One-on-One workshop with Amr El-shafei

In March, I had the pleasure of teaching a One-on-One workshop to Amr El-shafei, who flew in from Arkansas.

Amr has a real love for photography, as well as for the American flag, so he decided to combine the two in a still life during the workshop. He picked out a baby Rollie from my camera collection, as well as an antique chrome tripod, a great combination. As a matter of fact, at my former studio, I had the Rollie mounted on that very tripod as part of my studio decor. Amr also placed a vintage flash bulb in the set as a nice accent. These bulbs are fun to light, as the fine metal wire inside the bulb picks up the light beautifully.

Amr decided to use a wide angle lens on his Cambo technical camera, which brought another level of interest to the shot.

  Photography by Amr El-shafei

This still life was definitely a challenge! The fabric of the flag, the chrome tripod and the multiple surfaces and edges on the Rollieflex all presented technical hurdles during the light painting part of the workshop. Amr used a soft scrim light for the chrome, and the Surefire with the diffusion adapter for most everything else.

Although I love teaching in a group atmosphere, the one-on-one workshops are special in their own way. There is a bit more of an opportunity for the student and myself to get to know each other, and there is more back and forth, which allows us to accomplish more in the two-plus days. Also, the still life set-ups can be a bit more complex.

We had a great time exploring light painting on this image. Thanks for making this a great workshop, Amr!

ANNOUNCEMENT: Light Painting Workshop to be held July 12,13, and 14, 2013

We are pleased to announce that the next group Light Painting the Still Life Workshop will be held here at my home studio (in beautiful Lancaster County, PA) July 12-14, 2013.

Registration is now open, and the workshop is limited to 6 students.

Click HERE for the schedule and details of the workshop.

These workshops involve real teaching of the methods I employ, and this is a technical and intensive workshop… you will be given the training needed to produce work at a very high level. You will be receiving personal, detailed hands-on (literally!) instruction on proper light painting (not light pointing), and my post production process. You will actually learn the nuances of lighting, and the nuances of using masking to create beautiful images!

My co-instructor, John Corcoran, will be bringing a lot of experience to the workshop. He has worked as a professional photographer for over 35 years, and has been light painting for almost 20 of those years.

He shoots wonderful floral images and portraits, all using light painting. You can see some of John’s images HERE.

“My Father’s Tools”

“Thank you so much for the wonderful workshop. I fell in love with your work the first time I saw it. I was thrilled when my friend told me you were offering a workshop. The workshop was well paced and I appreciate how you and John were there to help us every step of the way.
I learned so many new techniques and can’t wait to try them on my own at home. I particularly appreciate all the written instructions you sent us home with, and of course your great cappuccinos.”

- Beamie Young, Maryland – Group Light Painting the Still Life Workshop (January 2013)

“I just finished my first light painting workshop and enjoyed every minute. It was well thought out and perfectly executed. When we got to the “hands-on” portion it had to be challenging for Harold and John to help students who were using different platforms, different equipment and different programs. Everything went smoothly and everyone created an impressive light painted image on their first try.  I am so glad that I made the trip and learned from the “master”. It would have taken a long, long time to figure everything out on my own. Now that I know the process, I am up and running. Thanks, Harold and John. You made it a very worthwhile experience.”

- Dave Wood, Florida – Group Light Painting the Still Life Workshop (January 2013)

Images from the March 2013 Group Light Painting workshop…

Hi everyone! Remember, if you are seeing this in an email, please click on the headline above to see the blog in a better, richer color rendition!

Here is the recap from our most recent group workshop, held in March.  Our next workshop is coming up, and it’s scheduled for the 11th and 12th of May, with a two-hour introduction on the evening of the 10th. There are still slots available!

As always, I do a demonstration still life light painting, and this time, I chose this beautiful old kitchen scale from my prop collection. I really enjoy doing a demonstration image during the workshop, as it’s always fun, and I always learn something! Vera and I had gone out prop shopping prior to the workshop and found some very beautiful tomatoes, so I couldn’t resist.

Photo by Harold Ross

The students, as usual, created some terrific images, and John and I very much enjoyed the experience we had with them!

To see more images created by my workshop students, click HERE.

Doris Burdick created this simple yet beautiful composition using carefully chosen elements that roughly fell into the same color family. Doris used a combination of very soft scrim light and harder light from a flashlight with diffuser (see tools and equipment page on the blog).

Photo by Doris Burdick

Rob Tuttle brought this amazing old clock to the workshop. He decided to do a straight on image which celebrates the wonderful design elements in it. Using raking light, Rob brought out the detail of the wood carving.

Photo by Rob Tuttle

Lynn Cromer, who flew in from Texas, created this lovely image using just a few elements. Lynn’s desire was to create a beautiful classic still life, and his final image is just that!

Photo by Lynn Cromer

Ron Studebaker, who flew in from Colorado, chose a few of my favorite things to photograph, and he did a great job revealing the texture of these vintage tools. I have a thing for old oil cans (and I suspect that I’m not the only one!).

Photo by Ron Studebaker

Kerry Harrison, a workshop alumna, also couldn’t resist those gorgeous tomatoes! Kerry’s composition is unique, delicate and quite lovely.

Photo by Kerry Harrison

Leslie Sinclair created an image with a wonderful balance of color and shape. At the same time, the contrast in textures is intriguing.

Photo by Leslie Sinclair

After the workshop,  I decided to do a tutorial video on “How to Un-Polish an Apple”.

It was another successful workshop, and it was great fun teaching the nuances of light and light painting. Thanks to my students for coming, and to John Corcoran for co-instructing!

One-on-One workshop with John Tebbetts

 Every once in a while, you meet someone whose interests so closely parallel your own that you have a hard time believing you don’t already know each other! John Tebbetts, who flew in from Texas to take a one-on-one workshop, is that kind of person. John is passionate about photography, and produces work of a very high quality (he would refer to this as “off-scale”), but there is something else that I connected with… John’s creativity, his ability and desire to make… that is, to conceive, design, and then build things. We both, for instance, work with welded steel as a creative medium (among other things).

 That said, putting myself in the same group as a guy like John is wishful thinking, as he is so accomplished at so many things that it boggles the mind. I have one other friend like that… someone who gets more done in a week than most folks imagine doing in a year, and all at a very high level. I could list these things, but it would take a very long time, and people like this make you realize that someone like Leonardo DaVinci actually existed… evidence that one person can be an artist, a scientist, a designer and an inventor all at once, and that they have an uncanny ability to consistently get amazing things done. John, for instance, recently designed and built a beautiful ultra-modern concrete and steel house for his family!

 On to the workshop… John, being from Texas, honed in immediately on the steer head that was hanging in our living room. He decided to light paint it, and I couldn’t have guessed where it was going to lead. John started “shopping” my prop collection, and found an industrial chain, some surgical tools, some bones, two marbles, and a fossil, and proceeded to create a composition that I couldn’t have imagined (as happens with many of my workshop students) and would never have done myself!

I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating… this is what makes teaching such a delight, and one of the reasons that I learn from every one of my students.

So, here is the “anatomically referenced” image created by the renaissance man, executed with light painting:

 

Photo by John Tebbetts

Now, the eye of the steer is just unbelievable, and one might think that we did something in post production to get this effect. In truth, John lit this part of the steer head (and a large marble that he had placed in the eye socket) in one capture, and used it in the image as it was! Here is the original capture of this area:

Photo by John Tebbetts

Light Painting Tips and Techniques: Un-Polishing an Apple, or How to Fix a Specular Highlight

This tutorial is about an interesting fix that we explored in the March Group Workshop on light painting.

When you light a shiny object, especially one that contains color or a pattern, the specular highlight that will occur is going to diminish the color and/or pattern or texture in that area. Some people refer to this as an area getting “blown out”.

I’ve devised this method of getting rid of the problem, and it’s surprising how simple it is and how well it works.

Take a look at this tutorial video to see how it’s done and give it a try yourself.

This is the one of a series of tutorials that I’ve created involving my light painting process, and it is just a quick look at the kind of information that my students learn (although more in depth) at my workshops.

Please click on the “gear” icon on the lower right to increase the video resolution for better viewing quality… especially if you want to watch it full screen.

To see more of my videos on Light Painting technique by click HERE

Images from the January 2013 group light painting workshop…

Hi everyone! Remember, if you are seeing this in an email, please click on the headline above to see the blog in a better, richer color scheme!

Things have been hopping at the studio, and I’ve fallen behind in my posts a bit.
I’ve been wanting get to this post from our January group of students out for awhile now. It was a really great group and John and I had a lot of fun teaching the intricacies and benefits of light painting the still life. We had a student from Florida, one from Virginia, two from Maryland, one of my alumni students from Delaware, and a firefighter from Philadelphia!

This was the first group workshop with my friend and co-instructor, John Corcoran, who has been light painting for 20 years, and things went very well. John brought many ideas and insights to the table!

As always, I do a demonstration still life light painting, and this time, I chose a rather simple setup (simple is good in light painting), including a very beautiful heart shaped glass vase that I’ve had for years. I really enjoy the pressure of setting up a still life in just a few minutes, and the results are always interesting, for me anyway!

Photograph by Harold Ross

The students, as usual, came up with some wonderful compositions, and really excelled in light painting them!

Here are the results:

In this image by Kathy Buckalew, as in almost all of the images shot in this workshop, there are some reflective objects. In this case, there are a couple of pieces of old pewter, which have a metallic sheen, yet a pretty heavy patina from age. With glossy surfaces, such as metal and glass, a very effective lighting method is to use a diffusion panel with the light source well behind it. This softens the light, creating a large, beautifully diffused reflection. In the case of something like this pewter, however, it is matte enough that you can also light it with just be diffused flashlight for a different effect. Kathy chose to light it with the diffusion panel and the results are really lovely.

Photograph by Kathy Buckalew

 In this simple yet gorgeous image, Cam had several very reflective objects, including the orange, which is actually quite shiny. She chose to light the orange with the diffused flashlight in order to maintain the beautiful texture in the skin. The glass and pewter were both lit with a large diffused light source in order to get those big soft reflections. In this technique, it’s critical to get the light source, a small LED panel, just the right distance from the scrim (studio speak for diffusion panel) in order to get a soft gradation in the reflection. Also, notice how Cam skimmed the light down the edge of the feather to pull it forward and describe its shape.

Photograph by Cam Miller

 Here, Beamie used the diffusion panel to illuminate the glass and brass on the hourglass (say that fast three times). She also used it on the marble in front of the bone. Beamie decided to use the theme of the passage of time for her image, and the result is wonderful!

Photograph by Beamie Young

This composition is so interesting due to the fact that Mary Louise wanted to take advantage of the holes in the colander and she projected light through them using the flashlight without diffusion. She was able to combine that capture with the other light painted captures to create this lovely still life.

Photograph by Mary Louise Ravese

 In this image by Paul Grugan, there is nothing that required a big soft diffusion panel. Everything in the shot was lit with the flashlight with the diffuser. Paul put together a beautiful composition of some of my favorite scrapyard finds! His image reveals a terrific combination of colors.

Photograph by Paul Grugan

 Dave pulled together a very eclectic grouping for this image. I love how he has the small hit of color in the center of the image, and how he used the light to illuminate the wooden box behind the calipers. Once again, I learn from my students… They end up doing compositional things that I would never have thought of, and I learn from them at every workshop! Life is good…

Photograph by Dave Wood

Two-on-One Light Painting Workshop with Glenn and Lori

Recently, I taught a Two-on-One workshop to students Glenn and Lori. Lori is from Pennsylvania and Glenn is from southern Delaware. They decided to take a workshop together to take advantage of the savings over taking the workshop individually.

As usual, both students “shopped” my extensive collection of props to create their still life images. Lori very soon zeroed in on something very special… A carving set that my sister Theresa bought for me at a yard sale. I’ve been wanting to photograph it myself for a while, so when Lori picked them up I had a pang of jealousy. ;-)

When photographing something long and thin, composition can be quite tricky in a standard oblique, or tabletop view. I suggested that Lori shoot straight down, and it worked out beautifully. She chose a small pewter pitcher and some other interesting props that I have here at the studio. Lori’s image turned out to be quite beautiful. She used the raking light to describe the antler handles of the carving set, and to create a lot of depth in a set that was only 2 inches in depth.

Photo by Lori

Glenn, like me, went right for the tools and old machine parts. He created this striking yet unusual composition, which was somewhat challenging due to all of the reflective metal involved. Glenn overcame the challenges and produced a terrific image. Somehow, his image reminds me a little of Marcel Duchamp.  Make sure to click on the images to see a larger version.

Photo by Glenn

Once again, I’m pleasantly surprised at the interesting compositions my workshop students come up with. So often, they are compositions that I would never do, and it’s so rewarding to see what  photographers with vision create. It’s one of the reasons I love teaching workshops. As the teacher, I also learn.

“Harold’s workshop was both informative and fun. Light painting is new to me and I was enthralled to see the process. Harold has a wonderful way of teaching and making concepts clear to an amateur photographer. He showed every step from the beginning with a discussion of light theory, to the set-up, image capture, post-processing and printing. Nothing was left out. Harold was more than willing to share the wealth of his knowledge. I highly recommend Harold’s workshop.”- Lori

“I’m an amateur photographer who has had no previous light painting experience and only limited experience with Adobe Photoshop.  I was very happy with what I learned from Harold’s workshop.  He taught techniques that simply cannot be learned by reading a book or watching a video tutorial.  The results of Harold’s light painting workflow are amazing.  Highly recommended”.- Glenn