Work Diary

Monday 23rd February

Whilst at home I took a shoot, during this shoot I took images of candles, glow sticks and lightbulbs, I feel that these are all very effective ways of showing creative use of light and I have experimented with the arrangement of these objects in the hope that I can produce some effective images. I started with shooting the candles, at first I started with only five candles however after taking some images I increased the amount and also re-arranged them. I also attempted putting them into a shape such as a heart however I felt that this did not look very professional and to complete this well I would need more candles. After shooting a few contact sheets worth of candle photos I then moved onto the glow sticks, again I experimented with the arrangement and also the focus point as I felt I could create some unusual photos, which in my opinion worked very well. I also put a glow stick in a glass of water as I have found an image similar to this which is now in my image bank however my image was not very successful. 

This is one of my candle images, for this I have placed one single candle in front of a group of candles and then focused on the front candle. I think this is a very effective image because you can see from the front image that then objects are candles and then the ones in the background which are blurred, you can only really see the flame and then there is also the reflection of the flame in the surface underneath them. I took a few images similar to this for example I experimented with focusing on the front candle and the focusing on the back one, in my opinion, this is one of my most successful images and I would like to take more images in this style. To improve this image I need to edit the levels and curves to improve the contrast in the colours and I also need to straighten the image so it is horizontal as I feel that this image is slightly slanted.

This is one of my glowstick images, for this image I over-layed a few glow sticks and took a very close-up image, this was a little difficult as I was unsure of where to focus the camera however I think this is one of the most successful photos of this arrangement. I like how the glow sticks are also very different colours and would like to try this method again. I have also completed a variety of other images however in my opinion, this is my favourite of all of my images of glow sticks. To improve this image I need to edit it in photoshop and make the colours stand out a little more, this will not be very difficult and I think once I have done this, it will create a very interesting photo. 

Progression

In my opinion, this was a very successful shoot as I managed to attain a large amount of photos, all very similar meaning that if I have a blurry image there is probably going to be a similar image which may be in focus. I also think that because I have created such a variety of images, there should be some very successful ones. To improve this shoot I could have maybe taken some extra photos of the light bulb as I only have five photos of this however this is not difficult and I can do this during my next shoot. During my next shoot I would like to attempt the glow stick in the water again as I feel this may be successful if I use a bigger glow stick and I would also like to go back and take some further light graffiti images as I feel my skills with this could be improved. Between now and my next shoot I would also like to look into buying some UV paint and a light as I like the idea of putting the UV paint onto a models face and creating some sort of beauty type image in the studio as I think this could be a very interesting topic to complete during my final exam. 

Research Log

1. Hid Said Neto 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/HidSaidNeto

http://electric_neon_photography_by_hid_saib.html

Hid Said Neto is a 26 year old Brazilian photographer who covered his models in neon paint before illuminating them with a single UV light. The flecks of neon paint glow over the faces and the shoulders within the portraits and at times his images even look like embers of a fire or a shower of sparks across the model. Saib first took up photography as a teenager when he started taking photographs of his classmates and he later studied art form at university. In 2010, his series entitled Desigual won the photo essay prize at the Intercom contest in Caxias so Sul in Brazil. His work has also been presented in Buenos Aires in the Sexual and Gender Diversity Festival. 

2. Sean Lenz

http://www.neon-waterfalls-sean-lenz-and-kristoffer-abildgaard/

Sean Lenz worked alongside Kris Adildgaar to produce a series of photographs which they entitled Neon Luminance. These photos show a variety of high-powered Cyalume glow sticks which they dropped into several waterfalls in Northern California and they photographed as they traveled down through the water and over the waterfall. They photographers used a long shutter speed to capture the glow sticks as they travelled with the water and this meant that we can see trails of light within the water in their photos. 

3. Kris Adildgaar

http://www./neon-waterfalls-sean-lenz-and-kristoffer-abildgaard/

Kris Adildgaar worked alongside Sean Lenz to produce a series of photographs which they entitled Neon Luminance. These photos show a variety of high-powered Cyalume glow sticks which they dropped into several waterfalls in Northern California and they photographed as they traveled down through the water and over the waterfall. They photographers used a long shutter speed to capture the glow sticks as they travelled with the water and this meant that we can see trails of light within the water in their photos.

4. Michael Bosanko
http://www.michaelbosanko.com
Michael Bosanko is a photographer with over 10 years experience, he covers modern and industrial architecture, urban sub-cultures, advertising, events, travel and advanced light graffiti. His works is published in magazines, tabloids and books and his photography is very popular. I like his light graffiti images because I think they are very well made and as I am looking into trying light graffiti, his work is very influential.

5. Eric Staller
http://lightpaintingphotography.com/eric-staller/
Eric Staller is an American photographer who uses light and architecture as a medium to create art. Eric Staller is often called the father of light drawing or light graffiti due to his very detailed and expressive use of light to create images.

6. Ian Hobson
http://www.lpwalliance.com/database/Ian_Hobson
http://www.visualnews.com//painting-with-light-and-fire/
Ian Hobson is a British light artist, some of his most famous work includes his floating spheres or long flowing lines, these add vibrancy and colour into the space in which he is photographing. He uses all sort of light, including lightsaber type lights, LED's or even strings of  flaming wool. His work is less detailed than some other light artists however his work would be easier to influence me as some of the light artist are rather complicated.

7. Patrick Rochon
http://fascinating-light-painting-by-patrick-rochon/
Patrick Rochon is a light photographer from Montreal Canada. When he first began he started by doing light painting photography however he now also does video light painting and performances. He says in an interview that he enjoys exploring new ground and creating images with people in them. for example dancers, actors and artists. He also enjoys doing portraits and has recently got back into producing nudes. He also describes his work as colourful, energetic and high contrast.

8. Vicki DaSilva
http://vickidasilva.com/about
Vicki  DaSilva is a light graffiti and light painting pioneer, she has made many images of text light graffiti, her first being titled CASH. She is also the first artist to use four and eight foot fluorescent lamps with the technique and these are all very effective. Her work is very popular and she had her work chosen for a dozen billboards in Times Square, New York.

9. Jadikan-LP
http://lightpaintingphotography.com/jadikan-lp/
Light painter Guilhem Nicolas, also known as Jadikan-LP, has experimented with light graffiti for years. He chose to call himself Jadikan as this is a Malaysian word which means 'to create or transform' and he wants his work to bring a transformation to his viewers. He wants to convery that we are all capable of creating light art and he is very well known for being a bit secretive and mysterious in his process. He shoots a variety of subjects from human form to architecture.

10. Jason D. Page
http://www.jasondpage.com/
http://lightpaintingphotography.com/light-painting-artist/featured-artist-2/jadikan-lp/
Jason D. Page is a light painter who has been creating his work since 2004, he works in a three-dimensional space and capture light paintings. He says that every light painting is unique and unrepeatable. He is known for shooting alone at night, deep into the woods, he says he prefers to do this as the fear that he feels allows his imagination to run wild with him and this is where he feels he can create his best work.

11. Christopher Hibbert
Christopher Hibbert is a photographer based in Paris, he produces like painting images of stick men all over Paris. He sometimes used different ways of creating this image for example, in the image of the Louvre below, he chose to use corks from soda bottles rather than a torch as he felt this would work well.

12. Vincent Loy
Vincent Loy is a photographer who takes photographs of cities and also of firework displays. His photos would fit into the creative use of light category because in his city images, there are the lights from buildings, street lights and sometimes car headlights and then his firework images show light also.

13, Alan Sailer
http://www./alan_sailer/
Alan Sailer is a photographer who chooses to take in high speed, whereas a normal photograph would take a photo a millisecond, Alan's takes the photo at a millionth of a second which is much faster than normal meaning that he is able to capture things that are happening however we would not normally see these.

14. Richard Kempton
Richard Kempton is a specialist firework display photographer, with three years experience as a professional firework photographer. His work is taken in a variety of different locations and shows a variety of large firework displays, for example one of the images below appears to be at a very large event.

15. Paul Chong
Paul Chong is a landscape photographer in Shanghai. He has dedicated his life capturing the beauty of nature and scenery in which he creates a colourful photographs. His work is shown in museums, magazines, websites, brochures and even flyers. I find that his work on landscapes is very effective and think that it look very picturesque. I would love to be able to take photographs of this quality because I find that they are very inspiring. 

16. Sergiy Trofimov
Sergiy Trofimov is a Ukraine based photographer who captures images of landscapes, his work is very vibrant with colour and I feel that his images stand out to some other photographers due to the colour.

17. Ganesh H Shankar
Ganesh H Shankar is a photographer who appears to focus on shadows and darkness with the images below, I think this would fit into creative use of light because of the use of darker colours, shadows and tones.

18. Abigail Thompson
Abigail Thompson is a student photographer who likes to show a sense of journey or exploration in her photographs, she does this by taking her images in some unusual locations however also of some very unusual objects however I feel that her images fit into the creative use of light in various different ways and this would be a very creative style to look at within my own work.

19. Michael McKennedy
Micheal McKennedy is a photographer living in Vermont, he takes photographs of a majority of things, for example, he does landscapes, landmarks, water, city life, long exposure and even animals. His work however also fits into my creative use of light topic because in the images below, the sun/light is a very prominent feature within the image.

20. Chris Giles
Chris Giles is a very talented wedding photographer. His work is amazing quality and he takes his pictures in a way that makes them very unusual to other wedding photographers however I felt that his irk fit in very well with the creative use of light topic due to the stars being very bright and standing out from the sky.