BEST of On The Road - July 2008 - Lightpainting the Southwest


Let me just say that this project was a major undertaking and a great learning experience for me. Most of the landscapes I approached were the largest I had ever attempted to Lightpaint. There were weather issues that made this project more difficult than expected. The Native American Reservation Parks required obtaining advanced permission to photograph at night and Native American guides were required for access to these sites and of course, working all night and then driving/sleeping during the day while on route to the next location all brought complexities that needed to be overcome. All this made for a grand adventure to say the least. I invited a good friend and very talented photographer, Dan Heidenreich to come along on this tour around the deserts and canyons of Arizona and Utah. Dan is both a geologist and landscape/nature photographer who I have known for many years, and who had expressed interest in Lightpainting from time to time. His geological expertise, photographic knowledge, and easy demeanor made him the perfect partner for the trip. And so we packed up the truck with cameras, lenses, tripods, and Brinkmann Q Beams, but, left the sunscreen at home .......... after all, we were going to Lightpaint the Southwest.

MONUMENT VALLEY, Utah

 Image #1       The Totem Pole ... Sense the trip earlier this spring, Monument Valley had been on my mind as the best place to begin this Lightpainting adventure. It would be the most difficult and I wanted Dan and myself to be full of energy and well rested to tackle these colossal monuments of nature. If the Totem Pole rock formation looks familiar that could be because it was the opening scene in the Clint Eastwood film, The Eiger Sanction. Totem Pole and Yei Bi Chei rocks of Monument Valley are magnificent. With our Native American guide leading the way we conducted a day time site survey that revealed a perfect location around the south side of the monuments. The area had reasonable access by 4 wheel drive and landscape that we could maneuver on foot in the dark while Lightpainting. We were working against thick cloud cover (no stars visible) and 30 mile per hour winds. The blowing desert sands cut down greatly on our ability to focus our lenses on the rock formations, and also hampered the illumination intensity from the Brinkmann Q Beams. It was like lighting with a 2X neutral density filter over the Q Beam. As I stated earlier, I learned a great deal on this trip and was surprised to discover that the blowing sand storm was not even noticeable in the images, and the cloud cover became quite beautiful as it was illuminated by the moonrise. The 10 minute exposure time gave the overcast time to move across the night sky and look similar to a watercolor painting. Dan and would alternate making our own individual Lightpainted images and compare notes after each image was made. Nikon D3, ISO400, 10 minute exposure at f8, Nikon 24-70mm Lens, WB 4000K, Picture control VIVID, Two Brinkmann Q Beam Spot Lights (2 million candle battery powered/rechargeable spotlights), Nikon MC-20 electronic cable release, Bogen Tripod and Gitzo Ball Head with Kirk "L" Bracket, Lexar 8G Flash Card.

Image #2       The West Mitten ... This was a monumental task, no pun intended. At 1:30 am we moved our location to the Northwestern end of the park where we blocked off the wind with the vehicles and set up our cameras approximately 1 mile from our subject, the West Mitten. The West Mitten is the most iconic rock formation in the park and although the weather was making it most difficult to see and Lightpaint we hoped we could make some images despite the intensifying sand storm. The Lightpainting location was about 1 mile or more away from the camera location. We used walkie-talkies to communicate to each other about when one should press the shutter and the other begin Lightpainting. The plan was simplified thanks to the blowing sand, ...ready, ...aim, and light as much of the Mitten as possible from about 1 and 1/2 miles away. I'm not sure of the dimensions of the West Mitten, it's gigantic and is the largest subject I have ever Lightpainted. With moonlight above the clouds, the lengthy 20 minute exposure time allowed the overcast to move a considerable distance through the night sky which gave the clouds a dreamy, water color texture. 20 minutes of continual Lightpainting through the sand storm only produced an edging of light on the West Mitten, not as I had planned, but again, I learned a great deal and was happy with the image produced. Nikon D3, ISO400, 20 minute exposure at f8, Nikon 24-70mm Lens, WB 4000K, Picture Control VIVID, Two Brinkmann Q Beam Spot Lights, Nikon MC-20 electronic cable release, Bogen Tripod with Gitzo Ball Head and Kirk "L" Bracket, Lexar 8G Flash Card. There is no question in my mind that creatively Lightpainting large scale landscapes can be done. I shall return.

ANTELOPE CANYON, Page, Arizona
Image #3       Antelope Canyon ... With Monument Valley in the rearview mirror we left our guide and the unforgiving wind and desert sand behind. We hoped for better conditions at Antelope Canyon outside of Page, Arizona. This place is perfect for Lightpainting. Thanks to Dan we had a wonderful Native American guide who had made all the proper arrangements for night access and was also very knowledgeable about photography and the technique of Lightpainting. We followed the same procedure as in Monument Valley, that being, site survey by day and Lightpaint by night. This was my favorite image of the night. I am a big admirer of Jay Maisel's work, especially his imagery with light and shadow and how they influence your eye. Antelope Canyon is a slot canyon with narrow passages and fabulous rock formations carved by water and time. The use of Lightpainting in this image nearly plays tricks with your mind ... is it a rock out cropping or a narrow passage way? Hard to distinguish. Your eye wants to see the warmly Lightpainted area as a free standing rock out cropping, but it is a canyon room that is beyond the blue Lightpainted walls. Dan and I could have spent all night making pictures, but we settled for several good ones and cherished the opportunity for a good night's sleep before moving on to Zion. Nikon D3, ISO250, 30 seconds at f8, Nikon 14-24mm Lens, WB 3030K, Picture Control VIVID, Gitzo Carbon Fiber Tripod and Ball Head with Kirk "L" Bracket, Lexar 8G Flash Card.

ZION NATIONAL PARK, Utah

Image #4       Zion Life ... Heading Northwest out of Page we set our sites on a quick stop in Zion before pushing on to Bryce Canyon. Zion National Park was intended to be a site survey for future Lightpainting locations, but I managed to find a narrow crack in a rock wall far up the canyon route. The crack was very dark and devoid of sunlight. It had a tiny green plant growing inside of it. The plant was maybe 4 inches tall. Even though it is 3:00 in the afternoon I decided to use my Inova LED Flashlight and illuminate (Lightpaint) the tiny plant. At a shutter speed of 1/500 and an ISO of 400 I hand held my D3 with a Nikon 105 Micro lens with Canon Close-Up filter and projected some light on the leaves with the Inova flashlight while taking a single frame. Imagine that, Lightpainting in the middle of the day. Nikon D3, ISO400, 1/500 at f10, Nikon 105 Micro Lens with a Canon Close-Up Filter attached, WB 7140K, Picture Control VIVID, Inova XO3 LED Flashlight, Lexar 8G Flash Card.

BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Utah

Image #5       Thor's Hammer ... Bryce Canyon is a fantastic location for Lightpainting. Despite the adverse weather of freezing temperatures and 4 inches of wet spring snow that fell during our day time site survey of Bryce Canyon, Dan and I were well rested, and had renewed energy for the night shift that lay ahead. Thor's Hammer is the most iconic rock formation in the park. With cloud cover spoiling our hopes for star trails we scouted out several vantage points above the canyon and its time sculpted hoodoo icon. The canyon rim walk provided us with perfect access and locations for both cameras and Q Beams. The field of view was vast with many formations that would require several lighting locations along the rim of the canyon so as to eliminate shadows cast from foreground hoodoos on background walls. To successfully light Thor's Hammer and the surrounding canyon of hoodoos I would need a long exposure time of 15 minutes of which 3 minutes was for Lightpainting and 12 minutes was time spent hiking along the canyon rim to get to the multiple lighting locations. This was new to me and took some thought and calculating, not to mention counting the minutes so as to make all my lighting locations and still have enough time to Lightpaint. The freezing temperatures seemed to melt away as I hoofed my way along my Lightpainting route to make this picture. Nikon D3, ISO400, 15 minute exposure at f6.3, Nikon 24-70mm Lens, WB 5000K, Picture Control NEUTRAL, Gitzo Carbon Fiber Tripod and Gitzo Ball Head with Kirk "L" Bracket, Two Brinkmann Q Beam Spot Lights, Lexar 8G Flash Card.

CANYON LANDS, Utah
Image #6       Mesa Arch ... Canyon Lands was our final destination. By now you know the drill; Lightpaint, sleep, eat, drive, site survey, sleep, eat, Lightpaint ...etc, etc, etc. Mesa Arch in Canyon Lands was a beautiful location and a bit intimidating as I looked over the edge. I made several daylight images during the site survey and was well prepared to Lightpaint when evening came. This was my last image of Mesa Arch before cloud cover rolled in. Dan and I discussed what looked possible and what did not motivate us regarding this scene. The sky above the arch was filled with a hundreds of stars, but the canyon was deep and dark. There was nothing we could distinguish in the canyon to draw attention to the space under the arch. I have learned through my Lightpainting experiences that sometimes there is something there that the camera sees with long exposure times, but my eye cannot. That was just the case with Mesa Arch. I thought back to my Southwest site survey tour with Susan earlier this spring and recalled making a single image of the night sky over Green River, Utah (Image #8 May 2008 On The Road.) That image revealed a thousand stars. I set my ISO at 1600 and used a 30 second exposure time at f2.8 and then Lightpainted the arch for a very brief 5 seconds. The result is a brilliant star field above the warmly lit rock arch and the town of Moab glowing on the horizon beneath the iconic Utah landmark. Nikon D3, ISO1600, 30 seconds at f2.8, Nikon 14-24mm Lens, WB 10,000K, Picture Control VIVID, Gitzo Carbon Fiber Tripod with Gitzo Ball Head and Kirk "L" Bracket, Lexar 8G Flash Card.

This was a great learning experience that produced some images I really like. Each night we conquered the elements, the rugged landscape and pushed ourselves both physically and mentally to solve problems and make unique pictures. It was exciting and a grand adventure that has opened my eyes even more to the greater possibilities of Lightpainting. These images are far from perfect and perhaps even far from what I thought I would return home with. The wheels are turning in my head even as I write this article. What can I do to improve? What can I do that's different? Where else can I go and Lightpaint?

See you next time On The Road. Adios, Dave