Just spent a fun weekend with master light painter Harold Ross. He’s been making this magic for twenty some years and his techniques, tools and teaching methods are brilliant. Using little flashlights with diffusing tubes, we painted each tool and surface in a darkened studio and then composited the 20+ exposures in Photoshop. I’ve never made friends with Photoshop so learning the language of layers and masks was challenging. But I can see so many applications to landscape work..
The tools are heirlooms passed down from my Grandfather, Harry Logiodice. By trade a carpenter, plumber and mechanic, his multicolored approach was more than a way to identify his tools at a job site — it was his art. And combined with the patina of use from his large, callused hands, they’ve become wonderful keepsakes.
Janet Davis sent me this post. What a gorgeous composition. I wish your grandfather could see it.
Ginny
Hi Ginny! Glad you liked it! I think Gramps would have enjoyed seeing this too — he loved his tools a lot. Hope you are well….
Rob, It was a real pleasure having you at the workshop. Even though I didn’t have a lot of time to talk with you about it, I find that this grouping of your Grandfather’s tools is very touching. I’ve done some images dedicated to my Grandfather also, and to have a chance to create something beautiful from the things he owned is very special.
Thanks, Harold! Your class generated a lot of ideas and I’m looking forward to playing with this technique again.
Elegant look Rob and will look with interest if you try compositing some sort of landscape with wind and depth of field issues….
Hi Saxon! I’ll let you know how well it works outdoors. Might be useful when balancing ambient and man-made lighting at twilight. Used to have to get all that in one magic moment on one piece of film.