Night Tree, a photo from California, West

Photographer's Note

This is a "light painting" we did in the dunes of Death Valley National Park. There are dead trees and wonderful dunes with interesting bare ridges in the background.
Just after sundown, my shooting buddy "painted" the tree using a large incandescent flashlight during the exposure of 15 to 30 seconds. It was great fun, and we got some great shots (and a lot of dark ones.) Here is where a good camera really shines; the Olympus was a bit noisy for these long exposures. It will be interesting to try something like this again with the Nikon D90.

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Critiques | Translate

zybsan (124) 2010-10-04 10:07

Hi Dave,
Cute photo ! I like the play with the lights, and the contrast with the background.We may even believe it's a real sundown (I do, before reading the description) The compo is good. :)
Cheers,
Loïc

jonathan_hart (21276) 2010-10-04 10:44

amazing result, you mastered the lighting, it's beautiful! the composition is fine but the best is in the lighting
jc

bartekp (4746) 2010-10-04 11:16

Hi Dave,

Very good photo (noise is ok) , You can use Neat Image for reduction, sometimes i use this one but before any workshop and try keep good quality (deatils).

Now, about photo :) good composition and great colors!!!

Regards

Bartek

Sonata11 (34119) 2010-10-04 21:01

Hello Dave,

absotutely beautiful, I love it.
Best regards,
Barbara

wolf38 (30) 2010-10-04 23:22

Hi Dave. What fantastic for a landscape. Composition, light and colors are best. Above all, the pointed use of light is excellent. Very nice. Regards, Wolfgang.

tuffellow (546) 2010-10-10 23:01

Nice technique. Seems surreal. I think the light painting would be better if the object painted was further away, and it was dark all around it. Here, my first thought was: he pointed the headlights from his car at the tree. Contrasted with the blue sky in the background, it makes for a great effect nonetheless.

macjake (98544) 2010-10-14 12:25

Hi Dave
its always good to experiment like this.
personally, i would never have thought of doing this.
and it worked out really well!
i like the contrasting light and dark
creative work
cheers
craig

Photo Information

Copyright: Dave Renfroe (daveRen) (160)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2007-11-19
Categories: Nature
Camera: Olympus E-1
Exposure: f/4
Details: Tripod: Yes
More Photo Info: view
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): Nightshot, Iconic Western USA National Parks photos, Light Painting, DESERTS, painting with light [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2010-10-04 10:00