Paint the Skies: A Journey of Light Painting Under Utah's Dark Skies
Paint the Skies: A Journey of Light Painting Under Utah's Dark Skies
Embarking on a creative journey is often filled with excitement, challenges, and a relentless pursuit of artistic expression. This was precisely the essence of our personal project, Paint the Skies. My buddy Ross B. and I spent three incredible nights exploring and capturing light painting photography under the dark skies of Utah, navigating through slot canyons and hoodoo fields, and using various techniques to get creative at night.
The Vision and Collaboration
Paint the Skies was born out of our shared passion for long exposure photography and the desire to bring our creative dreams to life. We partnered with three amazing brands on this project: Luminar Neo, ProMaster Photo, and Tamron Lens Americas. This collaboration allowed us to test out cutting-edge gear from Tamron and ProMaster, which played a crucial role in our light painting endeavors.
TAMRON 17-28MM F2.8
Techniques and Gear
To bring our vision to life, we used a range of light painting techniques, including LED light tubes, drones, and off-camera light sources. Each tool offered unique capabilities that allowed us to experiment and push the boundaries of our creativity. Tamron’s 17-28mm F2.8 lens, in particular, proved to be an invaluable asset, offering lightweight versatility and exceptional performance under low light conditions.
The Adventure
Our journey was filled with adventure, determination, and hard work. We scouted stunning slot canyons and hoodoo fields, driving down endless dirt roads in search of the perfect locations. The days were spent napping to conserve energy, as our nighttime shoots often extended until 2 or 3 AM.
Each night was a blend of experimentation and perseverance. We faced numerous challenges, from setting up and adjusting our gear to dealing with the unpredictability of nature. There were moments of failure and frustration, but we pressed on, driven by our passion and the belief in our creative vision.
The Result
The process of light painting under the dark skies of Utah was nothing short of magical. Despite the late nights and the endless trial and error, we created images that we are incredibly proud of. These photographs are a testament to our dedication and the support of the brands that believed in our project. It took a unique blend of collaboration, creativity and teamwork to execute many of these images… it would be very difficult to create the majority of these shots with only one person. It’s important to collaborate with other photographers to bring your creative visions to life, there’s this Rick Rubin quote that fit our project so well and it goes like this
“Collaboration is the key to unlocking new ideas and creating something greater than the sum of its parts...”
Reflections
Paint the Skies reminded us of the importance of personal projects and the joy of creating for oneself. It was a journey that reaffirmed our love for photography and the thrill of bringing a creative vision to life. We hope that our project inspires others to chase their own creative dreams, no matter how challenging they may seem.
Conclusion
Paint the Skies was more than just a photography project; it was an adventure of passion, perseverance, and creativity. We are grateful to Luminar Neo, ProMaster Photo, and Tamron Lens Americas for their support and for providing us with the tools to execute our vision.
If you have any questions about our process or want to learn more about light painting, drop us a comment below. Stay tuned for more from this project coming soon, and never stop chasing your creative dreams.
Shout out to these brands for partnering with us:
Tamron Lens and their incredible 17-28mm
ProMaster and their products that helped us execute our vision
Luminar Neo and their support plus an amazing editing plugin to enhance our final imagery
Huge, huge shout out to my partner on this project, Ross B., couldn’t have done it without you man, and I am incredibly grateful that we got to work together on this one. Until the next one, see you out there. -Frankie Fr33Water