“Another favorite, the strong light from the rear created a battle between my tiny flashlight and the bright ramp lights.”
“This is an experiment in using flashlights with two types of bulbs: LED and tungsten.”
“What you can’t see is fellow EAA photographer Tyson Rininger
standing inside the frame lighting the cockpit with a portable flash.”
He;says,;“Light;painting;large;objects;has;been;around
almost;as;long;as;cameras;have;and;is;fairly;common.;The
basic;concept;is;simple:;just;walk;around;the;object;in;the
dark,;an;airplane;in;this;case,;with;the;shutter;open;and
supply;a;source;of;light,;literally;painting;the;airplane;with
it.;Some;guys;use;strobes.;Some;use;strong;photofloods.
I;only;use;a;small,;Surfire;LED;flashlight.
“I;picture;the;flashlight;as;a;hose;of;light,”;he;explains,
“and;you;just;make;sure;you;get;all;of;the;right;parts;wet.
Some;get;wetter;than;others;to;get;a;desired;effect.;If
it is dead dark, it’s fairly straightforward, but, there’s
almost always some ambient light, or light source,
around.;So,;you;have;to;balance;that;light;with;your;light
paint;brush.;This;is;where;digital;photography;has;made;it
much;easier;because;I;take;my;laptop;along;and;can;see
how;I;did;on;each;exposure;and;can;immediately;redo;it.
On;my;first;digital;attempt,;which;was;the;Dornier,
the;last;shot;in;this;photo;layout,;I;got;to;make;probably
20 different attempts to get it all right. On film I just
would’ve;had;to;guess.;Now,;it;seldom;takes;more;than
two;or;three;attempts.;Each;exposure;takes;two;to;five
minutes;with;the;shutter;open;the;entire;time.;The;most
important;part;for;me,;is;that;the;image;is;correct;in;the
camera;without;having;to;manipulate;it;on;a;computer
later.”
It;may;be;a;well-known;technique,;but;we’re;especially
taken;with;the;way;he;has;applied;it;to;subjects;we;all
love.;Airplanes;or;not,;to;our;eyes,;it;is;true;art.
“The Dornier was my first
attempt at light painting using
a digital camera. Not only did
I not really know what I was
doing but the airplane was huge.
However, I kept after it until I got
it. The ghostly sky is the lights
of Oshkosh being reflected in
clouds that moved while the
shutter was open. I sure wish I
knew then, what I know now.”
