Hi gang! We just spent a few days in Gainesville, Florida, where lots of vintage trailer owners were converging for the Tin Can Tourists’ Winter Festivus. If you follow this blog regularly, you know that it has been an ongoing project of mine to lightpaint different brands of vintage trailers and motorcoaches. I wanted to share a little before & after with you that shows what the scene looked like with ambient light (before it got really dark out) and the final image.
The subject is a 1956 Airstream Bubble towed by a Chevy Suburban. I captured 102 exposures over the course of 35 minutes using my LED LENSER M7R Flashlight as the only light source. I then used 52 of those exposures to create the final lightpainted image. It took about 3.5 hours of computer work.
If you haven’t tried out light painting yet (it’s a blast once you’re used to it), then be sure to download the free sample PDF on the lower left of this web page… it will give you enough guidance to get you started on your first light painting. http://digitalmastery.com/lightpaintebook/
Drag the handle back and forth to see the before & after:
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how long did it take you from set up to the beginning of post production? How many shots did it take as well.?
Hi Douglas! The shooting part took about 35 minutes, so including setup, it was about an hour. I shot 102 frames and used 52 of them in the final image.
Ben… this stuff you do is just wonderful, thank you!
great result! It is a lot of work to process and blend 53 images… is there a faster way to do this, maybe with a bigger light source? Maybe 10 photos but longer exposure (giving you more time to light-paint)?
Hi Ben …. you inspired me with your creativeLive workshop. I’ve heard about you from Chris and Cherie. I’m really wanting to lightpaint our Airstream now!!! Thanks for all that you do in the design community, from one designer and photographer to another :). sKY::
Love your work, Ben, and am also a big fan of Harold Ross and light painting in general. How did you do the before/after slider photo above?
Hi John, it’s a simple WordPress plugin called Before/After. Very easy to use!
Thanks for the quick reply – and keep shooting!
I was in the graphics and high end prepress business for almost 50 years. You are an extremely talented artist and photoshop guru and I appreciate your work. Thanks for allowing sharing on my facebook page. I happily give credit for your work and hope others appreciate it also. !!!! you do yourself proud !!!!
Gary Sr