Alfa Romeo 159 TI
I think I might have polished the bonnet a bit too hard!!
I think I might have polished the bonnet a bit too hard!!
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Sep, 2013Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in the driveway outside a family members house in the Highlands of Scotland. It was as good a location as any as the tall bushes give a nice background to the shot but it also meant that I didn't have to travel very far, especially as it was freezing cold that night!Time
I took the photo at 10.30pm at night as I needed it to be pitch black to make the most of the slow shutter speed required to light the car in the way I did. If it was any lighter then I would have had to reduce the time the shutter was open which would not have given me enough time to run around the car like a maniac with my light stick!Lighting
The lighting for this shot was quite tricky and I used two remotely controlled flash guns to light the inside of the car along with a home made cold cathode light stick which I made from the tubes you can get to light computer towers, AA batteries, a length of plastic pipe and a very handy video from Youtube. I took the shot at ISO200 to reduce the noise in the image and an F7.1 aperture to give me a decent depth of field. I was able to hold the shutter open for 78 seconds to give me enough time to light the outside of the car with the light stick. I had to take a second shot with the bonnet open and light it again with the light stick to keep the temperature of the light the same.Equipment
It was shot with a Nikon D3100, 35mm Nikon F1.8 prime lens, tripod, two flash guns, remote flash triggers, remote shutter release and homemade light stick.Inspiration
I had only recently picked up a camera and was very interested in learning more about light painting so after doing some research decided to give it a go. I had a couple of different attempts to get the result you see here but it was worth the time and effort to get the kind of results you hope for. Photography can be very rewarding when you get it right but it can also be very disappointing when you don't.Editing
This image took quite a bit of post processing as I had to take two separate images, one with the bonnet closed and one with the bonnet open, and then merge them together using layers and brushes at various transparancies to give the blend between the solid bonnet and the engine beneath, this took a lot longer than I thought it would! The lighting was also blended between the two photos to make more of a feature of the bushes in the background. Then it was just a little dodging and burning, tweaking of the contrast/colours, a bit of sharpening and it was done.In my camera bag
I now carry a Nikon D7100 body with a variety of lenses, Nikon 35mm F1.8 (great lens), a Tokina 11-16mm F2.8 wide angle for landscapes, this was a great lens until I broke the ring on the front of it! I also carry a Nikon 18-200mm F3.5-F5.6 which is obviously the most versatile one I have so it tends to stay on the camera most of the time. I actually carry around a lot of extra kit, just in case, as I hate missing out on an opportunity if it arises so I also have two tripods, two flash guns, remote flash triggers, remote shutter release, LEE filters and holders, other homemade orb light painting tools and a few extra bits and bobs, I should really cut back on some of it but it's good excercise lugging it all about.Feedback
If you are interested in light painting but have never tried it before I would definitely suggest putting in some homework on the technique before you try it out. Study the settings other photographers have used in images that you like and practise with remote triggers if you haven't used them before. This should make the quality of your images a lot better from the get go and make your shooting time a lot more effecient. The right light painting tools also make all the difference, I spent a lot of time making my own rather than just using torches but that's just because I'm fussy. If you don't have the know how or the inclination to make your own then you can still get very good results from adapted torches. Either way just give it a go, it's very addictive once you get your first memorable shot.
