Light painting in nature
When you think of potential subjects that you can work with as a lightpainter, a dark forest will not immediately end up at the top of your to-do list. Nevertheless, I had been toying with the idea of using artificial light in nature in the Netherlands for some time.
Normally our forests are difficult to work with. The night sky is often obscured by the treetops and the contrasts are often too strong. On a sunny day, the organic lines are quickly interrupted by hard shadows, creating an irregular image. A forest therefore looks messy with its jumble of lines, especially in the background. Entering the forest on a cloudy, or rather, a foggy day usually produces better images. It is then possible to use the fog to separate your subjects from the background and present them to the viewer in their full glory. In addition, the soft scattered light is also wonderful to work with!
Shooting at night
At night, as a photographer, you start, as it were, with an unexposed image. Apart from some silhouettes of the trees against the night sky, there will be virtually nothing to see in your image. Only when you intervene in the situation and add light will the beauty of the night and the landscape reveal itself to you. The sky will first turn deep blue and will completely lose all its color and light later in the evening.
Adding light can be done in many ways. For example, you can think of the following light sources:
- The headlights of a passing car
- Flashing parts in your composition. This can be done from a fixed point, but you can also fire a flash from multiple points with your flash in hand.
- Illuminate your subject with a flashlight
- Using battery-powered studio lights.
- Using lightpainting tubes (as I do in my light painting workshop apply).
Lightpainting the nightscapes
I always make sure that I am at the location well before sunset to avoid unexpected surprises. No rushing with equipment and all the time and tranquility to look for a fine composition. You can change position and composition during a shoot, but afterwards you will have a lot of trouble finding a nice spot in the pitch dark.
After this you can start balancing your various light sources. There are a few things to think about here:
- Choose a shutter speed, aperture and ISO where the environment is just visible and you have enough time to make a drawing
- Use a light source that you can dim. Light sources that can also change color and emit either a wide or narrow beam are even better
- Create light that comes from multiple directions. A light source that is in line with your camera and lens will produce a flat image. Crossing light helps to reduce unwanted shadows and will accentuate the shapes.
- Vary your settings and keep in mind that subjects close to the light source will catch more light than subjects further away. In order to also get light into the treetops, you have to expose them longer.
Light painting at night
In January 2021 I set out with a set of Nanlite studio lamps to finally shape an image that had been in my head for quite some time. The conditions were good on paper, dry but with high humidity so a little mist should be possible.
After we found a suitable composition, the lighting of the scene started.
First the basic light for the silhouettes – with the Nanlite Forza 60 – then the auxiliary light for illuminating the trees in the form of a Nanlite Pavotube 30C and finally some small Nanlite Pavotube 6C's for the light accents.
This cathedral in the woods came about fairly quickly, but of course I notice that my years of experience ensure that I hardly have to search for the right settings. I want all elements of the photo to be in balance as much as possible and the image to give the viewer a WOW effect. The right relationship between the light sources in combination with the camera setting is the quest that I enjoy so much!
Do you want to know more about this form of photography? Please contact me or join one of the workshops that I regularly give on this theme.
