Category Archives: Light Painting

Birds of a Feather

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Today I decided to shoot this group of hand-made birdhouses that I occasionally pass in my travels. They are for sale at a roadside stand that features a variety of items for the passerby.They are all made by an older gentleman who lives there. He has no electricity or power tools and cuts everything utilizing good old muscle power on an old miter box. Sometimes it seems I forget many of the places I have shot before, because the wife of the owner came out to tell me about a nice photo another photographer gave them years ago. Turns out it was my photo, and I figured I would share that image along with tonight’s shot. I came up with the title because I think many of the people who follow me here also have a good appreciation of beautiful places and things, hence birds of a feather, flock together. The top image was done with my flashlight this evening using a thirty-second exposure.

Little Deuce Coupe

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With temperatures climbing past 60 degrees today, I started to reminisce about a couple of images from the Virginia Beach Neptune Festival a few years ago. Art comes in many forms and I am always amazed what these sand sculptors create with several million grains of sand. These are good examples of getting up before the rest of the world to get images others rarely see. Now I can only hope for a good arctic blast to set everything back on its proper course, and maybe get some snow sculptures instead.

The Invincible Machine.

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Nothing is really invincible, but this machine found in an old mill seems to be very well-built and has the name invincible on its front. A sticker on the beam says invincible cleaners, but I have no clue what it did in the mill operation. Evening light was pouring in the windows while I was lighting the gears and barrel, so we have a cold verses warm effect.This was shot in the same place as yesterdays post, and thanks to no heat inside, temperatures were near freezing, which was actually colder than it was outside. Perhaps that comes from the stream that runs under a portion of the building.

The Barrel Room

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Todays image is another from my series taken at an old mill, and features a room full of old wooden barrels, along with a variety of tools used by the mill in its heyday. The round stone, serving as a table in the foreground weighs 2000 lb and is not going to move anytime soon. The image was shot using deer spotlights that I have placed diffusion on to soften the light output, and each exposure was approximately 30 seconds in an almost totally dark room. The windows were covered with black fabric to block the outside light from having any influence on my light painting, and were uncovered at the end to get the window detail. The lanterns were lit only by my spotlights to give a glowing effect. Because the spotlights are so intense, I use a technique where I pulse the trigger on briefly ,then off and keep moving across the scene till the shutter closes. A half second worth of spotlight is all it takes to light an object at f11 or f16 at iso 200. I also use a fairly inexpensive wireless remote to fire the camera from across the room, so I never touch the camera once I get started.

Antique Biscuit Box & Tins

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Once again, thanks to the generosity of many people I meet, I am lucky enough to be allowed to photograph items that are a part of their lives, and at the same time, express my creative side through my photography. Sometimes these people own things that are so cool, I just have to ask if I can photograph them. The antique biscuit box and old tins shown here are one such example. Owners Margi and Dan have quite a selection of quality antiques they sell, and they were more than happy to let me capture some that have a personal connection. The grained wood box supporting everything is a family heirloom from the 1800s, many of the tins are early 1900s and were found in old general stores. Margi’s great great uncle was Newton Graybill who operated an old general store until the mid 1900s in Richfield,Pa, and in the late 1980s, a huge public sale was held featuring countless new merchandise items from the 1900s. Margi was able to buy several items from that sale. The old calendar reads 1922, and the american lady shoe sign is early 1900. finishing off the image is a door that is original to the house from around 1790. I light painted the whole scene with deer spotlights that have snoots and diffusion that I added to control the power they have. I use many types of flashlights and flash to do this,but I favor my spotlights the most. small items need more subtle flashlights, so its good to have a variety.

A Life Well Lived

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This photograph is one in a series I am doing at an old mill that is literally frozen in time. I picked the title because the man who ran this mill had very conservative beliefs, and knew the value of working hard and saving money. He was so diligent with his finances that he established a foundation that still oversees this mill for tourists to visit to this very day. What you are looking at in this photograph is the mill office/post office that served residents in the small surrounding community for decades. I placed a pair of shoes at the chair to allow the viewer to imagine the man who once sat there, wonder at the tales he could tell, and appreciate how simply he lived, and most likely more fulfilled than the majority of people today. Picture yourself sitting down after a hard day in the mill, snow blowing outside and a warm fire in the stove, as you turn on the old radio, you sip some tea, and rock yourself to sleep by lantern light. A little imagination can take you to great places.

Unlock your Imagination

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I chose the title of todays post after my wife and I went out to eat on friday. The restaurant walls had several quotes stenciled on them, and one by Albert Einstein caught my attention. The full quote reads like this, “I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my own imagination.Imagination is more important than knowledge.Knowledge is limited.Imagination encircles the world”. As an artist, I am constantly looking for inspiration all around me, whether its music, photographs, art,  or in this case an inspirational idea, one can enhance their own artistic expression by unleashing their imagination.

Whenever I read a quote like this, I think to myself, I sure wish I could say something so profound, yet so simple, but you can’t have it all I guess. On the topic of creativity, I have always been intrigued by how some people are seemingly born with the gift of creativity, others seem to learn it along the way, and others do not have an artistic bone in their body. Personally I don’t like to even say I am artistically blessed, because I am a small blip in the creative world, but I do feel I have been given a gift from God to capture the beauty around me. I know this because every time I see a gorgeous sunset or scene, I can feel something inside me stir, and am so grateful to have that feeling.

My image today features old locks and was made possible by the Burkholder family who have an antique business. They allowed me into their home to do two shots I had envisioned in my mind. One of the two images was this old group of keys and locks, and I wanted to photograph them in a way to accent their aged quality. I decided to use some old barn wood I had, and put some old lanterns in there as well. I light painted the scene to bring out the textures and shapes, and to make the lanterns glow,I held a lit match near the wick to simulate the glow, simply because these old antiques could not be fired up. The door in the photo is from an old prison and provided the background to complement my shot.

So in conclusion, I wholeheartedly believe that imagination is more important than knowledge, and I encourage anyone that follows my blog to imagine the possibilities you have each day to photograph what you love, and do it in a way that pushes your photos to the next level, and as you do so, may you find great satisfaction in producing something you are proud to put your name to.

All Fired up

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Actually I get fired up when thinking about potential subjects that I want to shoot, and the fire extinguishers are something I have seen for several years. I finally asked permission to shoot them,and even though I enjoyed trying, to be honest,I was planning to do better than this. The pile seems to have grown higher than I remember with newer models tossed on top, and even though I was hoping for lots of rust, flaking paint and so on, I gave it a go anyway. As I was standing there waiting for darkness, I noticed this rusty old farm implement behind the building and the owner said I could give that a whirl too, so I rushed around trying to see some sort of composition in near darkness. The resulting photos are not my greatest works to date, but not every shot is going to be a winner every time. Still I had fun lighting the stuff and practicing my techniques. I got a brief glimpse inside the place I took these, and it appears they have some really interesting old machine shop items that have lovely curves and angles to try light painting on. I am hopeful that the owner may allow me to try something on one of these old classic machines sometime.Thanks to Mr Martin for letting me try these shots.

Dreams of Europe

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Todays image features a small village in Pennsylvania that was created by a Husband and Wife, who enjoyed traveling throughout europe and wanted to re-create the beauty they had experienced there.As a landscape photographer, I have dreamt of visiting places like Prague,Paris, Vienna, among a long list of others.The architecture, antiquities and sheer beauty have always been beckoning me, but for now this is as close as I can get. This village has numerous homeowners who have quaint shops, and while the concept seems great, public support has not always been what was hoped for. Periodically I make a brief stop there to dream of european adventures that someday will hopefully come to fruition. This image was taken yesterday after a brief shower, and includes the large fountain within the main village courtyard. I used wireless flash triggered by radio poppers to sidelight the cobblestone and fountain details.

A glimpse back in time

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This photograph features the old equipment in a water powered grain mill. This amazing set of machines are still functional, and start right up with the twist of a shaft, which runs two stories to the basement. In the basement there is a huge tank that holds water in reserve, and at a moments notice, the entire operation is ready to go.The date on the machines says patent-1893, and the craftsmanship and build quality is characteristic of an era were necessity was the mother of invention,  This is another example of painting with light, and the photography session lasted almost 2 hours and the merging of all the pieces took about 3 hours, but I go in circles sometimes trying to decide which effect I want to pick, so that complicates things a bit. As I have warned in past posts, never bump anything in your shot while doing this, and as usual, I kicked the shovel halfway through, but luckily I had it captured already. Try and find something built to these standards nowadays, and you will be looking a while or digging pretty deep in the pocketbook. The two lower photos represent the base layer on the left, upon which the image is built and that image is a very flat,subdued, dark image,upon which the highlight images are overlayed, and a single light painted sample section,on the right, which includes the flashlight source where I have the arrow pointing. I generally try to keep the light source hidden by my body or simply turned away, so the camera cannot see it. A snoot or shield on the light can help, and even if you see the light source, its irrelevant if that section is not being used.

The doctor will see you now!

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This light painting effort from my shoot today includes some of the tools doctors used in days gone by, and reminds me that I am happy to be living in modern times. This small grouping of medical items came to me courtesy of the local historical society, who I have been working closely with to highlight some of the pieces in their collection. The doctors bag is well-worn and one can only imagine the stories it has seen, while the smaller cases still hold pills that would have been prescribed at the turn of the century. The round device in the foreground was used to heat the clear glass domes which, when applied to the body would draw blood out through a vacuum effect,  curing the patient of whatever malady they had, or so they thought. The tiny metal device near the glasses would slice the skin with a series of very sharp blades. The two remaining items are what I believe are an early microscope, and a syringe.

The photograph of the doctor was added after my shoot, and was photographed in a locked display case. it was downsized from the larger photo, and I added it because I just felt its nice to see the people who made a difference in their communities and this doctor was one such person. He is Doctor John Franklin Mentzer, born in 1862, and it was said his service to the community could hardly be equaled. He was a Physician, a postmaster during President Benjamin Harrison’s term, Was director of a trolley company, and was a county treasurer as well. In 1904 and 1908, he was a county delegate to the republican national convention, which nominated Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Howard Taft. He died in 1958 at the age of 96.

One important point for those wishing to try this type of image, is you absolutely cannot bump anything during your light painting, or you will not have registration between the various pieces. I bumped the microscope about a half hour into shooting the scene, and thankfully I had that half of the shot already captured. This technique takes a certain amount of dedication to your photography, but I thoroughly enjoy the creative process it entails.

Winter Wonderland

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I am hoping the image that I shot tonight will be the last Christmas related image I post for the season, but who knows?  This old sleigh is part of the Christmas decor at the Foxchase golf course banquet facility in Lancaster County. Each year the owners bring the old classic sleigh out of storage to brighten the season for all the events held in their Palmer room. I have seen it for several years, imagined what I might do with it, and finally decided to ask permission to shoot it. I shot it with a small flashlight, and went so far as to shoot through the branches of the tree to cast the shadow on the back corner. the blue cotton comes from using my flashlight on its cooler blue light setting and then shifting my white balance to something in the 4000 kelvin range, to give the blue snow effect. I also brought the packages in the right corner to hide carpeting that I felt hurt the image. My wife wrapped the fake packages a few years ago for my escapades each year. The owners say the sleigh dates from about 1902.Now just imagine traversing the countryside on a cold winters night, full moon illuminating the landscape, and fresh snow whipping around you, as you hold the reins in this classic ride.

A Spot of Tea?

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Hopefully those following my work will bear with me posting Christmas images after the fact. I hated to let them fade into oblivion without sharing them this year yet. The doll display is part of a Christmas Tree event done bi-annually at Historic Poole Forge in Lancaster County, Pa. A local Doll club does an outstanding job setting this scene up. I lit each doll separately to bring out details. The other shot is in a local town and features a tavern dating back to 1746. For those taking notes, I brought the Christmas decor from home that is hanging on the post and zip tied it to add a little extra to that area. The lamps are really green and I lit everything else. All I needed was a little snow, but this year is a real bust for snow so far. Another interesting bit of info is the fact the wreath was about 8 feet off the ground, so I used an 8 foot stepladder that I modified to accept a steel post, and that allows me to attach my camera and shoot things approaching 10 feet off the ground. I must use a laptop to fire the camera to avoid any movement on the ladder though.

Old Time Thresher

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This is an antique Messinger Thresher that I photographed this evening using my light painting technique. The machine dates between 1912 and 1920 and was made in Tatamy, Pennsylvania. The image was taken at Burkholders Evergreen Farm in Denver, Pennsylvania, and the owners were gracious enough to give me access to photograph this beautiful old machine. Light painting can be a very involved process and sometimes I  go in circles trying to decide which lighting effect to use from the myriad of shots I do on these images. Tools I incorporate into creating these shots are spotlights [with diffusion], regular flashlights, radio slaved flash, laptop, so I don’t move the tripod mounted camera at all, and a good dose of trial and error. Every subject has certain reflectivity and getting the angle correct between the light source and camera can be tricky sometimes. I think I incorporated about fifty-five different shots into the final result. I prefer to do more shots quicker at exposure times of 20-30 seconds each, instead of locking the shutter open for minutes at a time only to find out you overexposed half the image and just wasted 4 minutes for nothing. The older I get, the more I seem to appreciate the skill and craftsmanship that generations past put into their creations. If you click on my galleries, under Amish, you can look at the middle row, 5th one down and see the amish using a metal version of one of these machines.

Christmas Past and Present.

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Well obviously Christmas is past, but since I love all things related to Christmas, I asked permission to shoot the Christmas display at a local shop tonight. That shop, called Sheldon’s Gallery and Frame Shop, features fine art and a variety of wonderful gifts throughout the year, and the owner was gracious enough to grant me access to shoot what I consider a lovely scene. The bottom image was taken of the exterior of the neighboring building and the gallery a year or two ago, and is also quite impressive architecturally speaking. I remember the evening quite well as a snow emergency was declared, yet I decided I was going out shooting anyway. The town was absolutely silent in a blanket of white as I happily took in the still of a winter’s night.

1893 Folk Art Clock

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This post features my latest image that I shot this morning, and showcases the 1893 folk art clock, created by the gentleman shown above. He was Peter Kurtz, a native of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. His highly detailed and intricate folk art clock was made in 1893 and his obituary listed him as being of  “a quiet, modest and retiring disposition”. He was born in 1832 and was the last of nine children. I lit this shot primarily with small flashlights to bring out the intricate detail in this amazing piece from the past.

Confectionary wonderland

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This sweet little scene is just one small portion of a grand gingerbread creation done by RLPS Architects in Lancaster,Pa. Every year near Christmas, the employees create a very unique gingerbread village and then they open their doors on select evenings for the community to enjoy. This year featured a beach theme,and was simply amazing.

Old Coffee Grinder

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This is another image that I used my light painting technique on. The shot took almost 2 hours to complete,with over 75 exposures being shot in a dark room. You must keep light from your flashlight off the light colored walls when using this technique, otherwise you will have highlights showing up all over the wall. The shadow on the wall further showcases the lovely old coffee grinder.

Christmas Memories

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This lovely scene includes the Christmas tree of Claire de Perrot, a very kind and caring lady, who granted access to both myself and good friend Morrie to allow us to photograph this Christmas tradition that goes back many years in her family. Each Christmas Eve, the tree is lit with real candles as Worshipers leave the service at the Moravian church, which can be seen through her picture window in the quaint town of Lititz,Pa.

Church Sanctuary at Christmas

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church interior.

The result of my two-hour light painting session at a local church. This location originally caught my eye because of its lovely curved wooden pews and carved end details, stained glass, and festive Christmas accents. Special thanks to Pastor Miller for granting me access to this lovely sanctuary.