I was interested in playing around with light painting, but with work and getting ready for a family vacation at a lake cottage in northern Michigan kept me busy the submission week. As Sunday evening approached I had not had a chance to take any shots. I had packed a flashlight and I had tried to keep an eye out for an interesting subject. As the sun was setting I packed up my tripod and headed out to an old abandoned shack in the woods not far from the cottage. I stood in the hot damp air being eaten alive by mosquitoes waiting for dark thinking this was probably not my best idea. However, darkness slowly fell and I took several shots. I thought I might have a couple of interesting images, but time was not on my side. While the cottage is not exactly primitive, it has no internet access and it is a bit remote. After I picked and processed an image I had to debate whether it was good enough to be worth driving into town on a Sunday night to try to find a public WiFi spot to enter it. Fortunately, the Holiday Inn Express outside Petoskey was kind enough to allow me access and the entry got in 10 minutes before the midnight deadline.
Post challenge: Now I am glad I made the drive. Thanks for the great comments. I really liked giantmike's suggestion of trying one with lighting from the inside. However, this shack had a huge dead tree leaning against it making it lead heavily. Going inside might not have been a good idea.
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Place: 4 out of 52 Avg (all users): 6.4924 Avg (commenters): 7.6667 Avg (participants): 5.7879 Avg (non-participants): 6.7273 Views since voting: 7138 Views during voting: 344 Votes: 132 Comments: 16 Favorites: 0
i like the way you lit some of the forest, but i wish it was just a little less so it made a little more mystery. still a beautiful image and an 8 from me
There are a few in this challenge that are quite good, and many that have done quite well on the creativity front, but this is my favorite.
It's my kind of shot for starters, but there's an earthy vibe that's just real. Light trails can be interesting, but this is what i think of when I think painting with light. It's a great scene and the processing is well done. The shed seems painting-like, but grounded in its realistic surroundings.
Just a very interesting and well-done photo in every way.
The light used at night gives an eerie effect. The wood looks like it's ready to come alive. Might've been neat to see a pair of eyes coming from the open doorway.
This is a great subject, but I don't think the lighting does it justice. I would challenge you to return to this spot with these ideas and see what you get:
1) Try a more dramatic lighting instead of attempting to light the whole scene
2) Light from inside the shack. With the cracks and holes I bet you could get some really cool
3) Smoke pouring out of the door (e.g. a smoke machine) would be really spooky and cool.
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