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Creative LightpaintingWorkshop at the Ranch
Hi, and welcome to this edition
of Workshop at the Ranch. Are you like me? .. sometimes you just
want to have some fun and let all the business work wait until
tomorrow. Nine holes of golf sounded like fun but the rain/snow
had already begun here in the mountains and I'm not a committed
golfer who accepts the challenge of dodging lightning and enduring
cold temperatures on the course. So, I did the next best thing
.......... I Lightpainted some golf clubs. I'm always trying to
learn something new and improve my Lightpainting skills. This
project would offer a great indoor escape from the office.
Keep in mind the same basic set up was
used from start to finish ( oak leaf surface placed on the floor,
objects clamped into positioned above the oak surface, two 4ft
ladders, camera positioned above the scene using my skies laid
across from ladder to ladder to support the camera facing down.
I just switched objects and used pull focus and colored gels to
create different looks. If you are new to Lightpainting I suggest
you read some of the previous articles of Workshop at the Ranch
(ex: May 2006 "Lightpainting From the Beginning".) There
you will find the necessary information to help you understand
Lightpainting more completely.
Well, that wraps up another day of fun and learning. See you next time at Workshop at the Ranch. Adios, Dave
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Image
#1 The Set Up ..... I took the oak leaf section from our
dinning room table and set it on the floor. I placed two
4 foot step ladders at either end of the oak leaf and used
Bogen Super Clamps to secure and to suspend the clubs about
2 inches above the oak surface. Then I used a 2 inch section
of cardboard tubing ( you know, a Christmas wrapping paper
tube ) and place it on the oak surface and then placed the
golf ball on the section of tubing. With my subjects (2
clubs and a golf ball) positioned 2 inches above the oak
surface I felt I could Lightpaint the oak wood green and
not paint the clubs or ball with any green color. The ladders,
which are supporting the golf clubs had a duel purpose besides
holding the clamped clubs. I laid my old skies from ladder
to ladder directly over the top of the golf clubs, ball
and the oak leaf that is on the floor. I placed my Nikon
D200 on the skies so the view was looking straight down
at the scene. I pulled the blinds, shut off the lights and
made a 2 minute test shot with no Lightpainting. Perfect,
a completely black image. Now the fun can begin. Nikon D200,
ISO100, 2 minutes exposure at f10, Nikon 17-55mm Lens set
on Manual Focus, WB 7600K, Stylus Streamlight (#2338161
... about the size of a ball point pen), Green Gel, 2 Bogen
Super Clamps, Lexar 4G Flash Card. The green gel was placed
over the Streamlight so I could Lightpaint the oak wood
with green light. I Lightpainted under each club head and
the ball for about 10 seconds each. Then I would take off
the green gel and Lightpaint the 2 clubs and the ball with
the standard daylight balanced Steamlight. The ball is white
and only required 3 seconds while the clubs and shafts required
about 30 seconds each. The remainder of time was used to
position myself to Lightpaint from several different angles.
These are my fathers old Walter Hagen signature golf clubs,
therefore, the signature of Walter Hagen is prominently
displayed on the club head and easily illuminated with Lightpainting.
Image #2 Hickory Hit ..... What looks like a strobed shot
of a golf ball being hit is actually another Lightpainting.
Same set up as image #1 ... oak leaf, ladders, club clamped
in place, camera resting on my skies positioned directly above
... YES, the camera is still positioned directly above. The
golf ball is now resting on a 5 inch tall card board tube
that is on the oak surface that is on the floor. When viewed
from above the tube is not visible and it appears as though
the ball is in the air. The club and tee are Super Clamped
horizontal and are now 5 inches above the oak surface, same
height as the ball. In other words, the entire scene is on
it's side .......Why? ... because it was the best way to create
the illusion of the ball being in flight. Crazy? .... wait,
it gets better .......... Nikon D200, ISO100, 2 Minute Exposure
at f10, Nikon 17-55mm Lens set on Manual Focus, Bogen Super
Clamps, WB 10,000K, Streamlight with an Amber Gel, Lexar 4G
Flash Card. The ball and tee are white and only needed 3 seconds
of Lightpainting. The club face and wrapped shaft are a dark
wood and require about 5-10 seconds. The 2 minute exposure
gives me plenty of time to position myself to Lightpaint from
a few angles and highlight only the areas I want. This image
is OK but needs something more......
Image #3 Hickory Hit Again ..... Background is everything!
Remember that my club, ball and tee are positioned 5 inches
above the oak leaf sitting on the floor. If no Lightpainting
hits the oak it will be black. With this in mind I placed
my green tee shirt on the oak leaf and Lightpainted a section
of the tee shirt under the club using the Streamlight and
a green gel. Now my picture has a little depth and the club
head is defined. Once I had Lightpainted the ball, club
face, shaft and tee I manually unfocused the lens and Lightpainted
the green sweatshirt, the edges of the ball and the left
side of the tee. The "pull focus" created a very
dreamy softness to those areas Lightpainted out of focus
while the areas Lightpainted in focus are perfectly sharp.
Nikon D200, ISO100, 2 Minute Exposure at f10, Nikon 17-55mm
Lens, WB 10,000K, Streamlight with gels ( the amber gel
was used for the ball and tee ... a green gel for the background,
) Bogen Super Clamps, Lexar 4G Flash Card. Now the wheels
in my head are really turning. What if ....................
Image #4 Walter Hagen Drive ..... What if I used the same
basic set up again, accept I replace the old hickory club
with the Walter Hagen 4 Wood, the ball with a slightly more
modern ball, and replaced my green tee shirt with a red tee
shirt and lit it with a red gel. I used 2 Bogen Super Clamps
to hold the club more secured at the grip so I could pull
the club head back and release it to swing free ....... back
and forth, back and forth for about 15 seconds while I Lightpainted
the club face area with the Streamlight and no gel. Progress
! The red tee shirt when Lightpainted with a red gel produces
a fireball glow behind the club head. The swinging club when
Lightpainted for 15 seconds produces a motion fire trail (
thanks to the red and yellow club face ... see Image #1. )
NikonD200, ISO100, 2 Minute Exposure at f10, Nikon 17-55mm
Lens, WB 7600K, Streamlight and gel, Bogen Super Clamps, Lexar
4G Flash Card. Walter Hagen never hit so hard. I Lightpainted
the ball, tee, club face and shaft in focus, then I pulled
the focus when I Lightpainted the tee shirt behind the club
to soften the red glow.
Image
#5 Masters Drive ..... Same basic set up again, however, I
switched the club and ball. This time a modern day Titanium
Driver and a Masters golf ball from Augusta National were
used. I Lightpainted the club face, shaft, front edge of the
tee and Masters Logo on the ball in focus, then I pulled the
focus and lightpainted the edges of the ball ( daylight )
and the red tee shirt (red gel ) behind the club head. With
the focus pulled I then Lightpainted the oversized club head
with red gelled Lightpainting while I slowly moved the club
head away from the original position. The results is a fire
streak of red that suggests the club is moving at top speed.
Nikon D200, ISO100, 2 Minute Exposure at f10, Nikon 17-55mm
Lens, WB 7600K, Streamlight, Bogen Super Clamps, Lexar 4G
Flash Card. I loosened the Super Clamp in order to allow the
club to pivot smoothly by hand rather than setting the club
in a swinging motion as was done in image#4. This slow Lightpainted
pivot (about 3 seconds) created an impression that the Titanium
Driver is accelerating into the ball. 