Light Painting a dead leaf.
I have a friend with an Instagram channel dedicated only to dying leaves. The Beauty of Autumn caught in photography. So I thought I have done some leaves some flowers and trees and then there was this dead leaf coming off of my palm tree in my living room.
Here is the main and last image of the night. I was happy after that.
How did I do that?
The main featured shot is a 77-second single exposure Light Painting. The camera was set to ISO100 and the 105mm Sigma Macro 2.8 lens with F20 fairly closed.
At first, I applied light to a copper filter grid to get the pattern on the side for some depth in the image, then I removed the filter and applied some light from the front and back of the leaf, and then I used some black fiber brush in orange and white as a final step. You can see the setup in the next image.
What was the process? Step by Step procedure:
Before I got to all the different effects combined in one shot I had a hard time setting up the leaf that I can put the light from the front, sides, and from the back. So I hang it up and used tesa-film to fix it to the floor.
It was still moving around a little, but not too fast. If I light it up fast I could make it look as it was still.
So I started testing different lighting techniques. At first, it was all blurry so I wanted to use a camera flash.
But it was very hard to hide my hand. So being at home I put on a black jacket and covered my hand as well.
That was better. Here is just the light from the backside.
Then testing the light from the front. First only from the front.
Then I do the front and the back. The yellowish tint comes from the light shining through the leaf. But it was a bit much from the front. Now I need to find the balance between front and back.
During this process, I started to make a decision on how I wanted the leaf to look like for the final approach adding extra features like the fiber brush.
This is what I wanted. So now let us test it in combination with some light effects.
Nope! I want more flashy.
Ok, this is going in a really good direction. This is what I want to build on for the main shot. This shot is almost what I wanted in the first place. It is still subtle enough to please the eye of most people with being too kitschy.
Let's practice and memorize the procedure. Then I can add more effects.
That's was then more to my liking and is one of my favorites of the night. It almost feels like the energy of the leaf is given back to the world into the cycle of life closing.
I hope it was also inspirational. If you have more questions please do not hesitate. I am happy to share my knowledge.
Gunnar Heilmann Photogrpahy
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