Evan and Roger from China posing for me

Night Time Photography and 

Painting with Light

Night time photography is already fun.  Add painting with light and you have a recipe for great photos as well as fun.  This is an excellent way to cure boredom amongst teens who just can't seem to find anything to do on warm summer night.  

A pitch black night is best so you can move around "unseen" with the shutter of your camera left open and your camera perched upon a tripod for stability.  If you have the ability, set your camera on "bulb" for the shutter speed.  If you have a newer camera that works with a wireless remote control, BUY ONE!  They are definitely worth it.  With your camera set to blub and to wireless control, click the shutter button once and it will open the shutter and mirror leaving them open.  Then click the button again when you are done to close the shutter and mirror again.

Evan doing an admirable job writing his name with a flashlight

Your results may vary and you might have to play with the ISO settings and timing on the bulb mode to get the best results.  If you have a pitch black night, a higher ISO setting might capture the light source better.  The photo above was captured with an ISO setting of 4000 using a Nikon D7000 on a tripod with an 18-105mm Nikon lens.   The sparklers were provided by our friend Trish, who drew the best version of the word "Maine" in the upcoming photos.  

We spent hours having fun and trying new things.  At one point, we noticed it was hard to get the words to come out right because you couldn't turn the sparklers off.  This gave birth to the idea that we should use a flashlight.  Enjoy the rest of the photos and feel free to add a comment or question.  

Bruce