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Canon DSLR Challenge | all galleries >> Canon SLR Challenges - FAQ >> CSLR - Best of... >> Best of 2005 > Second Place: Lightening Boots
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May 10 2005 CameraShy09

Second Place: Lightening Boots

No points for creativity here. I've tried to recreate an image from Lee Frost's book "Night and Low-Light Photography." I outlined the boots with a penlight, then used Image Stacker to combine the three 30-second exposures (90 seconds total exposure). (The EXIF info didn't survive the stacking process.)
A great way to try two new techniques on one photo.


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Canon DSLR Challenge16-May-2005 16:25
I keep coming back to this shot. Best of the bunch for me.
Great technique CameraShy. Must have a go at this myself someday.
Teapot.
cindyd16-May-2005 15:27
Love it. Cindy
CameraShy0912-May-2005 13:56
The wires attached to the two prongs of the light bulb were wrapped in electrical tape to keep them from shorting out, then taped to the positive and negative poles of the AA battery. The taped wires provide sufficient support to the bulb to move it around like a wand. The whole contraption is only about five inches long. I held it with my hand clearly visible to the camera and even walked between the camera and the boots during the exposure. I think the fact that I was moving relatively quickly kept my hand from appearing in the photo.
Canon DSLR Challenge12-May-2005 12:12
Interesting effect. So...did you move the light by hand, or was it taped to a stick, or what? -Ed Hahn
CameraShy0911-May-2005 13:00
The light used was a bare flashlight bulb (purchased from Wal-Mart sporting goods dept). One wire was twisted around each of the two bulb contacts and taped to either the positive or negative pole of a "AA" battery with electrician tape. (My husband did this. I'm not even sure if I've explained it correctly.) The bare bulb had to be visible to the camera for the neon effect to work. I took three shots of 30 seconds each. I outlined the left boot on one exposure, the right boot on the next and tried to cover what I thought I missed with the third. All three images were stacked using the Image Stacking software. Frost did his shot in one take of 40 seconds, but I don't have access to a cable release and had to rely on the longest exposure I could get "out of the box." It was great fun trying this.
Canon DSLR Challenge11-May-2005 03:15
this is really interesting. looks like there is another book i need to add to my list.
Guest 11-May-2005 02:39
Excellent effect! Sorry for my ignorance... what kind of penlight? Do you mean laser pointers?
Shu11-May-2005 02:23
Nice! I love it! Shu
Guest 11-May-2005 02:22
That looks hard to do. How many takes did you do?
Canon DSLR Challenge11-May-2005 01:49
I actually used a tiny flashlight bulb wired directly to a AA battery. (I have a handyman husband.) I tried it first with a LED flashlight and got a very nice light painting, but not the neon outlining effect I was after. Thanks for your comment. - CameraShy09
Guest 11-May-2005 01:40
I have that same book! I like your shot here. Nice outlining! What kind of penlight did you use?