Lightpainting experiments with a Laser Cube

At this time of year in the UK, it gets dark very very late in the evening. And when you're a wage slave like me, staying up till 3am is not a good idea with the ensuing hangover I get from lack of sleep! So when @ryuslightworks and his partner decided to take a holiday in the UK, who am I to refuse a lightpainting session in the dark?

To get around staying up so late in the evening, I suggested we collaborate in a local to me abandoned railway tunnel. I've visited and lightpainted in the tunnel quite a few times and knew it would be a safe bet to provide a dark location. And not to mention at a more socialable and work friendly hour!

One of the items of lightpainting gear Dennis had brought along was his Laser Cube. I've been eager to see one of these cool laser devices which emit all kinds of static and moving laser lights of all colours. You can see details for the Laser Cube here: https://www.laseros.com/lasercube/?wcmlc=GBP

I've hesitated to buy a Laser Cube because I was worried that the laser light emitted would damage my sensor. Today I experimented and I now realise the risk of damage is real! I haven't damaged my sensor but I can see that once I purchase a Laser Cube, I'm going to have to be damned careful!

Colours!

For anyone who has lightpainted before, they would know that this kind of shot is virtually impossible to create unless you have access to pro level disco lights and a mains power source. So to get to play with a portable device which emits colour like this, I had to stop myself from saying, "wow!" all afternoon!

Blue

In the past I've used cheap lasers, the kind you can buy off fleabay. The trouble with the cheap lasers is the blue and red colours tend to be quite weak. In order to make the lasers stand out, it's necessary to use longer exposures to make the laser light better exposed and tonnes of smoke grenades or pellets. So with the Laser Cube, blue doesn't appear to be a problem; it was bright!

The Twelve Lightpainters of the Apocalypse!

This is my favourite shot of the afternoon in the tunnel. This is a 12 way camera rotation image where the camera is rotated on it's lens axis. The laser emitted during these rotations was one of many options available by adjusting the settings in the app.

Fractal Nights

I couldn't help myself this afternoon and attached a fractal filter to the lens and zoom pulled this:

Camera phone is still alive....

I wouldn't dare shoot this with my regular DSLR camera. The risk of damage to the sensor is too great. Thankfully my iPhone 12 Pro Max is still intact!

Thanks very much to Dennis and his partner, Nicole, for their company today; it's been great and thanks for the beer! Also a big thanks to Tom Hill for taking us for a proper British pub lunch; my turn on the next one!

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/

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WHAT IS LIGHTPAINTING?

Lightpainting is a photographic technique in which exposures are made by moving a hand-held light source while taking a long exposure photograph, either to illuminate a subject or to shine a point of light directly at the camera, or by moving the camera itself during exposure. Nothing is added or removed in post processing.

Single exposure Light Art Photography - no layers - no tricks - no photoshop

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If you would like to see more lightpainting please give the Lightpainters United Community a follow and you will be introduced into the illuminating world of light painting!

If you want to see more examples of lightpainting, feel free to check out these guys: