Posted by Pedro Bento on November 30, 2009 at 4:58 AM
Hi guys,
What kind of lantern do you use for lightpainting in nigth landscape photography? I listen some about MAGLITE, do you use them? What kind of model? Led or no-led?
Thank you in advance,
Pedro.
Posted by Kent Staubus on November 30, 2009 at 9:17 AM
The main thing is to have an adjustable beam. A Maglite 2AA is a good choice. Most LED flashlights don't have much power, especially if you are using gels. The more expensive ones do though. Either a Maglite 2AA or 2D is a good place to start. The regular Maglites with halogen bulb have a slight orange cast, but it's not objectionable. It could be taken out in CS4 pretty easily too. Here's a shot I made with some SB-28 flash fired by CyberSync triggers of my kid holding a Maglite 2AA flashlight. He's inspecting the root of an overturned sequoia tree at Yosemite. The light from the flash is daylight balanced where the light from his flashlight is not.
There's a little story to this. I had been out earlier that night taking photos of the giant trees in the dark using four or five SB-28 flash. I came back and said it was a little creepy because absolutely no one else was there and the woods were very black and quiet. He said he wouldn't be creeped out at all, so I said, "OK, let's go back and take some more shots." We were staying nearby the Mariposa Grove and drove back. As we were walking back down the main trail he started asking about bears and mountain lions. I told that oh yeah, this is when they'd be out. He said he'd find a hollow tree to climb into to get away if we found one. The photo is of him looking into the root to see if there was a hole big enough for him. But he wasn't scared, of course. We walked another 150 yards into the forest, which was a black as a coal mine. We only had two little 2AA Maglites for light. He seemed to be getting very nervous and suddenly remembered we had to get up early and maybe should go back and go to bed. And that was pretty much it for the night. The funny part is if I had been completely alone, I would have hung around and taken more shots.
Here's a link to a guy who does a lot of flash painting. I don't do much; I mostly use big monolights to light up stuff.
I prefer LED lights, the cooler white balance is more to my taste. I have a black diamond 3W headlamp, which has worked quite well for me. It doesn't, however, have enough power to light distant objects - so it's mostly for more intimate or wide angle compositions where the foreground is the main component.
I've also been playing with bounce flash - bouncing the flash off the ground or other nearby objects to light the subject with soft reflected light.
In the end, your choice depends on the power you need, and the white balance you want. LED's are a better simulation of the cool night or moon light IMO, whereas warmer lights make for more inviting atmospheres.
Posted by Mike Leakey on December 1, 2009 at 7:34 AM
This may not answer your specific question but check out Dave Black's website:
Like Floris said the LED flash light is only effective to light the near by objects. The range for the light I used was about 15-30 feet @ F4 (ISO 100). Although the light did illuminate more distant object, I had to expose them longer for them to show up on the camera.
The key is to experiment and see what work best for you. Good luck.
-Jay
Discussion
4 repliesWhat kind of lantern do you use for lightpainting in nigth landscape photography? I listen some about MAGLITE, do you use them? What kind of model? Led or no-led?
Thank you in advance,
Pedro.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3124/2712847870_c246df026c_o.jpg
There's a little story to this. I had been out earlier that night taking photos of the giant trees in the dark using four or five SB-28 flash. I came back and said it was a little creepy because absolutely no one else was there and the woods were very black and quiet. He said he wouldn't be creeped out at all, so I said, "OK, let's go back and take some more shots."
Here's a link to a guy who does a lot of flash painting. I don't do much; I mostly use big monolights to light up stuff.
http://www.lostamerica.com/
Kent in SD
I've also been playing with bounce flash - bouncing the flash off the ground or other nearby objects to light the subject with soft reflected light.
In the end, your choice depends on the power you need, and the white balance you want. LED's are a better simulation of the cool night or moon light IMO, whereas warmer lights make for more inviting atmospheres.
http://www.daveblackphotography.com/workshop/index.htm
He has a section called "Workshop at the Ranch" and some of his posts over the years have covered light painting. His work is amazing.
Like Floris said the LED flash light is only effective to light the near by objects. The range for the light I used was about 15-30 feet @ F4 (ISO 100). Although the light did illuminate more distant object, I had to expose them longer for them to show up on the camera.
The key is to experiment and see what work best for you. Good luck.
-Jay