Painting with light is one technique I really enjoy experimenting with. I think I like it so much because I never know exactly what I am going to get. There is definitely a surprise element when you try the technique of painting with light. If you have been following my post, I’m sure you’ve noticed I am always searching for the unusual and like to experiment.

I have been doing some research on the Painting with Light technique and wanted to share my findings and first efforts. The image below was taken in a harbor on Sarasota Bay with the Ringling Bridge in the background on the right.  The mechanics of the process is to place the camera on a tripod and using a slow shutter speed rotate the camera either left and right or up and down. For the image above, I obviously rotated the camera laterally.  The exposure was 1 second at f/22; ISO 100. I was shooting at sunset, which required me to really stop down the aperture. I was wishing my ISO would go to 50, but no such luck just yet with most digital cameras. There is definitely some experimentation required with the shutter speed and this process can be done with speeds as fast as 1/15 of a second. As always, lighting rules and shoot many frames.

“Ringling Bridge” Painting with Light

Abstract of Ringling Bridge and Sarasota Bay.

View more of my work at www.susanmcanany.com.

Thanks for reading!