Painting with Light

Situation I: "Feeling Like a Clown"

Alma resident Matthew Stephens recently graduated from college in May,

does not have a job and "feels like a clown." With the country's fallen economy,

many graduates, like Stephens, have fallen victim to the struggling job market.

35 mm lens, ISO 200, f/8.0, 20 seconds

Executing this concept was difficult considering I have a slight fear of clowns. After Matthew applied his face paint, put on his nose and walked to my truck in front of thirty starting people, we headed to the intramural fields. The whole concept started with Matthew "feeling like a clown" because he was graduated without a job. This is why he painted his face as a "hobo" clown.

I used a cable release and set it to 20 seconds. I flashed Matthew from camera right with his hand outstretched. (The strobe was set at 1/2 power, I believe.) I dropped the flash and ran to draw the balloon string with a small LCD. I then colored in the red balloon using a flashlight with a red folder (folded multiple times) taped over it.

Situation II: "Ghost Music"

A grand piano located in Farmington, Mich. has sat untouched in the Miller household for 28 years.

The owner, Patricia Miller, dreamed about learning to play and longed to fill the house with music;

however, she never took lessons after she had two children.

22 mm lens, ISO 200, f/9.0, 30 seconds

I originally wanted to highlight my viola, but I decided to take advantage of the piano in our living room when I went home this weekend. After experimenting with different ways to paint the piano, I decided on the above. I again used a cable release and set it for 30 seconds. After I started the exposure, I strobed the piano from camera right. I then used five glow sticks that were taped together to paint a messy staff.

Throughout the time I was making images, I changed and experimented with my exposure. I decided I wanted the piano to be darker and for the painted notes to highlight the keys to try to show that my mom's thoughts of music were the only thing actually touching it.

Fashion!

Location Lighting- "Circus Couture"

Mount Pleasant resident Layla Gilmore models a "circus couture" look below

Old Mission Rd. on Thursday, Oct. 7 in Mount Pleasant, Mich. Although the style can be

interpreted differently, circus fashions usually include the use of layers and ruffles in red and black.

17 mm lens, ISO 200, f/7.1, 1/200

The Lighting Setup–

I spent a lot of time with Layla using various props, poses and lighting setups. We arrived under Old Mission with a whip, a hoop and lots of make-up. My vision was to portray a dark and creepy circus ringleader.

In this particular image, I had a single strobe on a monopod placed to my right. I set the flash to 1/2 power and changed the zoom to create a spotlight effect.

Additional Images–

Studio Portrait- "Indian Fashion"

Northville freshman Neethu Jacob models a traditional Indian gown and shawl

on Sunday, Oct. 10 in Mount Pleasant, Mich. Jacob said the clothes are worn on holidays or special occasions.

Indian fashion is known to incorporate and highlight colors, fabric and embroidery.

50 mm lens, ISO 100, f/14, 1/200

The Lighting Setup–

Indian fashion is colorful and captivating; which is the main reason why I wanted to use the style for this assignment. Neethu and I had a great time posing and experimenting with light in the studio. It was great to be able to take advantage of including her accessories.

The main setup included three lights; the soft box was used as the main light on Neethu's right. The light on her left was bounced against the wall. The third was varied from a hair light to a rim light. In this particular image, it was used as a rim. I found this more beneficial to create separation from her black hair and the background. (The lighting setup shown above was taken after the studio session.)

Fashion Exercise

35 mm lens, ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/200

50 mm lens, ISO 100, f/16, 1/100

Last Monday, we had the opportunity to practice fashion on location and in the studio following a presentation from Traverse City photographer Dan Stewart. Dan joined our group when we went outside, and it was extremely beneficial to get advice from him. Although our time on location was limited, I took a lot from the experience.