One-on-One Light Painting Workshop with student Pavel Kolman
This summer has been very busy in terms of the number of light painting workshops that I’ve had the pleasure of teaching.
Recently, Pavel Kolman, of Toronto, Canada traveled to the studio to take a 3 1/2 day workshop. Pavel was very excited about learning light painting, and his enthusiasm was contagious!
We spent 2 1/2 days concentrating on light painting, and a 3rd extra day exploring some nuances in Photoshop, such as file preparation, advanced methods in sharpening and color adjustments.
Pavel drove down from Toronto in his really cool converted-into-a-camper ambulance. He stayed at a local campground (there are quite a few in this area) just a few short miles from here.
His camper/ambulance is incredible… It has built-in seats, bunks and even an on board inverter for electricity. Pavel gave the camper a really snazzy paint job too. Next time he comes to the studio for a workshop, I think I’ll light paint it!
Pavel and his very cool camper
At the studio, I have tons of things to photograph… most of it vintage stuff… old pewter, vintage tools and machinery, a few scientific instruments, old sewing machines, etc.
Pavel chose to photograph one of my favorite objects. It’s an antique soldering torch that belonged to my father. I’ve always wanted to photograph it, but just never got around to it, so I was excited that Pavel decided to light paint it.
He wanted to do a very simple composition, and as I find so often (and try to suggest to my students), simple is good. This is especially true when first starting out in light painting. Complex compositions can be extremely challenging for the beginner, and the goal of learning to light paint becomes overshadowed by the daunting task of “getting it all done”. Interestingly, I often find that the simplest compositions are the most beautiful.
Here is Pavel’s final image, which celebrates the beautiful functional design of this vintage tool.
Photograph by Pavel Kolman
Harold Ross Fine Art Photography 
I have been fascinated by your style of sculping with lights and have tried on my own to attmpt this method. I wonder if you ever intend to produce CDs or DVDs for those of us who live so far from your location. I know that other fine art photographers got into the practice of doing this which would be of advantage for students who can go over the instruftions time and time again. I am a retired portrait artist and know the values of lights and shadows but fail to properly execute this with small ‘ flashlights ‘ and attachements and miss the finer points of post shoot treatments in Photoshop and other related software.. Thank you !