a great website for getting your art out their in the public eye.
Arefuge
Arefuge is very similar to Deviant Art but it’s set up in a way that may be more familiar to a Myspace or Facebook user. When first creating an account you can choose between having a regular account, an artist account, or a music account. Personally I have an artist account because it allows me to upload all my pictures with ease. Once you have an account and start getting friends you can see all the artworks they post and comment on it. If you have friends who aren’t artists themselves but enjoy looking at art they can make a regular account and just enjoy the creativeness of others. Arefuge is a great place for people who are used to a more social environment and have all kinds of friends.
Flickr
Flickr dedicates itself to photography. Standard accounts are free but you can go Pro for about 25 dollars a year. What’s really cool about Flickr is that they have a program you can download to easily upload tons of pictures at once. It’s as easy as dragging and dropping. Once all of your pictures are on you can join any number of groups. For instance I’m part of many different Teenage photography groups that offer advice and tips on photography. Flickr has a great tagging system so searching for pictures is a breeze, and in no time you’ll be connected with all kinds of fellow photographers and learning tons.
Whether you choose to join one, none, or all three of these websites putting your artwork out into the public eye can sometimes bring back unwanted comments. I’ve learned to take the criticism or compliments only half-heartedly. Taking the negative feedback too seriously can lead to discouragement, and taking the positive feedback too seriously can lead to a big head. Make sure you are comfortable as an artist before putting yourself out in the open, and always remember that any response is better than no response at all.
Challenge of the Week: Try making an account and posting your work up. See if people give you any sort of response.
Happy Photographing!
Cate
