Beautiful Bolehill - Lightpainting on Hive

Bolehill Quarry in the Peak District is one such location I yearn to get back to. An old disused quarry, reclaimed by nature and dotted with beautifully characterful silver birch trees. Every now and again there are glimpses of its industrial past but most of that is now gone.

The title image I remember well and a night out in the darkness with James Mills. I had been working hard all night to find a pleasing composition amongst all the chaotic woodland but had, in the main, failed. James had brought a smoke grenade with him and set it off before placing a torch on the ground. Without any thought for a pleasing composition I plonked my tripod down and opened the shutter. I'd found a frame which worked for the first time that evening and wasn't even trying. Crazy how things work out.

This is one of my favourites from Bolehill as I think it sums up the beauty but rather foreboding nature the place takes on after dark.
Super simple to do with 1 x model by the name of Tei (top bloke) and a Convoy torch held by Komeg (another top bloke)
A truly international effort here with Tei from Denmark, Komeg from France and myself from good old England. Top times in top company and a good representation of how Light art can bring people together regardless of their roots. Happy days.

Keeping it simple once again with an exposure looking straight up to the canopy. Nothing fancy required sometimes. Especially in a place like this....or when ideas are short ;) I used a custom white balance here to make the sky a crazy colour.

I find doing orb shots double hard. Firstly you have to work on a pleasing composition, which is hard in here at the best of times. Next you have to work on the lighting of the scene. Then and only then you have to worry about spinning a half decent orb to finish things off. Denis Smith is the master at putting all those elements together seamlessly. His orbs look like they belong in their surroundings and I think this is a skill you pick up over many many hours of shooting.

Here is my attempt at putting it all together and I guess it's ok but not in the same league as Mr Smith's creations.

My last shot I have chosen to share helps to order all of that chaos, with the use of a Chris T camera rotation tool. I find side lighting the trees from either side helps bring out extra texture and form. Remembering to contain the light into the upper half of the frame before rotating my camera 180 degrees and repeating the lighting process.
There is something disturbing I find whilst looking at my woodland based rotation shots, especially when converted to black and white. Woodland areas are some of my favourite places to do camera rotation and it always helps in finding a pleasing and balanced composition. Maybe it's cheating in the eyes of a landscape photographer but I'm not one of those so it's all good.

I hope you enjoyed coming on a little journey down memory lane with me and if you ever find yourself in the Peak District be sure to visit Bolehill...you won't regret it.

For more examples of innovative and original lightpainting including camera rotation photography, check these lightpainters: @fastchrisuk @dawnoner @mafufuma @oddballgraphics @martbarras @stefan.stepko @rod.evans.visual @yo-hoho @maxpateau These chaps are amongst the best there is!