I’ve been putting a lot of work into tying all my diaries specifically into politics, even when discussing my more creative pursuits.

For Thanksgiving Day, however, I’m putting politics aside and just talking about art.

Well, maybe.  We’ll see. 

So, anyway, about the picture… 

This is not a Photoshop effect.  It’s a light drawing, in which I used a hand held light source to create patterns over the course of a very long night exposure.  In this particular case, the exposure was one minute and 25 seconds.  (for the photographers out there, all these photos have been done using a sigma 17-70mm zoom lens @17mm, at f22).

This is not something I invented.  This idea came originally from Eric Staller (visit his web site– he’s got some amazing works there, and if you can afford it, buy his book– it’s expensive, but a great read, and it supports a very original and creative lefty artist).  As Staller himself puts it:

9/11 shook loose in me a need to write this memoir. I wanted to give the reader an intimate look at my creative process;to show how my life and loves, my places and times, have been inseparable from my 35 years of art making.

And if you’re wondering, this isn’t a Rudy “9/11 changed everything” piece of nonsense.  This is about him realizing a lot of things that are wrong with the world and moving back into thinking of ways to change it.  Okay, so there’s a little political content in this post.  Back to the art.

When Staller was doing his work, he built a lot of his own devices and understood a lot more about mechanics and electronics than I do.  Today, there are all sorts of ready made light sources that I can play with to create all sorts of effects.

The effect in the picture shown, for example, was produced with, of all things, light sabers.  There are these light sabers which have a strobe effect, changing colors multiple times each second.  So, I thought, what would happen if the camera captured an object in motion throughout the process of that strobe effect?  (Now I know).

This picture was taken the first night I played with these light sabers, and I’ve done quite a few photos using them since.  (clicking here will get you to a list of thumbnails of my favorites).

There’s a neat Zen quality to doing these photos; I never quite know how they’ll come out but it’s at the point now where I have the general idea.  It’s giving me the opportunity to learn more about how light works over time, and giving me a better understanding of this particular camera and lens.

But more importantly, it’s a lot of fun. 

My plan for this winter is to play a lot more with this medium and subject matter, ideally incorporating groups of people to create patterns, shapes and lights in the air through group interaction.  Who knows if it will work; it’s definitely been fun trying to organize this sort of thing. 

Where is it going from here beyond that?  No idea.  But sometimes it’s neat to just delve into a project.  All I’m hoping for now is that someone enjoys the work I’ve done so far.  And if anyone volunteers to let me photograph them while juggling fire, that’s cool too

So, anyway, I hope everyone has a good holiday.  Soon enough I’ll get back to talking about why John Edwards would make a better president than any of the other options we’ve got, why it’s so important to fight for what you believe in, even when everyone thinks you’re nuts for doing so, and why Democrats don’t just need a spine replacement, but they need some morality infusion as well, but for today, I’m okay with just talking art, photography, creativity and fun.
I’ll end with one more photo, a 2 minute, 18 second exposure.

This one involved a small light wand which I manipulated in two different ways.  First, I slowly backed up, moving it and holding it briefly each step of the way.  Then, I switched it to solid red and started spinning it from a string, letting it circle several times and then moving forward.

Last night was particularly fun because I finally started discovering how I can leave the exposure open long enough to capture the surroundings without making it over exposed.  Apparently, on a night with a half moon, 2-3 minutes is the trick.

Okay.  I’m done for now.  Hope you all enjoy the photos.

Have a happy Exploitation of Native Cultures and Land day, everybody!