

Light Painting by Trevor Williams

A self-proclaimed ‘camera freak’, Trevor Williams is an expert at light painting and night photography. Armed with a palette of custom light painting gadgets and tools he fabricated himself, Trevor creates incredible works of photographic art that have to be seen to believe.

Below you will find a small sample of his awesome work along with a brief overview of what exactly light painting is. Certified BADASS!

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Light Painting by Trevor Williams

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Light Painting by Trevor Williams

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Light Painting by Trevor Williams

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Light Painting by Trevor Williams

WHAT IS LIGHT PAINTING?

Light painting, also known as light drawing or light graffiti, is a photographic technique in which exposures are made usually at night or in a darkened room by moving a hand-held light source or by moving the camera. In many cases the light source itself does not have to appear in the image.

The term light painting also encompasses images lit from outside the frame with hand-held light sources. The first known photographer to use this technique was Man Ray in his series “Space Writing” created in 1935. The photographer Ellen Carey discovered Man Ray’s signature signed by penlight nearly 74 years after the pictures had been taken. [Source: Wikipedia]

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Light Painting by Trevor Williams

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Light Painting by Trevor Williams

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Light Painting by Trevor Williams

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Light Painting by Trevor Williams

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Light Painting by Trevor Williams

WHAT IS LIGHT PAINTING? Continued…

The light can either be used to selectively illuminate parts of the subject or to “paint” a picture by shining it directly into the camera lens. Light painting requires a sufficiently slow shutter speed, usually a second or more. Like night photography, it has grown in popularity since the advent of digital cameras because they allow photographers to see the results of their work immediately.

Flash lights or light pens can also be used to create Full Bleed images. Different colored lights can be used to project an image on the CCD. [Source: Wikipedia]

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Light Painting by Trevor Williams

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Light Painting by Trevor Williams

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Light Painting by Trevor Williams

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Light Painting by Trevor Williams

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Light Painting by Trevor Williams

TECHNIQUES & EQUIPMENT

A variety of light sources can be used, ranging from simple flashlights to dedicated devices like the Hosemaster, which uses a fiber optic light pen. Other sources of light including candles, matches, lighter flints, glowsticks, and Poi are also popular.

A tripod is usually necessary due to the long exposure times involved. Alternatively, the camera may be placed on or braced against a table or other solid support. A shutter release cable or self timer is generally employed in order to minimize camera shake. Color Gels can also be used to color the light sources.

Manual focus is often used since autofocus systems may not perform well in low light. In addition, photographers often use a slow film speed or low ISO setting on a digital sensor to minimize grain (or digital noise) and increase exposure tolerance, as evaluating exposure is often tricky.

Aperture is also an important variable in light painting. Smaller apertures such as f16 or f22 generate a sharper image and preserve a large depth of field, creating deep focus. This technique requires longer exposure times but creates interesting results. Larger apertures such as f5.6 or f2.8 often blur the lines drawn by a light pen or LED source. [Source: Wikipedia]

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Light Painting by Trevor Williams

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Light Painting by Trevor Williams

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Light Painting by Trevor Williams

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Light Painting by Trevor Williams

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Light Painting by Trevor Williams

TREVOR WILLIAMS ONLINE

– Fiz-iks

– Flickr

– Twitter

– YouTube

– Facebook

– Tumblr

– RedBubble

Fiz-iks is group of international artists based in Japan that have chosen photography and animated video as there medium. They specialize in light painting photography for the still and animated images.

They chose light painting because of its unique feel that cannot be duplicated with any other method. The basics of light painting involve moving different light sources in front of an open shutter to create different effects. The art combines photography, performance, and use of the local environment.

They are currently looking for new projects that include hosting workshops, collaborating with other artists, or partaking in exhibitions. They are also currently looking for sponsors. If you are interested in working with Fiz-iks on any level drop them an email [talktous(at)fiz-iks.com].

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Light Painting by Trevor Williams

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Light Painting by Trevor Williams

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Light Painting by Trevor Williams

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Light Painting by Trevor Williams

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Light Painting by Trevor Williams

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