The future is bright for light painting. Photography as an art form has been shot every which way. For the last decade, social media has had it’s hand in further training people to pay less attention to great photography. When is the last time you sat down and really studied a photograph? Looked for the little subtle details that are missed with a quick scan of your Facebook feed. Our social media platforms are bombarded with good and bad photography all day long. How many sunsets can someone look at and still really appreciate a good sunset photograph. It has become habit to just naturally hit the like button and move on. The days of really looking at a great photo are starting to dissipate as an over abundance of visual images have diluted each individual photos beauty. But there is still hope for photography. That is light painting!
While light painting has been around for a very long time, there is still a lot of ground to be covered. Light painting has the power to make someone stop and look twice and ask, “how did they do that”? It still feels a bit like magic. There are a small number of amazing light painters in the world, but still a lot of noise from those trying to figure it out. The truth is, there are many things that haven’t been perfected when it comes to Light Painting. The art is young and the game is fun.
Light painting tools are evolving everyday as DIY photographers are creating their own light painting arsenals. The best part, light painting can be done by anyone with a camera and some patience. I remember my first experience with light painting was when I was a young kid and my Dad had showed me a photograph he had taken on 35mm. He had held the camera on the dash of the car as they traveled through the night and the highway markers and signs were all streaks of light. I thought it was incredible. It wasn’t till years later I began my own light painting journey. The best part about light painting for anyone that wants to be a photographer in general is that it teaches you rather quickly how to set exposures and balance between shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. Add to that the exposure of your light mixed with a background. It is an awesome sport. The best part is when you make something, look at the back of your camera and see the magic that just happened. Grab your camera, make the shutter freeze and have some fun!