Home / Galleries / Light Painting

Light painting is a photography technique that involves taking a long exposure (or multiple exposures) and "painting" light into the scene where previously there was shadow. Imagine using a flashlight (or any other light source you can dream up) as your "brush" and adding light and color to your photo with every stroke. For all of these photos, my canvas was the dark of night and my brushes consisted of everything from keychain LED lights and flashlights to sparklers and fire poi.

For anyone interested in learning the art of light painting, I HIGHLY recommend  The Fine Art of Painting with Light   by friend and fellow photographer Ben Willmore.

↓        [ click any thumbnail to enlarge ]        ↓

The Difference

The two photos below were taken at the exact same location, on the same night, from the exact same angle on a tripod. The photo on the left shows what the Harley-Davidson Screamin' Eagle motorcycle looked like under the normal fluorescent lighting in the garage. The photo on the right is the result of multiple "light painting" exposures combined together, each lit in the dark with only a small flashlight.

Below are just 6 of nearly 50 separate exposures that were layered together for the final photo.