Adventures in light painting!  

Over the years there have been a handful of these longer-range scenes where I’ve attempted to do light painting, and I have to admit, it’s a bit of an exercise patience, and just going with the flow.  This particular scene is shot at 70mm, and the massive rocks in the frame are roughly 50 – 100 yards away from the camera, which means basically that I don’t really know exactly where the camera is in relation to myself (because I can’t see it in the pitch black), and given the distance, I don’t really have a good idea what I’m doing with the lights looks like.  My friend Mark and I devised a scheme where he would blow a whistle to let me know the camera shutter was open (so I wouldn’t be moving around unless I was doing so intentionally) and then closed, but other than that, I didn’t know much about what was going on, and you really have no idea what it will all look like until you get back and put it all together.  Even still, it’s a blast!

Mark and I had visited this site the day before, and the portion of the rock to the right that is illuminated is known by a few locals as “Jabba rock” – referencing of course the infamous character in the Return of the Jedi.  Below in the Alternative Perspectives section is a shot of the same area during the day; I’ll let you tell me if you see it.  I, too, was reminded of Star Wars, but to me the giant rocks looked more like a rock fortress, with little battle stations throughout.  Regardless, this area is an absolute playground.  In the image above, you can actually see the shadow of my legs, which helps a tiny but in understanding the scale of this whole area.

Rising in the sky behind the rocks you’re just seeing the upper portion of the dark horse nebula, which reaches up and right to the Rho Ophiuchus complex, featuring Antares, which is the bright yellow star in the center of the cluster of color. 

These longer-range scenes are much easier to come by out in the desert, where the distance and scale of things gives you the room you need to accomplish the setup.

More next week!

–Dan Thompson