Experimenting with light

[Walkingmanblues]

Tried something different, for me anyway. I exposed these using only a flashlight. In the first one I wrapped the light in kleenex to soften it a bit. The second one is just the naked bulb. Both exposures are 15 sec. at f/22. ISO was accidentally set at 800 (Ugh! I need a camera with an ISO display in the viewfinder. I'm always forgetting to reset the bloody thing.)

Are these working for you? I'm a little concerned about the light trails in the frame. I kind of like them. They're a little different, but I wanted to get some other opinions. Validate them, bash them. Doesn't matter. The first one probably need a tighter crop. Anything else I should try?

http://mmacdona.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p269252566-4.jpg

http://mmacdona.zenfolio.com/img/v8/p451092948-4.jpg

[Walczak Photo]

I think the first one is really good. In fact I like the lighting on both of these (I like playing with flashlights myself) but I think I would have framed/cropped the second shot there by the rule of thirds...having the subject in the center of the shot looking away kind of takes away from the image.

Just my $.02,
Jim

[Lightworks Imaging]

I think that they are not terrible images. I'm not a huge fan of the light painting photo, preferring a more conventional approach to images. But, that said, #1 really does not do much for me, perhaps a crop to elimainate the negative space to the right of the subject. #2, the "bare bulb" shot, things work much better, the sharper trails seem more visually interesting., Still suffers from a crop problem. I'd like to see the "Rule Of Thirds" applied to that image. Maybe crop the right side of the photo? Just miscellaneous ramblings. Keep shooting, the ISO 800 hasn't seemed to really intorduce much noise.

[Walkingmanblues]

I think the first one is really good. In fact I like the lighting on both of these (I like playing with flashlights myself) but I think I would have framed/cropped the second shot there by the rule of thirds...having the subject in the center of the shot looking away kind of takes away from the image.

Just my $.02,
Jim

I think that they are not terrible images. I'm not a huge fan of the light painting photo, preferring a more conventional approach to images. But, that said, #1 really does not do much for me, perhaps a crop to elimainate the negative space to the right of the subject. #2, the "bare bulb" shot, things work much better, the sharper trails seem more visually interesting., Still suffers from a crop problem. I'd like to see the "Rule Of Thirds" applied to that image. Maybe crop the right side of the photo? Just miscellaneous ramblings. Keep shooting, the ISO 800 hasn't seemed to really intorduce much noise.

Thanks for the feedback. I knew the compositions weren't all that they coould be. Most of the crops I've tried simply make matters worse. I did one version (see below) where I did some work in PS with the size of the canvas, smart bjects, etc. I'm not sure it works either. I confess I like the lighting technique, however. It's kind of like getting a new toy, but I'm sure its charms will fade over time. Then maybe it will just be another tool, not a toy:-)

Tinner, there was substantial noise in the originals, but a couple agressive applications of Noise Ninja took care of it. That program is a wonder.

http://mmacdona.zenfolio.com/img/v8/p664262792-4.jpg