I say in my bio below, I shoot lightpainting, models and urbex images, not necessarily in that order. So when I get a chance to combine all three elements, I will most often jump at the chance.
Abandoned buildings are probably the not the most healthy of places to visit and certainly it's quite difficult to persuade a model to stand outside in a grotty building probably freezing her ass off but this is a post where I managed to bring it all together!
Hey Neil, don't set Chayla on fire, she's hot enough already!
This was a shot in an abandoned building in Derbyshire, where @neilru75 was inside the room spinning burning steel wool behind Chayla here. The focus wasn't absolutely spot on but it didn't stop over 99,000 image views on my Flickr page. That was a surprise....
Chayla strikes a pose, at 3am
I took part a few years ago in a charity 24 hour photoshoot with a bunch of models and ne'er do well photographers. We started around 9am on a Friday and we eventually ventured out of the studio and drove in the middle of the night to Lincoln Cathedral. Lincoln Cathedral is not quite an abandoned building to be fair, but these archways made a great frame. I set up the lights and spun the circle (which isn't easy by hand!). I remember this shot being taken at 3:20am! I paid for this the following day by feeling like a sleep deprived zombie....
Smouldering Gina
This was a shot where good fortune played a part. It seems to be a thing here in the UK where someone with a load of waste will dump it in random places. Sometimes in a forest somewhere or in this case, an abandoned colliery which I happen to frequent. When we arrived, I knew the wet tyres would make a great frame. So I set up the lights and shot Gina holding a burning smoke pellet here who certainly knows how to "smoulder" in the smoke:
Neena in the barn
I remember after nailing this shot being quite excited. I know this because Neena was recording video of this photoshoot and all I can hear is me in the background whooping and sounding like an idiot because my OCD was extremely happy!
Aida strikes a pose
Not quite lightpainting as such but I did manage to place a red gelled strobe behind Aida van Rensberg here. This is one of my favourite images where the soft lighting on the day was pretty much perfect espcially when I added a white reflector.
Samfire Sam
I haven't shot many male models before, but I was asked to assist another photographer who had a fire performance artist wanting a photoshoot and was struggling with the exposures. The other photographer hadn't worked out that the motion could be captured and the model frozen by using "2nd curtain rear sync" on their camera. Basically just as the exposure ends, the flash fires thereby freezing the subject but capturing the motion. This was a hand held one second exposure:
About me:
I usually specialise in shooting lightpainting images but occasionally dabble in urbex and artistic model photography. I'm always on the lookout for someone to collaborate with; please don't hesitate to get in touch if you'd like to create art.
Social Media
https://www.facebook.com/fastchrisuk
https://www.flickr.com/photos/fastchris/
If you want to see more examples of lightpainting, feel free to check out these guys: @fadetoblack, @stepko, @mafufuma, @yo-hoho, @oddballgraphics, @martbarras & @rod.evans.visual
Follow the Hive Community Lightpainters United to be introduced into the world of light painting.
