I've been a big fan of camera rotation photography for a few years now where the camera is rotated on it's lens axis leading to some crazy creations. After a while it's easy to get bored of rotating various stuff in the dark and that lead me to think about other ways to combine the rotations with something else. I can't remember when the idea occurred or even what I was thinking at the time but I started to pan the camera across to the left or right from the centre of frame and then start rotating the camera.
Let me explain. First it's necessary to line up a central subject. That fills the middle of the frame. Then without ending the exposure, I pan the camera across approx. 30 to 40 degrees to the left or right (it doesn't matter which way) and then start the camera rotations.
The collection below is a bunch of images where I've used this "pan and rotate" technique:
Straight Outta the Kiln
This is from a visit to our favourite kiln sheltered from the weather with @fadetoblack and possible one of my favourite all time lightpainting images.
As in the description above, I shot the central part first which consists of rotated light blades sat atop a flash stand. Once I nail the central part I pan the camera across so that Tim sits in the frame in the correct position, then I fire a gelled flashgun at 90 degree increments tilted at a 45 degree angle. For this shot, Tim changed the gel to a contrasting blue to create less of a single tone in the result.
All shot in one photographic exposure and still a fave!
Jalfrezi Nights
Shot during a pleasant evening with @ryuslightworks and Tom Hill where part way through the evening we ventured to a fine curry house where the restaurant was so dark we should have turned up with headtorches!
Same technique, pan and rotate with the black space being filled with a flashlight holding Tom in the middle.
Multi-dimensional lightpainter
This is a slightly different take on the pan and rotate method shot in a cave. First I started with the larger silhouette on the right making sure not to spill light in to the other half of the frame. Then in complete darkness, I swapped lens and only partially rotate the camera. It's a fascinating result which I need to experiment with a bit more!
Taking the fabric conditioner for a spin
This was the first time I used a fabric conditioner bottle as a flash gel. The product made my clothes itchy so it got poured down the sink and the empty bottle now resides in my camera bag!
Same technique again but I started off the exposure with a flashlight pointed at the camera with a small aperture to make the star burst.
Rural Revolutionary
I remember this night very well on the Snake Pass in Derbyshire with @fadetoblack. It was very cold and damp so we didn't hang about! This lightpainting lark is a great way to keep fit not to mention warm!
This was an evening back in the days when Tim was working on one of his 365 shots where he created a lightpainting every day for a year. In the end he did 4 years with maybe a short month off somewhere in the middle! Go check out @fadetoblack's work for a great selection of lightpainting images!
élan vital
I named this image a while back "élan vital" and I couldn't remember why! I had to look it up again. I now recall looking for alternative ways to describe rotations and this is what a thesaurus suggested.
Élan vital is a phrase or term by a "French philosopher, Henri Bergson in his 1907 book Creative Evolution, in which he addresses the question of self-organisation and spontaneous morphogenesis of things in an increasingly complex manner"
A word like morphogenesis on a Tuesday evening posting this could easily fry my brain much like this image!
One night in the Peak District
Another cold night in the Peak District and the cool white balance I was using here kinda reflects that!
A similar technique as above but with the added benefit of mist hanging in the cold air to create a slightly more ethereal effect.
Take me to your leader!
I used to run a lightpainting workshop in Lincoln where I stood in front of a bunch of lightpainting novices and explained the process. After we finished the evening I worked with one of the attendees to create this whacky alien!
The central alien is a stencil then I quickly panned the camera slightly and shot the victim aka volunteer four ways. I had another volunteer change the gel colours on alternate positions.
I think this is possibly the cleanest result I ever got with this pan and rotate method mainly I think due to the tarmac car park floor. All shot in one exposure as usual.
About me:
I usually specialise in shooting lightpainting images but occasionally dabble in urbex and artistic model photography. I'm always on the lookout for someone to collaborate with; please don't hesitate to get in touch if you'd like to create art.
Social Media
https://www.facebook.com/fastchrisuk
https://www.flickr.com/photos/fastchris/
Lightpainting is a photographic technique in which exposures are made by moving a hand-held light source while taking a long exposure photograph, either to illuminate a subject or to shine a point of light directly at the camera, or by moving the camera itself during exposure. Nothing is added or removed in post processing.
If you would like to see more lightpainting please give the Lightpainters United Community a follow and you will be introduced into the illuminating world of light painting!
If you want to see more examples of lightpainting, feel free to check out these guys:
Mafu Fuma | Oddballgraphics | FadetoBlack | DAWN | Mart Barras | Stefan Stepke | Nikolay Trebukhin | Lee Todd | Stabeu Light | Maxime Pateau | Stephen Sampson | lightandlense | Neil Rushby | L.A.C.E.
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