An Experiment
Light-painting Hosta and Ferns
Light-painting with a flashlight is usually done at night when the ambient light level is low enough to allow the long exposures, at least 8 seconds, necessary for the ‘painting’. But a few months ago I was talking about the process with a friend and he suggested doing closeup work using ND filters to extend the exposure time and the powerful ‘Tiny Monster’ flashlight to supply the extra output necessary. Have to admit that I dismissed the idea at the time, but Sunday morning there was no wind and a hazy sky so I decided to give it a go.
It took about 9 stops of ND to get a 10 second exposure, but with a working distance of about 8″ the aptly named ‘Tiny Monster’ was able to put out enough light to cut through all that density. Now I did this about an hour after dawn. I suspect that even under cloudy skies the ambient light level would eventually rise to the point where adequate exposure times might not be attainable. But hey … I dismissed the whole idea at first.
Thanks ‘Tiny Monster’ … and Jeff.