Light painting
Light painting or light writing (German: drawing / painting / writing with light) is a photographic technique based on long exposure , in which photographs are usually taken in the dark or in darkened rooms by the movement of one (or more) light sources (or by moving the camera ).
execution
The light painting or drawing is implemented during a long exposure in daylight or in the dark. Either a light source is held in the direction of the camera and moved during the exposure to create shapes or lines, or the camera is moved in certain directions to create lines by changing the position of stationary light sources in the image section.
Light painting is also possible in daylight through the use of ND filters . In this case you need a correspondingly brighter light source.
In the case of advanced techniques, the processes for planning and implementing the light painting are organized in choreographies to enable better repeatability.
history
The first light-writing pictures to become known were made in 1889 by Étienne-Jules Marey and Georges Demeny from France. The first known light painting photographs in the Pathological walk from in front series were made with light bulbs attached to the joints . It was followed in 1914 by the American Frank Bunker Gilbreth , who did not drive art, but research to make work easier - in contrast to the American photographer Man Ray , who created a series of photos in 1935 under the title Space writing . Barbara Morgan was the first female photographer to work with light drawing around 1940. A well-known photograph from 1940 is titled Pure Energy and Neurotic Man . In 1949, Pablo Picasso , inspired by the life photographer Gjon Mili , made a series of long-term photographs in collaboration with Mili, on which he draws in the air with a light pen. In the 1970s and 1980s, Eric Staller used the technique for several photo series.
In modern light painting, photography and organization are increasingly used with choreography and performance. The Canadian light painting photographer Patrick Rochon has been developing a variety of techniques for people and portrait photography for 20 years.
Further development
With the spread of digital cameras at the end of the 1990s, the creation of light paintings was significantly simplified and became more widespread (immediate image control and cheaper images). From 2007 light painting became an international trend and was subsequently expanded to include the art form of moving images.
So-called real-time light painting video systems have been developed. This is a video camera or webcam that connects to a computer . In contrast to the photo camera, the exposure is not summed to one image, but the running individual images of the film are calculated over one another using special software so that traces of light can be recorded in the video film. Depending on the image resolution (4K, 2K HD, DVB), very large amounts of data (several GB per minute) are generated.
By triggering several cameras simultaneously, it is also possible to record light painting in 3D and use it to create the bullet-time effect known from " Matrix " .
As technology advances, new possibilities and ideas are constantly being born.
Light sources
Each light source develops a specific light that is influenced by the light source (possible drivers). The light sources used are LED , Xenon , HID and incandescent lamps .
LED flashlights now offer many different light modes (strobe, SOS, slow flashing, fast flashing and automatic dimming up and down). Other light sources are candles, matches, fireworks , sparks from mechanical metal processing (e.g. angle grinders ), pyrotechnics (sparklers), flammable gases and children's toys with built-in lighting.
Often the light sources are combined with objects that refract the light to create additional effects. Transparent plates (blades), glasses, bottles and fiber optic cables are common.
Major artists
- Jack Delano (1914-1997)
- Andreas Feininger (1906–1999)
- Georges Mathieu (1921–2012)
- Gjon Mili (1904-1984)
- Pablo Picasso (1881–1973)
- Man Ray (1890-1976)
Active light painting artists
- Eric Staller (* 1947) from the USA
literature
- Olaf Schieche: Getting started with light painting , dpunkt.verlag, Heidelberg, 2019 ISBN 978-3-86490-652-7 .
- JanLeonardo Woellert & Joerg Miedza: Faszination Lichtmalerei , dpunkt.verlag, Heidelberg, 2010, ISBN 978-3-89864-669-7 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Man Ray - Space writing on manray-photo.com
- ↑ Behind the Picture: Picasso 'Draws' With Light ( Memento from March 11, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Eric Staller - Light Drawings
- ^ Patrick the Light Painter - CONTACT. Retrieved March 4, 2020 (Canadian English).
- ^ Patrick Rochon - Light Painting